If someone merely knowing your phone number is a security risk that really seems like a flaw that should be addressed with the phone system and not by treating the numbers like sensitive information.

There was a time when there were whole books of said numbers and it wasn't a security risk. We've definitely gone wrong with our assumptions somewhere.

I've seen worse. All you need to use a credit card is the number printed on it and still we hand it to strangers to run off with for 3 minutes like nothing.

> and still we hand it to strangers to run off with for 3 minutes like nothing.

Why would you do that?

I'm joking about the restaurant experience. Nowadays the staff usually comes out with a portable machine though.

I saw that in Canada but it's rare in the US.

True, but whether or not it should be or not doesn't change the fact that it is the current state of the US.

And it's not really just the phone number, but the combination of personal info that allows for social engineering - without having the existing customer confirm the transfer.