Mask,
This is mostly a concern for married guys cheating on their wives. For single guys, nobody cares. But married guys get sloppy too, like Tiger Woods (beaten with his own 9 iron when he left his phone laying around which was found by wife with nude pics of SP and GFs). There was another long time poster on this board, no longer here, who got sloppy with his computer security and his wife busted him. He basically had to swear off the hobby to save his marriage. I think the hobbyists are sloppier and less discreet with their private info than the agencies are. I remember taking a married friend of mine to Montreal and he created this elaborate lie which he told his wife (who I know) that he was going to Montreal for a "house warming party" at a new condo I had purchased. I don't own any condo in Montreal and never did. I only learned of the lie myself when his wife caught him in it, when she called him, asked him where he was going, and he said (mistakenly, but truthfully) "back to the hotel with EB (insert my real name for EB)." I could hear her asking him on the other end why we weren't going back to my condo. When he got off the phone, I said to him, "WTF? My condo? What fucken condo were you talking about????????" He then admitted the lie to me. I yelled at him and told him to never involve me in a lie to his wife ever again. After all I know her and could have been questioned about this totally fictional Montreal condo that I supposedly owned.
Most agencies are much more experienced in matters of discretion and do not have these kinds of fuck ups. But their fuckups only matter if you are married and cheating. Otherwise, any fuckup they make, which is unlikely, does not matter. Phone numbers in a phone mean shit. You can use burner phones, and it is on YOU to decide what name you use. You can use a MERB name or, better still, a made up pseudonym. My buddy, who I mentioned above, not only had a made up name but a made up persona complete with fake address and job and burner phone registered to that persona. If you do not have the imagination necessary to pull these things off, you may need to reconsider your status in the hobby. CIA training is not needed to pull off discreet behavior. Just some imagination and common sense. So basically I don't want to hear about agency discretion. Discretion is on YOU 100%!!!!!!!! Be accountable!!!!!!!!!