What happens when you move to Mexico permanently, set up your life as best you can, and then find out that some US based corporations don’t like that you are trying to use their services from a different country? You work around it, cuz F‘em and their GD control.
VPNs and a US based cell phone numbers are the key. While VPNs are great for the internet side of faking a US existence, AT&T told me that if I get their prepaid phone plan and then go to Mexico, they will deactivate the number after 3 months. I am not about to send the phone or even just the SIM card back to the US every 3 months to have it re-verified on the US cellular network. So, what am I to do? Find a work around of course. But why? I still have a life in the states that cannot be completely cut off. There are certain businesses that I need to maintain contact with in the US.
For example:
Coinbase is the entry point I chose for the cryptocurrency market. I cannot access Coinbase.com without using a VPN that “places” me in the US. However, I did give them my Mexican phone number and they were completely cool with that. They even sent me a text. Go figure.
My US PayPal account cannot have a Mexican phone number. So, I have been using a cell phone number from the US that belongs to a trusted friend that doesn’t use PayPal. But that is troublesome because I have to get the verification text through him, which is inconvenient.
I currently use CitiBank (don’t use them, just don’t). They are just fine with me being in Mexico, but when they require me to verify my identity to do a wire transfer, they cannot send a text to my Mexican phone number, so I have to call them and spend 15 minutes each time talking to their infuriating automated system and to the idiots they hire to eventually take phone calls before getting my ID code.
All of this is enough to make you see red. But there is a work around to the phone issue.
Step 1. I ordered a $20 smartphone from AT&T along with the smallest prepaid plan they offered. I had it sent to my trusted friend and he activated it. Once I added the plan to the phone I could receive texts and phone calls on it. But, like I mentioned earlier, if I had him send it down to Mexico it would only last 3 months.
Step 2: While in Mexico and on my original smartphone with a Mexican phone number I went to the Google Play Store and downloaded the Burner app (something you can also do at burnerapp.com). To sign up it requires a US, UK, or CA cell phone number. I entered my US number and had my trusted friend text me the verification code. I then proceeded to set up the Burner app on my Mexican phone.
Step 3: Now I will give the Burner number that I selected to all the US based corporations that I do business with. They can text me to their hearts content and will think I am still in the US. Suck it corporate restrictions!
Step 4: I am not going to re-up my AT&T prepaid plan. The original number I was assigned will probably be deactivated. I am curious as to whether my burner app will ever require me to re-verify my US number. We will see. If anything, they probably will if I have to reinstall it on my phone or on a new phone. If so, I will just have a new SIM card sent to my trusted friend and do it again.
You could easily just use a friend's number or a different carrier. Whatever works for you. I didn't use my trusted friend's number because he uses the Burner app.
I can hear the teeth grinding of those hard-core expat anarchists. “Just cut it all off and don’t do anything with the US ever again.” That works for some people, but not all. If you are one of the few lucky people that can truly burn your US life to the ground and never look back, more power to you. But there are plenty of us that can’t do that. Until I am a crypto millionaire, I will always have a tether to the US that I must maintain.