Photo: Courtesy

Why do women give out fake mobile phone numbers? My cousin recently fell prey to the oldest and most vile scam in the history of dating; the fake phone number scam. I can only imagine his exhilaration when the hot lass he had been eyeing finally obliged to part with her phone number.

I witnessed his disillusionment first hand when he dialed the number only for a grouchy dude with a thick Kalenjin accent to pick up. And guess who was left to bear the brunt of his aggrieved cries of “mbona madame mnakuanga hivo?” Yes, me: The only girl in Nairobi who has never given out a fake phone number!

As my cousin struggled to come to terms with his fate, I was thinking of how to get through to the ladies about this issue. I understand the need to let a guy down easily without any conflict, but giving him a fake phone number is arguably the most devious way to do that. There is no such thing as men who don’t take no for an answer. If you tell him no while giggling like a stupid teenager, how do you expect him to take you seriously?

Ladies, it is time to end this charade. How hard is it to politely but firmly tell a guy that you are simply not interested? If you are a scaredy-cat who can’t stand her ground, tell a little white lie. Tell him you are in a relationship anything but for goodness sake, do not give out a false phone number! It is utterly discourteous and absolutely unnecessary.

And here I was, castigating men for seeing it necessary to call a woman’s number once he gets it to ascertain if it is indeed hers. Little did I know that the ladies have been the problem all along. Gentlemen, go ahead. I am cutting you some slack on that one. Give that number a ring and if it’s fake, call her out. The phony phone number scam has gone way too far!

I am a girl on a mission. I am going to teach women how to turn men down appropriately without having to result to fake phone numbers. If I can teach just one girl to be assertive and not give out the fake phone number, I can die in peace. Put it on my tombstone. Let it say: ‘Here lies Roxanne. Women stopped giving phony phone numbers because of her.’