It happened fast. One day your Discord DMs and Twitter replies were normal, and the next, they were flooded with weird strings of digits or specific "phone numbers" that promised to "thot-proof" your digital life. If you were online between 2017 and 2019, you probably remember the "Be Gone Thot" meme exploding from a niche deep-fried meme into a genuine internet phenomenon. But then came the be gone thot numbers.
People started sharing these digits like they were some kind of holy protection or a secret code to banish bots. It wasn't just a joke anymore. For a brief window, these numbers became a weird sort of digital talisman.
The Weird Origin of the Be Gone Thot Numbers Phenomenon
Memes usually die in a week. This one didn't. It started with "Thot Audit," a controversial and largely disorganized internet movement where users tried to report creators on platforms like OnlyFans or Patreon to the IRS. It was chaotic. It was mean-spirited. And, honestly, it was a mess. Amidst that chaos, the phrase "Be Gone Thot"—originally popularized by content creators like MoistCr1TiKaL (Charlie White)—morphed from a silly catchphrase into a tool for harassment.
Then the numbers showed up.
Initially, these were fake phone numbers. Users would post them in comments to bait bots or "thots" into interacting. The idea was that if a bot messaged the number, it would be caught in a loop or reported. Most of them were just random digits meant to look like US area codes, often starting with 800 or 911 variants to scare people. There was no magic software behind most of them. It was psychological warfare.
You'd see someone post a string like 1-800-BE-GONE-THOT. Obviously, that’s not a functional technical tool. It was a signal. It told the community: "I am part of the group that is currently trolling this specific demographic."
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Was there ever a real "Number"?
Sort of. But not in the way most people think.
In some gaming circles, specifically on platforms like Discord, users set up "Be Gone" bots. These bots were assigned specific ID numbers. When a user "called" the bot by tagging its ID, the bot would automatically kick or ban any user flagged as a "thot"—usually defined by the server moderators as anyone posting certain types of links or photos. These be gone thot numbers were actually just long-form Discord User IDs (Snowflakes).
$ID = (timestamp - DISCORD_EPOCH) << 22$
If you want to get technical, those strings of 18 digits were the only "real" numbers in the whole trend. They weren't phone numbers you could dial on a landline. They were database entries. If you tried to call them on a cell phone, you'd get a busy signal or a confused person in Nebraska who just happened to have a similar-looking number.
Why the Internet Obsessed Over These Digits
The internet loves a secret weapon. When the "Thot Audit" peaked in 2018, people were looking for a way to "clean up" their feeds. The numbers represented a shortcut. Instead of manually blocking accounts, the myth of the "Be Gone Thot Number" suggested you could just post a sequence and the "problem" would go away.
It was a classic example of technobabble meeting meme culture.
Most people sharing them didn't even know what they did. They just saw a high-engagement post with a "protection number" and copied it. It’s not much different from those "Facebook does not have my permission to use my photos" posts that your aunt shares every three years. It’s digital superstition.
The Darker Side: Harassment and Doxing
We have to talk about the reality of what happened here. While a lot of it was just kids being edgy, the "Be Gone Thot" movement had real-world consequences. People were being doxed. Real phone numbers—belonging to actual women, not bots—were being labeled as be gone thot numbers and circulated on 4chan and Reddit.
This turned a "meme" into a targeted harassment campaign.
If a number was leaked as a "thot number," that person would receive thousands of "Be Gone" texts, hateful images, and even death threats. The irony was thick: a movement that claimed to be "auditing" or "cleaning up" the internet was actually creating more digital trash and toxicity than the bots they claimed to hate.
- Platform Response: Twitter and Discord eventually started banning accounts that shared these lists.
- Legal Action: Some creators actually pursued legal action for harassment, leading to a massive cooling-off period for the meme.
- The IRS Statement: Contrary to the memes, the IRS does not have a "thot tip line." They released general statements about reporting tax evasion, but they never recognized the meme-driven "audit."
Misconceptions That Still Float Around
People still ask if these numbers work. Let’s be incredibly clear: no.
There is no phone number you can text to get someone banned from Instagram. There is no special code that "disconnects a thot's internet." If you see a video or a TikTok today claiming that "dialing this number will delete a specific profile," it is a scam or a "grabber."
A "grabber" is a link or a fake service designed to get your IP address or personal info. The person who thinks they are being a "digital crusader" by using the number ends up being the one who gets hacked. It’s a bait-and-switch that has been around since the early days of the internet, just rebranded for a newer, angrier generation.
How to Handle Digital Harassment Today
If you're finding this because you're being harassed by people using these terms, or if you're seeing these numbers pop up in your community, the strategy isn't to "fight back" with more numbers.
Platform algorithms in 2026 are way more sensitive to "Be Gone Thot" rhetoric than they were in 2018. Most systems now flag that specific phrase as a precursor to harassment.
- Don't engage with the "Number" posts. Engagement—even negative—boosts the visibility of the post in the algorithm.
- Use "Hidden Words" features. Instagram and Twitter allow you to mute specific phrases. Adding "thot," "be gone," and common numeric variations of the meme to your mute list effectively kills the problem before you see it.
- Report for Targeted Harassment. Don't just report for "spam." Use the specific harassment reporting tools, as these are prioritized by human moderators.
The Legacy of the Meme
The be gone thot numbers era was a weird inflection point for the internet. It showed how quickly a joke can weaponize into something dangerous when combined with a little bit of technical misinformation. It was the precursor to a lot of the more intense "cancel culture" and "anti-fan" movements we see today.
The numbers are mostly dead now. You'll find them in the dusty corners of old subreddits or in "Deep Fried Meme" archives. They serve as a reminder that on the internet, a string of numbers is rarely just a string of numbers. It’s usually a signal of who someone is, what they believe, and who they are trying to hurt.
Actionable Steps for Digital Safety
If you want to ensure you aren't caught up in these types of automated or manual harassment campaigns, take these steps:
- Audit your own privacy settings. Ensure your phone number isn't publicly linked to your social media profiles.
- Use a VoIP for public business. If you are a creator, never use your primary SIM number for business inquiries. Use Google Voice or a similar service.
- Recognize the patterns. If you see a sudden influx of numeric spam, it’s likely a coordinated effort. Switch your accounts to "Private" or "Friends Only" for 48 hours. Most meme-driven harassment has the attention span of a goldfish; if they can't get a reaction immediately, they move on to a new target.
- Keep software updated. Many of the "number" scripts relied on old vulnerabilities in messaging apps to "crash" phones. Modern OS updates have patched the majority of these "text bomb" exploits.
The era of the "Be Gone Thot" is largely over, replaced by newer, more complex forms of internet drama. But the lessons about digital literacy and the danger of "meme-weaponization" remain just as relevant. Don't call the numbers. Don't share the numbers. Just let the meme stay buried in 2018 where it belongs.