Help! My mobile number has been spoofed

honeybea

Hi guys! I don’t know what to do. I think my mobile number has been spoofed. For months now I’ve been receiving calls from unknown mobile numbers and when I answer they sound like genuine people telling me that they found a missed call from my number. But I haven’t called anyone! Today I even got a WhatsApp from someone who’s found a missed call from my number.

I tried to call O2 and they were absolutely useless. They suggested changing my number. Of course this is a last resort, I’ve had this number since the 1990s!

help what can I do?

bazdvd

Change your number

I_drink_tea

I have no knowledge of this myself, but checking Google came up with this which I hope is useful......

"If your mobile number has been spoofed, scammers are using it to display on the caller ID of unsuspecting victims. You should immediately update your voicemail message to explain the situation, let unknown calls go to voicemail, and report the spoofing to your mobile network provider and Action Fraud.

Follow these steps to manage and resolve the issue:

Update your voicemail greeting: Record a new message stating: "Hello, my phone number is currently being spoofed by scammers. I did not call or text you. If you received an unexpected call from this number, please block it.

"Enable unknown call screening: Go to your phone settings and silence or block calls from numbers not in your contacts (e.g., iPhone's Silence Unknown Callers) so you aren't interrupted by angry call-backs.

Protect your voicemail PIN: Make sure your voicemail has a strong, secure PIN so scammers cannot access your messages.

Contact your mobile provider: Notify your network (e.g., EE, Vodafone, O2, or Three) about the spoofing. They can check if your SIM has been cloned or if you have any unusual activity.

Report the fraud: Report the incident formally by calling Action Fraud at 0300 123 2040 or using the Action Fraud Reporting Tool."

Grumpy_chap

This happened to me once but after a few days the calls responding from missed calls that had the spoofed number dried up. I think that is because the spam callers soon find the number in the "who called me" type websites so move on to a new number.

Does your number show in the tracing websites?

Jemma01

I appreciate how frustrating this is, but I would probably change the number too. Unfortunately, O2 has very little control over this because the scammers are spoofing your number from outside O2's network. They can investigate, advise you, and report the issue through industry channels, but they can't stop other networks from accepting spoofed calls that appear to come from your number. Changing your number is often the quickest way to stop people calling you back.

flaneurs_lobster

Could someone explain (or even just speculate) what the spoofer is trying to achieve? And how?

I'm failing to see the reasons why someone might bother to pretend to be someone else (outside of pure malicious intent).

Jemma01

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82055588#Comment_82055588

spammers want to get through to ppl, most often if you get a call from a healthy number, it will appear like any other good caller and you're more likely to answer (though I know younger folks tend to not answer unknown numbers anyway), and networks are unlikely to flag the call or block it. However, as ppl report spam calls, networks use risking profiles to let you know that they suspect the call is a spam. So on android my phone doesn't even ring, I just get a notification that a call was made from a spam number. Spammers don't want your phone to block their calls, nor for networks to identify them, so they try to appear as a genuine number that hasn't been flagged as a spam.

Does your phone not show "Spam" on some numbers?

flaneurs_lobster

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82055622#Comment_82055622

So there is no attempt to somehow defraud the legit 'owner' of the spoofed number? Their number is simply 'clean' and won't get flagged as spam by the various filters.

So the only real risk to the legit owner is that their number becomes unusable as more and more people report the number as spam and they can no longer make calls (or rather can't get through) to legitimate contacts?

Jemma01

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82055649#Comment_82055649

No. That I'm not sure about. I've had a call from a legitimate number few months ago that was flagged spam even though it wasn't (luckily, they left me a voice message). But it could be what happened with Grumpy_chap, they move on to abuse another number and his risking profile neutralises overtime.

One thing is O2 will communicate to other networks that the number is legitimate but spoofed (so it is not blocked), but how other networks deal with it is their own policy. It appears from the fact ppl are calling OP that the calls are appearing genuine and not flagged as spam. OP should try "who called me" services to see if the number has been reported.

JSmithy45AD

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82055649#Comment_82055649

No, the threat is to the people who are being called from whatever the speil is.

Catonthemoon

All these calls that purport to originate in the UK (displayed on screen), are almost certainly made from overseas.
I just view them as ‘incoming fire’ & only answer calls from people whose number I know…simples!

If they were genuine, they would leave a message, but they never do…funny that 🤷‍♂️