Strange phone call

[DildoMadeOutOfAmericanCheese]

I had a strange phone call yesterday morning. I was reading various things on my phone when an unknown number rang me. I don't normally answer unknown numbers but I did this time and the man on the other end said that he was returning my call. I said that I hadn't called him but he said my number had come up on his call log. I said that I hadn't rung anyone all morning and no one else had access to my phone so he apologized.

Can phone numbers be cloned? He seemed so sure that I had phoned him. I have also been added to a couple of unusual WhatsApp groups and recently had a fraudulent payment on my credit cart so I am suspicious

He could have been a prankster.

I had one of these about two years ago. After I told them very clearly that they had rung me first, I hung up as there was nothing left to say. They phoned me back and started asking what my name was and where I lived. I hung up, blocked, and thought nothing of it. I've never had another one and nothing came of it. I don't know if it's a prank or some sort of scam but they can fuck right off.

It was quite unnerving as he sounded confused as well but I guess it was most likely a scam and he gave up once he realised that he couldn't hook me in. The bugger

I had this once but it was a text saying I had rang their number. I hadn't. No idea who it was. I blocked the number

I think he’s been scammed, he’s not the scammer. I had this happen once and bloke was sure I’d rung him. I did some googling and it seemed likely my phone number had been cloned by someone ring8ng him.

Yes. Scammers can absolutely spoof your number. I saw it on one of those morning TV programmes with a reputable presenter. Cannot think of the name right now but same vibes as Watchdog and Rip off Britain.

I never answer an unknown number,
Trying
To drum you

To clarify, someone used your number to try and scam him. Because he didn't answer they moved onto another target.

The phone numbers chosen, including yours, are done by a computer programme.

Blips can happen on the phone network, the same happened to me once. We were both confused and hung up. My call was back in the days before scamming was down to a fine art, much less common. I would believe him.

It's a marketing company using a dialler to make mass calls. Because many people don't answer withheld numbers or sometimes telephone services block withheld numbers they make up a number and spoof it so it looks like a certain number is calling you. Sometimes the made up number is actually legit.

Yes - this.

He's not the scammer!

ahahahaha my sister had this once a few times in a week and she ended up shouting down her phone in a cafe to leave her alone

One morning there was a problem with the 3 network and I started receiving text messages from random numbers. The problem was mentioned on the BBC website.

Maybe it's something like that?

Or there may be an incorrect translation rule configured on a carrier network and somebody's caller ID is being accidentally changed to your caller ID.

For example, the rule matches numbers ending 12345 and prefixes 07798 to give 0779812345.

Thanks. I think the guy sounded just as confused as me so I don't think he was part of a scam. I had a strange WhatsApp this evening asking me to click on a link. Obviously I reported and blocked but I am concerned, especially after the recent fraudulent action on my credit card which I haven't used in about a year

Where i used to work a company kept ringing us trying to sell electricity, they used to clone local numbers which changed every time. They were so annoying and there is no way we would have given them any business using those tactics.

I have also had cloned numbers ring me on my mobile.

Is there any point contacting my phone provider or are they powerless?

I've had this happen to me! A woman called me and said 'Jane Smith returning your call how can I help you?' I hadn't rung her so can only think my number was cloned. Was maybe 8 yrs ago- I've still got the same number and it has never happened again

I work in telecoms for a bank.

Ofcom are really tightening up the rules regarding 'CLI'.

Larger companies, such as mine, are permitted the ability to spoof the caller ID. This is so that somebody from one location can visit another location and still send their correct caller ID - e.g. a Glasgow user visits Manchester and makes a phone call that still displays their Glasgow number to the call recipient. This ability requires a contract to be signed with the telecoms provider stating that you'll never send a caller ID that doesn't belong to the company. If you break the agreement they can immediately terminate all telecoms provision (that would be a really massive event for a bank).

If somebody is spoofing your caller ID, they are in breach of ofcom regulations. No legitimate company would do this.

I'd contact your phone provider and explain what's happened. They will be able to check their call records and hopefully prevent it happening.

I used to work for a major telecoms company ('a licenced operator') and their systems could trace calls end-to-end. If your number is hosted by, for example EE, but a call using your caller ID originated from another company (e.g. Colt), they should be able to see that happening and request the other telecoms company take action to shutdown the fraudsters.

As I've previously suggested, it could be an accidental configuration error. If that's the case, the telecoms companies would work with their customers to resolve it.

Personally, I take it very seriously in my role. I have put in hundreds of hours to take the bank from a position where we were sending out 'junk' CLI (and relying on the telecoms companies to simply change that to 'withheld'), to one where every single call is sending the correct caller ID and can be traced back to the relevant end user (even if the call recipient sees the caller as Private or Withheld, the caller's information is visible to the telecoms providers).

I doubt it. It doesn't sound anything like that.

Given the recent frauds I definitely view this as suspicious behaviour and reporting it. Contact your phone provider and explain you believe your number has been cloned. Record your call for your own evidence and ensure your provider blocks premium rate numbers/overseas calls etc. Change all your passwords too.

This happened to me a couple of years ago. I had 3 or 4 people phone me "back" in a week. Their phone numbers were very similar to mine too, just the last 2 or 3 digits were different. I definitely hadn't called them first as I was at work. I think my number had been cloned and used to phone them.

It happened here as well. I called the number back and he was confused, he had not called me. Somebody put in his number to show in the caller id as their name somehow maybe?

One time my phone rang and the caller id showed MY number calling me.

Sounds exactly like it to me. Happened to me a few times