Weird event at work - should I do anything?

[Beanzmeanz]

Just that really. So last week I received a call on my personal mobile asking for someone else I didn’t catch what they were saying so asked them to repeat it. It wasn’t a name of anyone in our house - think Harry Jones so I said sorry wrong number.
Just as I was about to hang up I thought the name sounded a bit like someone I work with so I said did you say Barry Stones to which they said yes.
So I said well I work with them but I don’t know how you would get this number. They confirmed who they were (genuine) and that they had called the number of this person’s email footer.
I am bamboozled so I report it to our IT bod.
They ask me if my no. is 07xxx etc which it is and tell me this guy has set his v/m to forward to my mobile.
He doesn’t have my mobile, I’ve never given it to him and we have work mobiles

I would definitely report this to someone in authority at work. It is a breach of your personal data.

Ask him about it and where did he get your number?

Is it a similar number and he has typed a digit wrong on his email footer?

I feel too weird. I don’t know him well he works in a different office.
We have interacted recently regarding one of my team and the day before we were at a work social where I briefly spoke to him.

There is likely a very innocent explanation for this op. It's probably just a typo.

Why wouldn't you just ask him? Is your phone a company one? If so the number may have been his at one stage. Maybe he copy and pasted the wrong number as his forwarding number or perhaps his number is similar. I'd just go and talk to him. Of course if he denies it or if he refuses to remove it then it's got weird and I'll tell my line manager and HR.

No the IT bod actually said his work mobile is completely different

Exactly

just tell him OP

I only work in a small place and would definitely have to ask him myself! How odd.

Have you maybe put your number in your email signature, he copied the signature as a template and forgot to change the number to his? Strange if you only give out your work mobile, but I can't think of another explanation.

He has never had my personal number. He works in a completely different department in a different office.
i believe he must have accessed my HR record to get my number. I do believe the forwarding was a mistake but why is he looking at my details

Why would she alert him to it, though? Surely she'd want to find out what is really going on before he is given an opportunity to come up with a plausible excuse so she doesn't take it further. It's a bit like a wife confronting her DH as soon as she's found or heard something suspicious. It does little but tell him to increase his level of deception while managing his interactions with her.

Even if he had accessed your records, why would he put your number on his emails and forward his voicemail to you? What benefit is this to him?

Exactly! And this would have happened before, unless this change was made yesterday.

If someone where I work was forwarding their calls to my phone, I’d be getting calls every day.

Why are you asking here what to do when you believe someone has accessed your HR file? Do you really need help with what to do next?

You have no choice but to say it to him unless you get HR/IT to say it to him otherwise you will keep getting calls / voicemails

This could be it

In this case I don’t think she has anyway of knowing why / how this happened unless she asks him, no amount of investigating is going to make her wiser

Personally I’d go to HR. He shouldn’t be able to access your personnel file at all (unless he’s in HR) and to do so and use your information is not on at all. We have a database system at our work and it was being used to look up staff addresses to see who was nearest to X so they could get a lift in. I informed HR who put a stop to it. It had been an error that the information was available to those who shouldn’t have had access to it.

It’s the only thing I can think of but I don’t know. I’ve not been in the company that long and this person is quite high up

I'm sure there's more than 1 person in the world with his name. Just a weird coincidence!

IT have removed my number. It happened immediately following a work social so I wonder if he was drunk

Well we could speculate for years. Or you could ask him.

He very likely wasn't formulating some big master plan because the moment he missed a call, he'd be rumbled. As indeed he has been. And here we are.

Just ask IT when he reset the divert number, and ask the guy why. My bet is on a typo.

Or better than ask him even, just tell him.

'Mate, you set your divert number to mine. Dunno what happened there, but I've reset. Cheers.

Dear Barry,

I had a call on my personal phone number asking for you, and IT informed me that your phone was forwarded to my personal phone number. As it was my personal number and not a work one, I have asked IT to remove this. I’m not sure how this happened, if you have any insights please do let me know.

Best wishes,