Hijacked cell phone number

[John White]

A few years back, be built a new home and could not take our old number with us. They had to issue us a new number, we kept getting calls at night asking for a woman with a unique name. Evidently she was in the escort business and worked at a local TV station. I would say I will meet you at a certain hotel in about a hour, room ####. We got so many calls some time we would just leave the phone shut off after 9 pm. Found out later she had moved to another city and they had issued us her old number. Or sometimes would say put $50 in a envelope, writer your phone number on it and slide it through the mail slot in the door at a local church (that helped the homeless).

 

[clemsonfor]

I was at one of the restaurants in our small downtown a few years back and checked to see if they had wifi from my phone. I saw several signals listed, one of which was titled "FBI Surveillance Van" :laughing:

Mine use to be called that, one other time I had it listed as "NSA surveillance van"

 

[clemsonfor]

A lot of the websites that list people's information and phone numbers use collections of other databases. Until the underlying database get corrected the new websites will continue to pop up the other guy's name and your phone number.

We went through similar thing. We moved and got a new home phone number 9 years ago. Some database had another lady's name attached to our number. Some other carriers used that database for caller ID. So when we called someone her name would appear on the caller ID at the other end sometimes. Took a few years to get that cleaned up.

She also had debt collectors chasing her. They would call and ask just by first name which is same as my wife's. I got aggressive with telling then wrong number, etc and keep a log book of calls and information. I would report to FTC and state AGs. One shutdown and debt is sold and the next set of calls starts. Nine years and still getting calls once in a while.

When I bought my home 10 years ago for the first year or so I got calls for the previous owner who was foreclosed on. My number showed up attached to the address and every debt collector after them called our number. I would explain that I just bought the house, they would ask if I was him or did I know him and I just said I know they use to live here but don't anymore. They would then ask if I know how to get a hold of him??? I would say no because I didn't know the guy. After a year or so they all stopped, either they noted what I said or their searches turned up another number possibly from their new address?

 

[PhysAssist]

We recently got a look at how wrong the listed data is online when I looked on a look-up site for the contact information for some old friends, who we hadn't been in contact with for a few years, and while their address and numbers were right [this was on a free site], when I put in our address, it listed my parent-in-laws, a brother-in-law, my wife's ex-husband, and the original owner-builder of the house as residents in the house.

The first and last ones at least made some sense because my in-laws had lived there with us for a few years, and obviously the owner-builder had the title first, but my B-I-L and my SWMBO's ex were NEVER residents there.

 

[GLyford]

When my dad passed, there was one woodworking magazine that he had just renewed that my Mom sent a change of address to mine so I would get the rest of the subscription.

Ever since I get "free dinner" retirement seminar invites in his name.

Also had one of the alternative electric companies call and try to get "him" to switch. Didn't want to believe me that 1. He's dead, he was already dead before his name ever associated with this address on their mailing list, 2. the electricity was never in his name at this address, and 3. it's not in my name either (half the utilities are in the wife's name).

 

[Oaktree]

A few years back, be built a new home and could not take our old number with us. They had to issue us a new number, we kept getting calls at night asking for a woman with a unique name. Evidently she was in the escort business and worked at a local TV station. I would say I will meet you at a certain hotel in about a hour, room ####. We got so many calls some time we would just leave the phone shut off after 9 pm.

When we moved to our current place, we got assigned a phone number formerly belonging to someone who had to have been the biggest deadbeat for 30 miles around. Constant calls from creditors, collection agencies, you name it...none of whom would accept "we're not them" for an answer. Finally got the telco to assign us a new number, one that hadn't been in use for about 8 years.

I was at one of the restaurants in our small downtown a few years back and checked to see if they had wifi from my phone. I saw several signals listed, one of which was titled "FBI Surveillance Van" :laughing:

I set one up once with "Virus Detected!" as an ID.

 

[mikester]

Yup tried that. Unfortunately my phone has a blocked list limit and I already hit that.

Try saving all blocked numbers to a single contact name then block the contact name.

 

[Fuddy1952]

Years ago my in-laws phone number was one digit off from same number as a large motel. Their phone rang at all hours, drove them crazy. I said I could fix the problem so they let me answer phone for a while.
"××××× motel, how may I help you?" (If it was their family/friends I said I was fixing their problem )...anyway I started booking rooms using the routine "smoking or non, which floor, oh...we have a special rate...here's your confirmation number, etc).
This went on a few days then magically it quit! Motel changed their number.
I regret being a fly on their wall...all these pixxed off people showing up, wrong rate, no rooms, etc.

 

[ROUSTABOUT]

So for about the past year I've been getting these random phone calls to my cell asking for a particular person. Thinking it was just the typical spam calls I've been ignoring them.
Recently I decided to google my phone number and discovered that my number is now showing up on multiple websites and has this same persons name listed on it.

When I googled this persons name, I found they actually are a real person living in my same town.

I have contacted a couple of these web sites and managed to get my number removed but it seems new sites have popped up recently w/ the same info. These sites say they get their info from another party but don't list who it is so I can't go straight to the source.

I'm not sure if this person is maliciously listing their phone number as mine to hid their real number (noticed they have a Foreclosure case against them which has been ongoing since about a year ago).

Without going to this persons house and talking to them directly (which I would rather not do), what other course of action can I take?

I just set it on record and did not make a sound. Then I set that quiet sound as my ringtone. My contacts actually have a ringtone. I can always look through my missed calls and I return the local numbers. So far it works. So, if I can do this with my $26.88 phone, you should be able also. I get over 20 of those calls per day. Auto Warranty, Senior Care, Medicare Supplement, you have a 1200 dollar shipment from Wal Mart, just a pile of crap calls all day. Silent ring tone is it.

 

[Dftodd]

I've had issues with phone numbers randomly over the years.

Not as serious as the OP's issue though.

Mine have been issues where someone gets a phone number close to mine and they accidently give out the wrong number or transpose a number.

Most of the time I explain whats going on if someone is looking for someone else.

I did start getting random robocalls for a different counties school district about school cancelations and other issues

I figured out what was going on when I got a call from one of the counties schools. School was trying to get a hold of a students parents over a disciplinary issue.

I called the lady back, and explained that they have the number wrong in their system for that student.


Sometimes it's as innocent as a transposed number.