Calls from similar number

[Marleyforlan]

Hi.. today I received a call from a very similar number to mine just a couple end digits off.. the guy said he was returning a call I just made to him (which I hadn't) and then I told him I had not called him and he said OK no worries bye.

Thinking this was an anomaly of some sort I went on with my day.. then when I was away from my phone around an hour later another different number very similar to mine I have a missed call from.. no message left. 

I am not sure what the scam could be here..is someone else somehow using my number to call people?

[XRaySpeX]

@bhay : You are a victim of number spoofing along with many others. There's a lot of it about as in Calls from similar number . There's not much you can do about it.

[Leanne_T]

Morning @bhay

Thanks for coming to the community. 

You can find out more about number spoofing in Call Spoofing.

Hope this helps.

Leanne.

[Annare]

I have had the same problem the past weeks,

This is scam callers, one even ended up in my voicemail recording a recorded message about my NI number being terminated because of illegal activities and opt me to press 1 .

As soon as I block one number a new one starts calling, it is getting on my nerves and I read today that it can be something called 

‘NEIGHBOUR SPOOFING’ ATTACKS, theytarget numbers similar to the ones they call from.

Not sure if EE can do much about this , the advise is to never answer these calls as they look for active phone numbers.

[MarcusLeBrun]

I have also been receiving calls from numbers very similar to mine (only last two digits different). I have stopped answering since first one was the National Insurance Number scam that's doing the rounds.

I am concerned that the number that called me is someone's actual mobile number that has been hijacked and that other people are receiving calls that appear to be from me but are in fact this scam. 

Don't know if that's possible but my phone has been behaving strangely since these calls started. Really needs investigation. Could be a previously unknown (and damaging) new thing

[Leonardshaircut]

I am with a different network (virgin but originally orange but number ported over many years ago) and came across this thread when googling. I started receiving calls yesterday (5 in the space of 2 hours) from numbers with just the last 3 digits different to mine. I ignored them.

Then today, 2 calls from unknown mobiles with Phillipines numbers and then the similar number thing has started again. I have unknown callers silenced on my phone now and block each number  as it comes in, although I did accidentally call one back whilst blocking but I cancelled it immediately so it didn’t connect (hope that doesn’t cause more problems for me).

It appears that there is nothing that can be done about this but as it’s happening to so many others, it’s obviously a scam. and I hope they just give up after a while.

[Leonardshaircut]

I am with a different network (virgin but originally orange but number ported over many years ago) and came across this thread when googling. I started receiving calls yesterday (5 in the space of 2 hours) from numbers with just the last 3 digits different to mine. I ignored them.

Then today, 2 calls from unknown mobiles with Phillipines numbers and then the similar number thing has started again. I have unknown callers silenced on my phone now and block each number  as it comes in, although I did accidentally call one back whilst blocking but I cancelled it immediately so it didn’t connect (hope that doesn’t cause more problems for me).

It appears that there is nothing that can be done about this but as it’s happening to so many others, it’s obviously a scam. and I hope they just give up after a while.

[colilements]

I completely agree - they need to acknowledge that this goes beyond normal marketing spamming and also that it is affecting mainly ee customers.

[blueboy7]

Same here. Recorded message states National Crime Agency and my NI Numbers is compromised, 8 calls in the last 12 hours or so, 07984 number next three digits same as mine and when I block repeat calls with the last three digits changed. Did a search and it reports the number is owned by EE!!

[mdc1983uk]

It's not just EE though. However there does seem to be some circumstantial evidence to me that EE have something going on that could do with looking into.

My young daughters phone was on 1p mobile which runs on EE as a MVNO. She hasn't had these calls before but I ported her out to another network recently and the very morning the transfer was due she started getting calls from 3 digits out.  The funny thing is, I brought a gold number off 1p mobile and did the same thing to take it to Vodafone. And the same thing happened.

I wonder if it the PAC system itself has some kind of breach. The facebook thing must be a redherring because neither of our phones were ever registered on there so thats not where the breach came from.

[mdc1983uk]

@ArtixIt's for sure not that that. I've checked all my affected numbers and none show up on there. As I said in a previous post it happened to me after I ported my number to Vodafone months ago. I ignored them all and it hasn't happened since. I've had random UK area codes ringing still and some spam HSBC new payee texts came through though but I got that on EE as well.

My daughter only got ported yesterday and same thing happened to her with the 3 digits out. She previously had random UK STD codes and texts also. It just set me off thinking but there isn't any real proof to say that's what caused it. She hasn't registered anywhere for sure. She's 9 and the phone was fully locked down. She only takes the damn thing out so I can ring her when its time to come in from playing out on the road.

If it carries on much longer I'll revert to type and chuck a licence free radio her way and shout her on that 😂 At least that way you know the idiot on the other end is within a couple of miles and have a way to track them down yourself without involving authorities. But then I was brought up with ham radio and scanners when we knew stuff!