# What's with these spoofed phone numbers? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 6, 2017, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-these-spoofed-phone-numbers/795670 "2017-09-06T21:09:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2017, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-these-spoofed-phone-numbers/795670/21 "2017-09-07T14:00:18Z")
Well, hell. Here I’ve been blocking fake phone numbers. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2017, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-these-spoofed-phone-numbers/795670/22 "2017-09-07T14:17:04Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Well, hell. Here I’ve been blocking fake phone numbers. > :dubious: It doesn’t hurt anything and often enough the numbers will call back eventually. I know I’ll sometimes see that a blocked number has called my phone. Also, if you’re blocking it with a third party app (ie Hiya, Nomorobo etc) once enough people report that number the app blocks it for everyone, or at least it comes through as possible spam. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2017, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-these-spoofed-phone-numbers/795670/23 "2017-09-07T14:53:02Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Well, hell. Here I’ve been blocking fake phone numbers. > :dubious: I do, too. I don’t understand your point. You realize these numbers change every time, right? (Except for that once.) And, yes, I use NoMoRoBo, as well, and it works wonderfully. Everybody who can should be using it. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to work on spoofers, or at least spoofers using this tactic. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2017, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-these-spoofed-phone-numbers/795670/24 "2017-09-07T15:26:22Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I do, too. I don’t understand your point. You realize these numbers change every time, right? That is why I posted, “Well, hell”. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2017, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-these-spoofed-phone-numbers/795670/25 "2017-09-07T15:43:33Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > That is why I posted, “Well, hell”. Ah. Well, tone is difficult to tell over the internet. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Hermitian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hermitian/32/470_2.png) [@Hermitian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermitian)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2017, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-these-spoofed-phone-numbers/795670/26 "2017-09-07T15:45:31Z")
> [@mikecurtis](#): > > That’s it. It’s a form of robo calling that spoofs your neighbors number in the hopes that you’re more likely to answer a number that looks local. > > [Familiar-Looking Numbers Are The Latest Twist In Robocalls : NPR](http://www.npr.org/2017/07/31/540515367/familiar-looking-numbers-are-the-latest-twist-in-robocalls) > > mc Here is a link to an expanded version of that story: [http://www.npr.org/sections/money/2017/08/18/544448670/episode-789-robocall-invasion](http://www.npr.org/sections/money/2017/08/18/544448670/episode-789-robocall-invasion) ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2017, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-these-spoofed-phone-numbers/795670/27 "2017-09-07T19:07:20Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > Then days later the same thing happened in reverse–my number was spoofed and the victim called me, and I told him I hadn’t called and explained that my number must have been spoofed. I get almost daily calls from numbers in my telephone exchange. After explaining it to a couple callers I don’t even bother answering any more. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2017, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-these-spoofed-phone-numbers/795670/28 "2017-09-07T19:20:40Z")
> [@control-z](#): > > I get almost daily calls from numbers in my telephone exchange. After explaining it to a couple callers I don’t even bother answering any more. You know, I never thought of it in the reverse situation. Presumably, as I’m getting spoofed numbers with my exchange number on it, there are likely other phone numbers in my exchange that have gotten a call from “my” number. Perhaps that’s what that call from the -1285 number that called me three times in a short period was. ---
**Author:** ![Orwell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/dfb087/32.png) [@Orwell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orwell)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2017, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-these-spoofed-phone-numbers/795670/29 "2017-09-07T20:25:35Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > You know, I never thought of it in the reverse situation. Presumably, as I’m getting spoofed numbers with my exchange number on it, there are likely other phone numbers in my exchange that have gotten a call from “my” number. Perhaps that’s what that call from the -1285 number that called me three times in a short period was. Could be. I got a call from a neighbor about him receiving a junk call that showed my name and number on his Caller ID. We don’t really know each other, but he knows my name and where I live, so he answered, thinking it might be a neighborhood issue. When he heard the sales pitch from someone with a foreign accent, he hung up. He called me just to let me know some telemarketers were using my number. I told him the same thing is happening to everybody. I get lots of junk calls showing my area code and exchange (land line numbers) and area code and exchanges I recognize as common cell numbers in my area (first six digits). Plus the weird numbers that are from other states. It is maddening. I just don’t answer either my house phone or my cell phone unless I recognize who it is. > [@](#): > > At home or on a cell phone? I wonder if they just happened to spoof your mom’s number and your cell phone ID’d it as her. Probably what happened. If the ID matches someone in your contact list, it’s going to show that person’s name or ID. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2017, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-these-spoofed-phone-numbers/795670/30 "2017-09-08T11:59:50Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > … > Also, if you’re blocking it with a third party app (ie Hiya, Nomorobo etc) once enough people report that number the app blocks it for everyone, or at least it comes through as possible spam. This is actually counterproductive IMO. If I religiously report every faked number from my area code & prefix, eventually I’ll have reported all 10,000 of them as fake. The vast majority of which are actually real numbers belonging to real people. Just not the robocaller that called me when I reported it. Fast forward awhile and soon enough everyone will have reported every phone number as fake at least once. As most of us have said, we receive far more spam calls than real calls. We certainly receive more spam calls than we make real calls. My bottom line: reporting a faked number from your area code & prefix is worse then neutral: it’s harmful to you and your friends and (former) neighbors. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2017, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-these-spoofed-phone-numbers/795670/31 "2017-09-08T12:17:17Z")
I actually rarely get fake calls on my phone, but yesterday I got one (11315637906) that googles up to coming from Russia! Don’t know if it was spoofed or actually from Russia. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-these-spoofed-phone-numbers/795670.md?page=1)