Community Chat

[HerRoyaLioness]

I couldn't believe it.  This is on a land line.  On the receiver little window for caller ID it had my name and my phone number showing.  How could I be calling myself??!!!  It stopped ringing before I could answer. 

I have 2 receivers, one in my bedroom that I was looking at and one in my living room.  I started to get scared and thought someone must be in my house and have used that receiver to call me. (I watch too many detective shows).  I cautiously went through my rooms and of course no one was there.

I was ready to call my phone company and then it rang again, from me!  This time I answered it and it was from "microsoft" and my IP number had been compromised in many countries and I needed to change it, blah, blah, blah.  I hung up, but now I'm wondering how can they do this, is my phone hacked or compromised?  Do I need to change my number?

Has anyone else had this happen, that you got a call from yourself, your own phone number? 

[DrKelli]

Yes, it happens a lot.  I finally had to 'block' the number on both cell and landlines.  You can report this type of call to the FCC--they have a section on their website.  Since doing this several times, I have managed to cut down the number of spoof calls I get.

It's rather irritating though when someone calls you 'back' and leaves a nasty message on your answering machine because they don't understand how spoofing works.

[Alison Wonderland]

Yes, it's happened to many people. It's because scammers spoof phone numbers to make it look like a call is local when it can be from anywhere in the world. They do it to make it look like it's coming from your area code so you think it might be from someone nearby and sometimes they wind up spoofing your own number.

It's quite startling when it happens.

[danedylan]

YES!--this has happened 2 me--my name as the callercaller!!--I just never picked up the call that was on my land line--just another annoying scam phone call--when will they stop?!!---------------------bah hum bug!

[Icegoddess]

It has happened to me several times.  There's a term for it, but I can't remember what it is.  I also very often get calls from the company I used to work for.  The first time I answered that one it was someone who was trying to ask me questions supposedly to help me buy insurance.  This was at the beginning of the ACA so it was kinda a confusing time as far as buying health insurance went.  I started to answer a question, but then asked why does my caller ID say this call is coming from ------?  Click, they hung up.  So, I have to assume it was a scam call.

[Love my grandkids]

@HerRoyaLioness This has been happening for at least 2 years that I know of. It's frequently on local and national news.

[esmerelda]

I've gotten calls from my own number, the local hospital and nursing home.  I answered from the hospital...the other two I ignored.  And it wasn't the hospital.

I understand there is an article in a recent issue of the AARP magazine explaining how this and other scams are done.  Which IMO also tells people how to do them.

I think we can expect a lot more.

All these spam calls...I almost miss the political calls.

[ValuSkr]

Yes, it's very weird the first time it happens.  There used to be a scary story - like a ghost story - about a babysitter getting a threatening phone call from within the same house.

[HerRoyaLioness]

OK, thanks, glad I'm not the only one!  This is the first time this (my exact own phone number) has happened to me.  I'm well aware of other scams.

Just to make things clear, this was not a similar number with my area code, I've had lots of those, but this was specifically and exactly my own personal phone number, not similar to it.  It was my own pwersonal phone number calling me!

I will report it, but I don't know what they can do, I don't know how they could trace it back to whoever used my own phone number to call me.  This is crazy!

[KingstonsMom]

This happens to us quite often, telemarketers spoof numbers that they think we'll answer, including from our own area code and exchange, as well as our own numbers.

They'll stop at nothing......call blockers help, but they just change numbers.

But at least with a call blocker, I only get 2-3 a day, when I used to get many, many more.