“You put the phone down, and you start to do work, and it rings again,” said Bev Carlton.
Carlton’s cellphone has been ringing non-stop. The callers have been telling her that she called them. The problem is she didn’t.
"Within the next hour I had already gotten two more calls and that gentleman said maybe your phone had been hacked, call your service provider," said Carlton.
Her cellphone provider told Carlton her number has been spoofed by scammers looking to disguise their number with hers.
Anyone one can take phone numbers not belonging to them thanks to cellphone apps. Once you download the popular apps to your phone, you can purchase the phone number you want to use.
We checked with one of the apps called “Line Up” and was told they only use disconnected numbers. 41 Action News checked, and the numbers were in fact disconnected. That’s not to say other apps and even scammers can't use real numbers.
“What scammers will do is that they'll use software that can scan various websites across the internet," said technology expert Burton Kelso.
Kelso said scammers are looking for local numbers. That way, local callers are more likely to pick up their phones. Kelso said there are ways to prevent yourself from being spoofed.
“Make sure that your phone number is not on any registered websites such as social media sites like Facebook or Twitter," said Kelso.
As for Carlton, it may be too late to stop the calls. Kelso said there is no good way to trace who took her number. Carlton’s cellphone provider told her they can change her number, otherwise she will have to silence her phone and hope the calls stop.
"There is nothing that we can do to stop the calls, that it's just, I have to either put up with it until they stop," said Carlton.
It is illegal to steal someone else's phone number. If you are being spoofed, you can file an online complaint with the FCC.
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Ali Hoxie can be reached at ali.hoxie@kshb.com.
