Unwanted Messages: Someone is Texting My Contacts from My Number
Recently, I found myself in a troubling situation where it seems my phone number is being misused to send strange messages to my contacts. It all started during a Zoom gathering with an old friend who mentioned receiving odd texts that appeared to be from me. Upon hearing this, I was taken aback because I hadn’t sent any such messages.
Initially, I thought about the common issue of number spoofing, often used in scams, but the messages my friend received didn’t seem to fit that mold. They were more along the lines of friendly inquiries like “New phone, who’s this?” However, what raised my suspicion was that some of the accompanying photos were those typically associated with troll accounts across various websites and applications. This leads me to believe someone might be playing around with my number to see how people react.
For anyone interested, I’ve posted screenshots of these messages on the Verizon subreddit here.
If anyone has experienced something similar or can offer advice on how to protect myself and stop this unauthorized use of my number, I would greatly appreciate your insights. I rely on my phone for work communications, so this situation is particularly concerning.
Update: Solving the Mystery
I want to express my gratitude to everyone who responded to my initial post. After reaching out to Verizon, they confirmed that the messages were not sent through their network, which implies that either my Apple ID was compromised (I’ve since changed it) or my number was spoofed. I’ve contacted my friend to inform them of the situation, and anyone else who might have received similar messages is encouraged to reach out to me directly via call or email.
To clarify an earlier point, this strange occurrence seems to have only happened with that one specific friend in September, and since March, I’ve been living in a remote area due to the pandemic where physical access to my phone has been limited to family members and older coworkers who likely wouldn’t engage in this kind of behavior.
I don’t believe the intent behind this mischief is malicious, as it seems counterproductive for someone who might be trying to hack my accounts—they are effectively revealing the breach by sending these messages. Nonetheless, I plan to contact my bank and remove
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