Addressing Phone Number Spoofing: My Experience and How I Handled It

Hello everyone,

I want to share a rather perplexing situation I’ve found myself in recently, hoping that it might resonate with some of you or perhaps even offer insights. The title sums it up well: someone has been sending texts to my contacts masquerading as me, and I assure you, I am not the one behind it.

The saga began during a group Zoom call with an old friend. They mentioned receiving strange messages from my number, which bewildered me. Initially, I chalked it up to the notorious issue of number spoofing that is often exploited by scammers. However, the messages they received were harmless in nature—more along the lines of the classic “New phone, who dis?” kind.

What raised my eyebrows was that alongside these texts were a few photos I immediately recognized from various online “troll” accounts. This led me to suspect that someone is having fun with my number, perhaps trolling to see what kind of responses they would elicit. I’ve shared screenshots of the messages I’ve received over on the r/Verizon subreddit for those interested in having a look (Link to Reddit Post).

I’m reaching out to you all, hoping someone might have faced a similar issue and can offer advice on how to put an end to this. It’s crucial for me to resolve this as I rely on my phone for work-related communication.

Update on My Situation

Thanks to the many thoughtful comments I received, I reached out to Verizon, who confirmed that these texts are not being sent through their network. This leaves me with two possibilities: either my Apple ID has been compromised (which I’ve since changed) or someone is indeed spoofing my number. I’ve taken proactive steps by notifying my friend about the situation and reaching out to others who might be affected.

It’s worth noting that these odd texts only seem to have impacted that specific friend in September. Since March, I’ve been living in a fairly secluded area, with minimal physical contact beyond family and a few coworkers, none of whom would likely be capable of orchestrating something like this.

It seems unlikely that whoever is behind this is trying to gain access to my private information, especially given that they’re sending messages indicating I’ve been