My teenage son has used the same iPhone and phone number for years. A detective recently came to our home because someone has been making harassing calls from several numbers, including my son's number. However, the voicemail recordings are not in his voice. The carrier also told police that the number is registered to a woman none of us recognize. After asking around, my son believes the details may belong to a friend's mother. His phone account and SIM app still show our own information, so we're confused about how the carrier has someone else attached to the number. Could the number have been spoofed, duplicated, or transferred to another SIM? What should we do to protect him and clarify the records? We're in Australia.
3 Answers
Caller ID spoofing is a real possibility: someone can make calls that appear to come from your son’s number without actually controlling his phone. That would explain the different voice messages, although it may not explain why the carrier gave police another person’s name. The police and carrier should verify the actual account and call records rather than assuming the displayed number identifies the caller.
Do not confront the other family directly. Give the detective and the carrier all the information you have and let them compare the carrier’s records with the phone’s SIM and account details. If the number was genuinely transferred or duplicated, the carrier should be able to identify when it happened and which SIM or device was involved. If it was only spoofed, the carrier may confirm that the calls did not originate from your son’s phone.
Contact the carrier’s fraud or security team as soon as possible, preferably with the account holder present. Ask them to check for an unauthorized SIM replacement, number transfer, account changes, linked devices, and unusual usage. Change the account password and security PIN, add extra identity verification, and ask whether the number should be temporarily replaced. Keep copies of bills, account screenshots, dates, and every police reference number.
That’s what worries me—his account app still shows our details, but the carrier’s search apparently returned someone else’s name and address. He also used an unusually large amount of mobile data a few months ago, though we don’t know whether that is connected.