I've had four different phone numbers over time, and each one has received calls and texts intended for another person. Right now, people keep contacting me looking for someone named Theresa, including automated messages about confirming veterinary surgery appointments. Is there any way to notify her or the businesses that they have the wrong number? If I text my own number, it only comes back to me, so I'm unsure how to reach the intended recipient. Also, does receiving these messages mean Theresa might be receiving messages meant for me too, or are these mix-ups happening only on my end?
4 Answers
A phone number can only belong to one active account at a time, so this probably isn’t two people sharing the exact same number. More likely, someone is repeatedly entering your number by mistake, or you received a recycled number that used to belong to them. Businesses and automated systems may still have the previous owner’s contact information saved.
Receiving someone else’s texts does not normally mean they are receiving yours. Text messages are routed to the exact number entered by the sender. Unless someone is deliberately using your number or there is an unusual carrier account problem, this is most likely a one-way mistake involving their contact records.
The best fix is to contact the business sending the messages, using an official phone number from its website, and ask them to remove your number from the customer’s account. Don’t reply to suspicious or unexpected texts, since replying can confirm that your number is active. For ordinary spam, block and report the messages.
Changing numbers doesn’t necessarily solve it because disconnected numbers are eventually reassigned. If this keeps happening, ask your carrier whether the number was recently recycled and whether they can place a note on the account or offer another number. A typo in one digit or a missing area code can also send calls and texts to you.
It’s also possible that someone printed the wrong number on an advertisement or entered it into several forms. That would explain why the same person’s appointments keep reaching you.