What can I do if someone else is spoofing my number and making calls?

If you receive reports of suspicious calls from your number, your caller ID might be used by outside parties for fraudulent purposes. It is possible for fraudsters to falsely assume your caller ID to conduct telemarketing scams or other nefarious activities. These scams can negatively affect both you, as the entity associated with this caller ID, as well as the receiver of these calls. However, this doesn't necessarily mean that your phone or the data associated with your number will be accessed by the party making the call.

Using a caller ID to intentionally mislead or defraud individuals is against Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and OFCOM rules, but it happens often because it is easy for scammers to appropriate caller ID information. Also, it is difficult to determine the origin of these calls.

You can decrease the risk of your number being used without your permission if you give out your number only when absolutely necessary. Do not save your number on web forms or when purchasing things online.

To alleviate this situation, you can:

US customers can file a complaint with the FCC.

UK customers can find more information on UK Complaints Code of Practice (PDF) for how to get in touch with OFCOM.