Over the past 3 months, I have been receiving random phone calls from
random creditors asking for random people. This started suddenly, and
I receive approximately 5 calls per day. Only rarely do two separate
calls ask for the same person, or are from the same creditor, and none
of them have been for me. This amounts to hundreds of DIFFERENT
creditors calling for hundreds of DIFFERENT people - all to my phone
number.

If I answer and say "wrong number", they obviously either persist or
think I'm lying. If they do finally delete my number from their
system, it does nothing to reduce the number of calls I receive. It
seems some other creditor asking for "Mark Mitchell" or "Janey Smith"
takes the place in line.

I've had this phone number for 3 years now, with the same company, and
have never had this problem before. But since it's started, it hasn't
stopped, and there seems to be no end. The creditors seem to think the
number has been valid all along, and suddenly isn't valid anymore.

Also, on slightly rarer occsions, I'm asked for by name (the right
name), and then I'm notified that I'm listed as a reference on either
a loan application or some other sort of credit application, and
they're trying to get in touch with the person who filled out the
application. I NEVER know the person they're trying to reach, and they
always seem flabbergasted that I don't know who they're talking about.

I've asked several people for an investigation as to how and when my
phone number showed up on record, to try and make sense of it, but
nobody seems to have an answer. I don't have an answer, either - if I
consistently say "wrong number", the frequency of calls doesn't
decrease at all... if I ignore the calls, the creditors get angry and
think their indebtor is trying to avoid them, so they call MORE.

My question to you, world, is what in the world is going on? And I
don't want "change your number" as an answer - I want to make sense of
all this. I'm completely at a loss as to how this is happening - how
suddenly hundreds of people who couldn't pay their bills gave my phone
number as theirs. What's the deal?

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Request for Question Clarification by cynthia-ga on 21 Apr 2006 02:04 PDT

When was the last time you looked at a copy of your credit report, one
from each of the Big 3?

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Clarification of Question by usafkisser-ga on 21 Apr 2006 06:14 PDT

I haven't checked my reports per se, but I subscribe to a credit
monitoring service that monitors my credit score daily in each of the
Top 3. Over the last 3 months, all 3 scores have gone up.

Some other clarification to comments posted:

> 5 per day for 3 months is about 100

Actually, it's about 450 :) but from time to time, it gets worse (10
calls per day), so my guess is probably close.

> However one person could easily make 5 applications per day. They
could have lifted your name and number from a telephone directory.

The thing is, the line is a VOIP (voice over IP) line, and as such, is
not listed in any directory I'm aware of. I don't even think it's
possible for it to be listed. Also, the nature of the calls seems to
be "I NEED TO TALK TO YOU NOW. THIS IS AN IMPORTANT MATTER. CALL ME
BACK THIS INSTANT.", so I don't think they're follow-ups to normal
applications. It just seems that somehow my phone number became
associated with hundreds of people that couldn't pay their bills.

I would try to ask for address information to reverse-check the
companies, but I don't think even notification to the fraud
departments will make a difference, since every call is from a
different company. I think it would have the same effect as my current
plea of "wrong number".

I initially thought 'scam' as well, but I couldn't figure out what the
scammer would be gaining, other than not having to deal with
creditors. Since my credit score is fine, they're not using my SSN.
And if this is some type of scam, the scammer uses 700 different names
and deals with 700 different credit companies. Seems a little complex.

But thanks for the comments so far! Quite enlightening - keep going! I
want to figure this out!

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Request for Question Clarification by pafalafa-ga on 21 Apr 2006 10:02 PDT

Next company that calls, ask them for their phone number to call them back.

When another company calls asking how to get in touch with Joe Blow,
give them the phone number of the first company.

Won't solve your problem, but it might be fun.

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Clarification of Question by usafkisser-ga on 21 Apr 2006 18:04 PDT

Oh yeah, fun in theory, but then it'll just make them madder, and then
they'll think I actually DO know the person, and so they'll call more
frequently. Creative idea, though.

I would suggest you tell us, world ;), your number. But this will
probably make it worse...
I think the crucial thing is your number - there are many ways to do
something someone has done to you, but to find the right way to solve
it, we should know something more - not your name (because these
people usually don't use it), but your phone number.

It seems to me that you have been a victim of some sort of identity theft. 

Writing a letter to the agency telling them to stop contacting you
will force them to stop. - the problem, if I get it right, that there
are several different agencies.

Hundreds of creditors
- 5 per day for 3 months is about 100

At first it sounded as if someone has made up a 'scam kit' and sold it
on to other people.

However one person could easily make 5 applications per day.

Even so, this must be very annoying.

They could have lifted your name and number from a telephone directory.
Cynthia is spot on about checking your credit report.

It does not sound as if you are being personally harrassed, otherwise
you would be getting pizza deliveries and morticians turning up.

One method of dealing with this is to ask the callers whether they
have an address for you, it is unlikely that they do not, then ask
them a few details to check whether it is your address.

If it is not, then tell them to do a reverse lookup on your number,
then call you back.

http://www.whitepages.com/10001/reverse_phone

You really need to get these callers to realize that they are being
scammed, once their fraud departments get on to it, things will start
getting sorted out.

I am rather surprized that these callers have not shown interest
before in what is going on.

Incidentally, try to keep a log of who has called you, date, time,
name they are after, company, contact, reference (if any).

If you sound business like, they will probably tell you that stuff.

Someone might be able to piece things together, that way they can
pounce on later applications and keep an eye on the mail drop address
that the scammer uses.

tdck-ga: Phone number is 1-850-392-0286. Take it and run with it. Do
whatever you have to. Just don't sell it, lol ;)

As an interesting, partially relevant, aside, I had the following experience.

   I've a younger brother who got himself in debt way over his head.
He was living hundreds of miles away from me. Collectors eventually
started trying to hunt him down (he was in the act of evading his
creditors), and would make phone calls to anyone, usually family
members, to whom he had any tracable connection.

   But after a few years the traffic of collectors dried up. In time,
the people who formerly got calls wanting to find him for legal action
became creditors wanting to sell him... more credit! They wanted to
lend him money!

   After being married I moved to my wife's home town, which is about
150 miles away from my & my brother's hometown. Eventually I started
getting sales calls, for my brother, at my number in that town which
he'd never set foot in.

   One day someone called who wasn't even selling loans outright. The
person on the phone was selling vinyl siding. I asked the caller how,
exactly, he knew to call my particular number in search of my brother.
The guy on the phone said that he was simply a telemarketer, calling
his list of phone numbers, asking for the names attached. I spelled
out that my bro had never lived at my address, he'd never even been in
that town, ever. I said in no uncertain terms that the call list being
used was at least partially bogus, since it had information on it
which I knew for a fact to be utterly wrong.

   Soon after that I stopped getting calls asking for my brother.

I had a friend that used a humorous way to get creditors to stop calling...

Give them this number for the people they are trying to reach: 

Dial-A-Prayer (845) 855-5111 (check to be sure it's still working.)

One of my brothers was rather irresponsible on the credit side.

My parents started getting odd 'phone calls (he must have used their
address) saying he had won competitions etc.

I suggested the stock answer: 
  'If you find him, let us know, he owes us quite a lot of money'

The calls dried up.

If you can resist grabbing the phone at the first ring, you might
install an answering device and load it with a text along the line:
"Due to calls from a fraudulent sources, all incoming calls are being
recorded and traced.  If you wish to continue, please wait while the
system identifies your phone number."

Might warn your friends first.  :-)

Have you done an online search for your phone number? 

I am leaning towards frde-ga's theory of your number being used in a
'scam kit'and, not being a scammer, I can't suggest why they'd bother.

Or else your number could have somehow become a default phone number
on a tele call centre dialling program/list. These lists are sold to
credit companies so it's probably worth pursuing the issue via the
people calling you. Demand to speak to their supervisor.

This isn't what you wanted but it's related (sort of). I have found
that simply hanging up when telemarketers call (no smart remarks or
anything, just hang up) has meant that my nuisance call rate has
dropped from an average of 3 calls a day to one or two per month. I
think it has something to do with their computer not registering a
response so my phone number is considered inactive. Not sure, but
something's working.