Several viewers contacted the Ask Anthony team about their landline phone numbers being switched to another provider without their permission.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Your phone number could be stolen and you might not even know it until it’s gone.
Numerous First Coast News viewers have reached out to the Ask Anthony team with concerns about their landline phone numbers being transferred to another provider without their authorization.
Robin Scott-Giles, an AT&T customer, said she discovered the problem after trying to make a phone call and finding out she had no service.
“They told me they received a work order from Verizon requesting the disconnection of my phone in order to transfer it to Verizon,” said Scott-Giles.
Scott-Giles said her number had been ported, or moved, to another phone company through a request she never made.
“Having worked in IT and with customers before… my question was, why wasn’t this verified with me? I attempted to ask this question when they informed me about the work order from Verizon,” she stated.
She’s not alone. Other viewers say their landlines were ported without their authorization.
“I have had a landline in my house for 27 years. Important to have to allow my wife to work from home,” wrote William in an email to First Coast News. “I recently found out my landline number was ported from AT&T to Verizon Wireless at no fault of my own and unauthorized by me.”
Another viewer, Linda, shared a similar experience.
“The last week of April, I received an email from AT&T to recycle my equipment. When I called to ask them what equipment they wanted recycled, they told me that my house phone had been ported to Verizon,” she wrote. “This request was done without my authorization and without my knowledge. Since that time, I have spent hours on the phone with Verizon and AT&T to try to get my house phone number back. It caused us quite a bit of trouble.”
A possible cause? A type of identity theft known as Port-Out Fraud.
According to the Federal Communications Commission, transferring your number to a new phone company, known as porting, is a legal and common process. But if a scammer gets enough of your personal information, they can impersonate you and reroute your number, potentially to intercept your calls or gain access to sensitive data like bank accounts.
“I know you have a broad audience and I really wanted to get the word out to other people that could potentially be in this situation coming up,” said Scott-Giles.
Anthony Austin has contacted representatives from both AT&T and Verizon and shared the viewer complaints. A Verizon spokesperson acknowledged that this kind of fraud affects the entire telecom industry and said the company has safeguards in place to help prevent it.
If this happens to you, experts recommend immediately contacting your phone provider and your bank, and placing a fraud alert on your credit reports. You can also file a report with the FCC.
