The next time you get a phone call, if the number is eerily close to yours, there’s a good chance it’s a scam.
It’s a day ending with “day”, which means scammers are up to some tricks again. This time, the trick is about how we pick up our phone calls, essentially how we choose them, with phone numbers very close to the phone number we use being the way we might believe something.
In the past few days, we’ve seen this trend, and readers have as as well, making it one to be aware of, as call scammers turn to adjacent numbers.
What’s an adjacent phone number?
Also called a neighbouring phone number, an adjacent number is a phone number that is very close to your own, often starting with the same numbers, but missing your final two or three.
In Australia, even phone number begins as 04 or +614 depending on if you use the international call code, and then offers eight numbers for the rest. Those eight numbers are likely to be different, but if your phone number is something like 0411444091, an adjacent number is very likely going to use the first six numbers, with 04114440 in the call.
Those six numbers put the phone call you’re receiving within spitting distance of your own, and may convince you that someone important is calling you, even if it’s just a phone number like yours appearing on your phone.
How does an adjacent number scam work?
Working…
