So last night, I called my friend, but she couldn’t hear me well, so we decided she’d hang up and call me back instead. She’s got a US number, living in Canada, and I have a Canadian number. When she called back and I picked up, I expected her, but instead, I heard two men with Eastern European accents discussing bitcoin. They even asked if I was expecting someone else.
My friend said when she called, her line went dead on her end. This was unsettling for both of us… anyone know what could have happened?
Ashby said:
Maybe try contacting your carrier and see if they have any info on this. Sounds like it could be something they could look into.
You might also want to use something like FaceTime, Skype, or Snapchat to talk. If both of you have iPhones, FaceTime audio works well and is encrypted.
There’s actually a good video on this kind of stuff on YouTube—“Exposing the Flaw in Our Phone System” by Veritasium. It’s about how outdated and insecure the phone system is, and how anyone with money can buy access to spoof or hijack calls by pretending to roam on another network.
@Jason
I watched that video recently and was thinking about it when this happened. Should I be worried? Could this have just been random, or is it more likely someone was targeting us specifically?
Years ago, I called my wife’s saved contact, and a stranger was on the line. When I called again, she answered like normal. It was such a bizarre experience!
That’s so creepy! Maybe your call got hijacked somehow. Definitely check privacy settings on your phones, and make sure they’re updated. Good to double-check these things!
It could just be an error with your carrier routing the call through some weird path. Carriers sometimes pick random routes instead of giving a clear playback message.
Arielle said:
It could just be an error with your carrier routing the call through some weird path. Carriers sometimes pick random routes instead of giving a clear playback message.
(Source: telecom engineer)
Agreed. Carriers change routes often, and mistakes happen. If you report it, your carrier can trace it back through the chain to fix the issue. (Former telecom engineer here too.)
If this only happened once, it might have just been a random glitch. I’ve had similar things happen every few years, though it’s super rare these days. Not impossible with all the digital stuff, but unusual.
Maybe your call got hijacked somehow. Definitely check privacy settings on your phones, and make sure they’re updated. Good to double-check these things!