How do people get your phone number

If you have encountered the problem of not knowing your number, then the solution is a relatively easy one. Here we take a look at 9 ways to find your mobile number from your SIM.

1. Enter a Special Code

Firstly, if you have your SIM in your phone then there is a simple way to find out your telephone number. Best of all, this method of obtaining your mobile number is completely free and you don’t even need to leave the comfort of your sofa at home.

Each network in the UK offers a special code that you can call or send a text message, to bring your number up on your display. These codes are as follows:

Vodafone – dial *#100# and press send
EE – text NUMBER to 150
O2 – text NUMBER to 2020
Asda mobile – text MY NUMBER to 2732

If you are terrible at remembering your mobile number, then you can save this special code in your contacts. By storing the special code, you can quickly call or text it, whenever you need to let someone know your mobile telephone number.

2. Call a Friend

This technique has been used for decades because it is straightforward. All you need is a friend, family member or someone nearby to text. Simply call or text this chosen individual and your number will appear on their screen.

You can also use this method if your friend or family member isn’t with you. Just ask them to text your number back to you (or call you back) and hey presto, you will get your number. There is an obvious flaw with this method; if you need the number straight away and your friend is not promptly responsive.

3. Call Customer Services

You can call your network provider and ask them for your mobile number. Often, when you call customer services your details including your phone number will appear on their screens. However, this isn’t always the case, such as when you are calling customer services on your home phone. If this applies, then you should write your SIM card number down, in case you are asked for it.

Here at Asda Mobile, our customer services are open 7 days a week to take your calls.

4. Check Your Phone Settings

On Android the most common path to finding your number is: Settings > About phone/device > Status/phone identity > Network. This slightly differs on Apple devices, where you can follow the path of Settings > Phone > My Number.

5. Look in Your Numbers

With both phones on Android and Apple, you can find your mobile number in your Contacts by clicking on the contact's application and scrolling to the top of the list. Click ‘My Card’ or ‘My Number’ in iOS and the ‘ME’ contact on an Android device. Your phone number will be displayed here with any additional contact details. When it comes to Android phones, menus do differ slightly in terms of where your number is stored. This may mean that you need to look around a bit to find your number.

On an iPhone: If you have an Apple iPhone then there are two ways to find your mobile number in the menus or Phone > Contacts > My Number.

6. Check Your SIM Card Packaging

If you need to find your SIM card number then this may be on the packaging that the SIM card was supplied in. If you don’t have the original packing, then you will need to remove the SIM card from your mobile phone.

7. Visit a Store

If you have not found your mobile number using any of the methods above, then you can take a stroll to the retail store of the network that you are connected to. Retail stores can be busy but they are customer-focused and will be happy to help.

8. Find a Bill or Contract

If you have a mobile phone contract and the paperwork is at hand, then you will find your mobile number printed on this. You will find your number on your original contract, upgrade paperwork or on any of your paper bills.

9. Log into your online account

Some people have online access to their mobile phone account. If you have set this up, then you can go online and log in to your account. You can bookmark this page in your browser to do this quickly in the future.

Get more out of your mobile phone

Now that you've learnt how to easily find your number, why not take a look at some more mobile life hacks? You might also be interested in learning how to get rid of unwanted notifications, or how to take care of your phone.

Your phone number is an easy access point for scammers and identity thieves. Once they know your number, they can use it to send you phishing texts, trick you into installing malware and spyware, or use social engineering attacks to get you to hand over your personal identifying information (PII).

And once they gain access to your PII, it doesn’t take much more to access your financial (and other sensitive) accounts.

Let’s examine how hackers can steal your phone number, what they can do with it, and how you can protect your mobile number and personal information from identity thieves.

How Can Someone Hack Your Phone Number?

If your number falls into the wrong hands, you could become a victim of phone scams, financial fraud, and identity theft.

Unfortunately, it’s remarkably easy to find someone’s number.

Data breaches are among the most common ways that scammers get access to your phone number. But there are plenty of other ways they can steal your digits as well.

“People search” sites like WhoEasy collect and sell your personal data to telemarketers and hackers.

Even if you’re cautious about what you share online, it’s not always possible to keep your number safe from criminals. Here are five common ways a thief may try to find your telephone number:

Social media. Many social media platforms allow (or even require) users to list their phone numbers. While that can help with platform security, it creates a potential security risk for your identity protection. Placing your number on websites and social media networks makes it easy for criminals to contact you and initiate fraud schemes. Here are some more tips on how to enhance your social media privacy.
Phishing scams. Criminals fool unsuspecting victims by sending emails or texts that impersonate legitimate organizations. Once the scammers gain your confidence, they can direct you to a website to obtain personal information, like your phone number. In the first quarter of 2021 alone, researchers discovered over 611,000 phishing sites [*].
The Dark Web. Beneath the publicly accessible section of the internet lies the Dark Web. Among other things, this is where criminals buy and trade personal information that is often stolen during a data breach. Phone numbers were the fourth most-common pieces of personal information leaked via data breaches in 2021 [*].
Shoulder surfing. Scammers can also listen in and steal your phone number while you’re in public places. In a more sophisticated version of the shoulder surfing scam, hackers hack public Wi-Fi and intercept any information you submit to a website.
Stolen mail. Nefarious individuals can rifle through your garbage to find sensitive information. Make sure to shred any documents that contain your phone number and other personal information.

✅ Take action: Scammers can use your stolen personal information to put your bank account, email, and other online accounts could be at risk. Try Aura’s #1-rated identity theft protection free for 14 days to secure your identity against scammers.

What Can Hackers Do with Your Number?

In the past, a hacker couldn’t cause much financial damage with just your personal phone number.

Today, however, our mobile devices serve as much more than address books. We store reams of personal information on our smartphones — including photos, emails, and account passwords.

Once hackers have your number, they can use it to gain access to your most sensitive and valuable data, such as your:

Email accounts and contact lists
Financial assets and bank accounts
Current and previous home addresses
Social media and other online account passwords
Date of birth and Social Security number (SSN)
Names and contact information for your friends and relatives
IP addresses (for both your phone and computer)
Sensitive photos and videos that they can use for blackmail (i.e., “sextortion”)
Documents such as medical records, professional licenses, and ID

Smartphones contain your personal data and digital footprint. This makes them a prime target for fraudsters who want to steal your identity.

📚 Related: How Hackers Get Into Your Computer (And How To Stop Them) →

The Top 8 Ways Hackers Use Your Phone Number Against You

Rerouting your messages
Stealing your personal information
SIM swaps
Text scams and spyware
Doxxing that leads to harassment and fraud
Blackmail using your sensitive data
Spoofing caller ID numbers
Preying on your family

Once criminals have your phone number, they can engage in a range of identity theft schemes.

Here are descriptions of the eight ways hackers could use your phone number to steal your PII — and cause financial damage.

1. Rerouting your texts and calls

Mobile phone companies have security features to prevent scammers from making changes to your account. Unfortunately, however, hackers have found ways to reroute your number.

Here’s how it plays out:

Hackers contact your phone carrier company claiming to be you. They use your stolen personal information to pass security checks.
They ask the company to reroute your phone calls and messages to their number. Once the rerouting is complete, the scammer can intercept all communications meant for you.
Even worse, they can log into your online accounts by selecting “forgot password” and then use the password reset link that is sent to their phone to take over your accounts.
In another version of this scam, fraudsters will message you about an item you have for sale and ask you to “verify” your identity by sending them a code. But what arrives is actually a verification code that will allow the scammer to take over your phone number.

In the news: In March 2021, Vice ran an experiment with a hacker to demonstrate how easy it is to reroute a phone number [*]. Within minutes, the hacker was able to take control of the reporter’s number. The hacker then rerouted all calls and messages and gained access to the reporter’s Bumble, WhatsApp, and Postmates accounts.

📚 Related: How To Know if Your Phone Is Hacked (and What To Do) →

2. Stealing your personal information

Because most of us rarely change our phone numbers, those numbers become deeply connected to our other personal information. That means that if scammers have access to your phone number, they can find out all sorts of other information about you (and use it to steal your identity).

Here’s how it plays out:

Scammers find your phone number on social media or by using a reverse lookup service like Whitepages.
Next, they search your number online to find other information that is attached to it. This could include other online accounts, your address, birthdate, and more.
They use this information to steal your identity, or to design social engineering attacks that you’re likely to fall for.

✅ Take action: If scammers get your sensitive personal data, they could take out loans in your name or empty your bank account. Try an identity theft protection service to monitor your finances and alert you to fraud.

3. SIM swaps

SIM swapping — or SIM jacking — occurs when fraudsters use your mobile carrier’s “porting” feature to gain access to your phone number. Porting is a security feature that protects your data when you change phone carriers. But scammers can exploit the system to take ownership of your number under a new SIM card.

Here’s how it plays out:

A scammer calls your phone carrier company and impersonates you to request that the company "port-out" your phone number.
The company switches your phone number to the hacker’s SIM card.
With control of your phone number, the hacker not only can receive messages on your behalf — but also send messages, make calls, and access your accounts.

In the news: Twitter CEO, Jack Dorsey, was a victim of a SIM swap scam in 2019 [*] when hackers used his phone number to take over his Twitter account. Since then, the problem has grown. The FBI reported 1,611 complaints in 2021 with victims losing a combined $68 million to SIM swapping scams [*].

📚 Related: Is Identity Theft Protection Really Worth It? →

4. Text scams and spyware

Fake text message scams (also known as smishing) are an increasingly common method that hackers use to try and trick people into sharing sensitive information or downloading malware onto their devices.

An example of a smishing text designed to get you to click on a malicious link.

Here’s how it plays out:

Perpetrators send malicious SMS, texts, or messages on Telegram and WhatsApp that claim to be from reputable businesses.
The messages include phone numbers or links to phishing websites. If you engage with either, the hacker will attempt to obtain your personal information.
Alternative text scams include bogus links that initiate a malware download. If you click on the link, your phone downloads spyware that allows hackers to read your messages and access your online accounts.

Aura protects your devices from scammers, monitors your online and financial accounts for signs of fraud, and keeps your passwords secure. And if the worst should happen, you’re covered by a $1 million insurance policy for eligible losses due to identity theft.

How do random numbers get my number?

Social media, web search, and directories on the web. Phone numbers are spread across many social media platforms, websites, and phone directories around the Internet. To glean phone numbers from the web, fraudsters use various techniques, such as web-scraping.

What can a stranger do with your phone number?

Once someone has your number, they may be able to find out other personal information about you through social engineering or other means. They could then use this information to commit fraud or steal your identity. It's important to be vigilant about who you share your personal information with.

Can someone make a call from my number without my phone?

Can someone use my cell phone number to make calls? Yes, they can. Telemarketers and spam callers do it all the time.

How do hackers get your phone number?

Hackers contact your phone carrier company claiming to be you. They use your stolen personal information to pass security checks. They ask the company to reroute your phone calls and messages to their number. Once the rerouting is complete, the scammer can intercept all communications meant for you.