Why it matters
Phone number spoofing can cause confusion, harm trust, and lead to concerns about account security. Understanding what spoofing is and how to respond helps protect your business and support affected contacts.
Key Concepts
Number spoofing: A technique where a malicious sender disguises their phone number to make messages appear as though they come from someone else.
Malicious sender: An individual or system intentionally using spoofing to deceive, scam, or harass recipients.
Telecom complaint: A formal report filed with a carrier to investigate fraudulent or spoofed SMS activity.
Understanding Phone Number Spoofing
Phone number spoofing occurs when a sender falsifies caller ID information so the message appears to come from a different number.
This tactic is commonly used by telemarketers, scammers, or bad actors—often operating outside your region or country. Because of spoofing, caller ID cannot always be relied on to verify the true sender.
What You Can Do
If contacts report receiving inappropriate or unexpected SMS messages that appear to come from your number, follow these steps:
1. Ask the contact to report the issue to their telecom provider
The recipient should contact their carrier and file a complaint.
Their provider can investigate by reviewing logs and working with other networks to trace the origin of the spoofed message.
2. File a complaint with the FCC (United States)
Spoofing incidents can be reported at:
Reporting helps authorities track patterns and combat fraudulent activity.
Important Notes
Networks often cannot fully trace spoofed messages due to how spoofing is performed.
Filing complaints helps carriers and regulators monitor and block malicious behavior.
Spoofing does not mean the sender’s number or Whippy account is compromised; it means a bad actor is impersonating the number.
Tips and Best Practices
Encourage affected contacts to avoid responding to suspected spoofed messages.
Monitor your messaging activity in Whippy to confirm no unauthorized messages were sent.
Educate team members about spoofing risks and how to respond if customers report suspicious messages.
If you see any unexpected messages in Whippy, change your password and confirm account access controls.
Troubleshooting
Issue | Possible Cause | Fix |
Contacts receive messages you did not send | Number spoofed by a malicious sender | Ask the recipient to contact their carrier and file an FCC complaint |
Concern about account security | Fear that account was compromised | Review message logs and update password if needed |
Spoofing persists for multiple contacts | Ongoing malicious activity | Encourage all affected recipients to report incidents to their carriers |
Unable to trace message origin | Spoofing hides true sender | Telecom provider and FCC investigation required |