Have you ever paused to consider the fate of your old mobile phone number? I certainly hadn’t. That was until a middle-aged taxi driver from the home counties swivelled in his seat and, looking somewhat bewildered, enquired: “how long have you had those digits for?”
Before I could respond, he continued: “I was waiting outside and typed your number into my phone. When I pressed call, my best friend’s name came up. He died eight years ago.”
Eight years was how long I’d had this number.
In an age where mobile phones exist as an extension of ourselves, the thought we could inhabit a strangers’ phonebook for decades under a different alias is a little disconcerting.
One look at your WhatsApp contacts list, for example, will likely reveal countless profile photos that don’t match the contact names they accompany.
It stems, in part, from our desire to endlessly back-up information in a digital age – a move that’s led us to possess the details of complete strangers from across the world, in place of acquaintances, without us even realising it.
So what really happens to your old number once you’ve decided to ditch it?
Between the festival burner phones and a handful of contract terminations, we amass an ever-growing list of digits over the course of our lifetimes.
The latest figures from mobile data analysis group GSMA Intelligence show that as of March 2019, the number of unique worldwide mobile subscribers stood at 5.13 billion. That equates to over two thirds of the world’s population now laying claim to a mobile connection.
As a result, UK networks coming under increasing pressure to acquire new numbers. Combine that with a finite pool of 11-digit number combinations starting with an 07 prefix, and it stands to reason that the mobile phone industry would turn to recycling in order to cater to demand.
Communications watchdog Ofcom assigns mobile numbers to UK network providers in blocks of 1,000, who in-tern distribute them to new customers as they see fit. They’re also the body charged with regulating the practice of phone number recycling
When it comes to Pay As You Go (PAYG) phone numbers, Ofcom enforce a strict ‘use it or lose it’ policy. This means a mobile phone operator has the right to suspend an unused service and re-allocate it to ensure numbers are being used efficiently.
The policy coincides with a trend of network providers sending out free Pay As You Go (PAYG) sims with pre-assigned numbers to customers. With many of these sims never actually being activated, there’s a growing list of allocated numbers that would otherwise lie dormant.
An Ofcom spokesperson told the Standard: “There are good reasons why unused phone numbers are recycled, but it’s important that customers are fairly treated.
“We expect providers’ contract terms and practices to strike a fair balance. They should ensure numbers are not recycled too early and that customers get fair warning about the need to use their phones before any credit is lost.”
The buffer period between a number being terminated and recycled differs from network to network. When questioned, two of the UK’s ‘Big Four’ networks – Vodafone and O2 – said their recycling time frames after disconnection were 90 days and 12 months respectively.
A spokesperson for O2 told the Standard: “We have a number of internal processes in place and criteria to be met as part of our recycling process before we release a mobile number for reuse. In some cases, we will hold a number back from being reused until all criteria has been met.”
Vodafone follow similar guidelines, additionally implementing steps to ensure users aren’t bombarded with spam messages intended for the previous owner.
“We remove all the originating numbers that have sent an SMS to the previous owner in the last three months, any premium SMS numbers and subscriptions identified against the number,” noted a a Vodafone spokesperson.
Recycling, however, takes a somewhat sinister turn when you consider the number of apps – from Facebook to Gmail – that require your phone number as an alternative sign-in or password recovery method.
Earlier this year, Emojipedia founder Jeremy Burge saw his Twitter thread on the subject go viral after he revealed Facebook’s two-factor authentication feature, designed to enhance account security, allowed users to look him up using only his phone number.
Although Burge’s case highlights the risks posed to your current number, the process creates a similar risk where past contact details are concerned.
With an increasing number of apps demanding your phone number as an additional security measure, it’s not always possible to keep track of the sign-in services holding this information. As a result, if you find yourself changing your number but fail to update these settings, there’s every chance your profile could be returned in searches in a case of mistaken identity.
It also appears I’m not alone when it comes to tales of recycled phone numbers from beyond the grave.
In 2010, Bulgarian mobile phone company Mobitel were forced to suspended the number 0888 888 888 after every single person who was assigned it died within a 10 year period. After the owners – who included Mobitel’s former CEO; a Bulgarian mafia boss; and a crooked estate agent who secretly ran a cocaine smuggling operation – passed away, callers were instead greeted by a message telling them that the phone was simply “outside network coverage”.
Although the life of some numbers may be cut short, many, including that of my cab driver’s friend, will continue their journey for many years to come.
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