I keep getting calls from phones with the same 6 digits as my cell, but the last 4 digits are different. I've received at least 10 calls from different numbers with the same pattern, that I don't answer. Yesterday I got a message from a woman in Montana saying that I called her, but had the wrong number since she is in Montana. The deal is I didn't call her number. Also, the area code for her call was 214 (Dallas) but she was in Montana...?

It seems like some sort of animated scam is auto dialing using the same 6 digits and looking for active numbers. Can anyone explain what this is and any risk?

It's incredibly easy to spoof caller ID data to say anything. I get calls almost every day from shady-sounding roofing and "home inspection" companies that are going to be "in the area tomorrow!"

I've noticed that when we get these calls on our landline which shows name and number on caller ID, oftentimes it's a number and name of someone who actually lives closeby in the neighborhood. I figure the spoofing is done to make people more likely to answer (if they see a number that has the same prefix, etc).

I got one a few weeks ago on my cell from my cell number.

Either it was a scam or a future me was time travelling and was too busy to stop by, but figured a phone call would be nice.

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I got one a few weeks ago on my cell from my cell number.

Either it was a scam or a future me was time travelling and was too busy to stop by, but figured a phone call would be nice.

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Thank you for not answering it and not tearing a hole in the space-time continuum

My mom got a call on her landline from my dad (his name and the home phone number showed up on the caller ID). Problem is that he died in 2010 and the phone has been in her name for the past twenty years.

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My mom got a call on her landline from my dad (his name and the home phone number showed up on the caller ID). Problem is that he died in 2010 and the phone has been in her name for the past twenty years.

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I got a call from a "local" number last week, they left a message in a thick middle eastern accent saying I owed $5300 in back taxes, and if I did not call them back within an hour the sheriff would come arrest me.

Another call around Thanksgiving last year from Jamaica, dude said I spent $10 at Wal-Mart and automatically entered a lottery, which (what are the odds!?) I won! I just had to send them the tax money ahead of time...via a Wal-Mart gift card.

People actually fall for these scams. It is so freaking sad. I heard a story on a podcast about a lady who actually did owe back taxes and was working to pay them off, and the "IRS" called threatening immediate arrest if she did not pay $6000 immediately. She paid the money the way they asked her...a green dot gift card. She read the numbers to them over the phone.

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Also, the area code for her call was 214 (Dallas) but she was in Montana...?

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Totally unrelated to the topic but my cell phone is 409 area code (Beaumont/Galveston area) and I live in Indiana. I moved and never changed it (10 years ago).