Has anyone dealt with phone number spoofing or harassment like this (Australia / Telstra)?
Over the past two weeks, someone has been impersonating me and making fake bookings (pizza, electricians, plumbers, tow trucks and other trade ) sent to my workplace. In one day I had 7 different trades rock up. It’s causing real disruption, embarrassing but also humiliating.
I’ve been documenting everything, and I’m not the only one — at least two other people I know are experiencing the same thing.
We suspect this may be linked to a group of trolls from a social media live-streaming app called SKOUT, where there were previous interactions. I’ve since stopped engaging entirely.
I’ve contacted my provider and reported this to police. I’ve also tried tracing any links through PayID and social media, but I haven’t been able to identify who is responsible.
At this point, I feel like I’ve exhausted every option available to me. The situation is ongoing and it’s starting to impact my day-to-day life — I even find myself dreading going to work because of what might happen next.
For context, I’ve previously been doxed, so I’m very aware of how serious online privacy breaches can be. This feels like a continuation of targeted harassment.
But what I’m trying to understand:
• Has anyone successfully stopped this?
• Does Telstra actually trace these cases?
• Any steps I should take beyond reporting
This feels targeted and ongoing, so any advice would be appreciated. BTW they provide same numbers 2 of them and have even tried to get them to describe the male individual making these calls
Police haven’t been able to take much action so far, mainly because I don’t know who is behind it and the calls aren’t being made directly to me.
What’s making this worse is the real-world impact — trades are driving out expecting legitimate work, only to find it’s a prank. I then have to explain the situation, and understandably some have been frustrated, with a couple of situations almost escalating.
This is starting to affect my safety and my workplace, not just being an inconvenience.
Has anyone dealt with something like this and actually managed to stop it?