Strange phonecall...

Last night my friend got a strange phone call from a number beginning with '222' (I googled and thats the calling code for Mauritania which is in west Africa).

She said the man on the phone sounded spanish. He knew her name and obviously some of her details as he had got her number but he was telling her that he was with me and my daughter. He was using our full names too (I don't use my real name much, I've used my nickname for about 10 years now, and I don't have facebook anymore so the little details I had there aren't public). He kept saying 'I am with 'mama' and 'baby' and when she asked if she could speak to me he said yes. Then she would wait and he did nothing but was talking to someone in another language. She asked again and he just said 'I'm not with her but I am WITH her'

Arrrgh, so freaked out.
What the hell could this be?
My first thought was a scam of some sort but he had no intentions other than telling my friend he was with us. He didn't ask for money/details or anything, he didn't threaten anything.. She put her boss on the phone as she was at work and was getting stressed out. Her boss threatened to report him to the police and he just laughed and said 'yes okay'.... Meh. I'm sure the weirdest things always happen to me! I'm not scared, just a little freaked out and confused as to how they know our names/got her number and why he would call up and randomly say that...

 

¯\(°_o)/¯

 

Holy shit. I'm not sure who you would report that to but I would definitely try to report it to someone. That is freaky

 

(1) Do you know anybody, who knows anybody, who lives/lived in the area the phone number traced back to?

(2) How well do you trust this friend?

(3) Have you been seen with a man recently? Have you acquired any new friends recently who you gave your real name to?



My thinking is that maybe someone, who has a phone with this calling code, or who has a friend with this phone, has seen you with someone and is fishing around to find out who it is... Possibly the story is even made up from the female who is telling you about it.

 

My guess:

West africa (Nigeria) is currently a hotbed for internet scamming. Mauritania is south africa but I wouldn't rule it out. Craigslist advises buyers to be wary of ads or buyers from there.

Your friend was being scamed. The perpetrator obtained your and her information from the internet somehow (maybe emails).

You should use an anti-virus program that you pay for annually. I've been happy with Kaspersky.

 

That's a very strange call. And I work for a phone company. The call could have come from about anywhere, however. I think it's more likely someone your friend knows than something weird being conjured up in Africa. If you get any more details that you can share, let me know.

 

I dont know anybody from there, neither does she.
She's the only girl I'd class as a friend, we've been close since 4 years old.
I barely leave the house so I've not been seen with anyone. Last time I was out with a man was either July or August, and other than that its only ever me and the baby, and we only ever really go round the block or to one of two local parks.

It's just really odd, I don't think she would make it up, not sure but she called me straight after in a panick to check I was at home and alright. I've asked her to send me the number so I can look it up online maybe. Searching 'spanish guy pretending to be with someone' didn't get me very far lol. There's a chance she could be exaggerating but she sounded just as freaked out as me

Would the calling code still be the same whether or not they were in that specific country?

 

those african kidnap gangs arent that smart...they probably forgot that you dont make the ransom call until after the kidnapping

 

I get prank calls a lot but not like that. I suggest you report that to your telephone company and have the number blocked.

 

And I think it's important you report that number to www.callercenter.com too. Raise a warning about the caller so everybody's aware. Others could be getting their calls, too.

 

That is very weird and intense. More so than the time i got a call from a north korean (yes north) number asking me if i had any lip balm and cameras to sell.

 

There are apps that allow you to hide your real number and show any number you want.

You could make a call from 696-969-6969 if you want.