Number Transferred by O2 Without Customer’s Knowledge

[John2]

Has anyone on here experience of O2 transferring their number to anyone else without telling them, probably to a their, and how long did it take to get the number back?

[MI5]

There was a scam reported recently whereby someone would go into a phone shop and get a replacement sim for an account which wasn't their's to gain access to bank details etc.
If you have lost your number, you need to report the mistake / fraud to O2 immediately.
https://www.o2.co.uk/help/safety-and-security/fraud-and-phishing-advice

[John2]

I’ve just been reading those horror stories. 

It was reported to O2 last week but it doesnt seem a big deal to them. Their fraud department only works 9 - 6 Monday to Friday and Customer Service say they can’t do anything about it. 

The ‘lost phone’ scam was tried the on the same account day before the number was stolen but even that didn’t trouble them. 

I was wondering how common this is. 

[MI5]

There was a piece on Watchdog about it apparently.
Seems common across all networks unfortunately.

@Martin-O2 @EmilieT can you get anyone to take this seriously to help @John2

[Martin-O2]

Cheers for the mention on this one @MI5. @John2 We can certainly get someone to pick this up for you. I'll need a couple of details to proceed so I'll drop you a private message. 

[John2]

As it’s my friend that’s going through it I can’t give you the details. This twitter thread will lead you to your social media team who are fully aware as she is on the thread.

Thanks for any help you can give.

https://twitter.com/johnmcardle4/status/1059418415792865280?s=21

[John2]

She’s back on now Thanks.

[Martin-O2]

Thanks @John2! I'll pass this over to the social media team to make sure it's properly resolved. Happy to hear your friend has their number back!