Possible Scam - Mobile Phone Companies 'Supposely' Sharing Information

[Wishes]

I got a phone call yesterday from somebody claiming to be calling from a well known mobile phone network company who wanted me to change from my current network to their provider.

The whole situation sounded very dodgy as he asked me for my account details over the phone so I could avail of their cheap top of the range phones plus he seemed to have forgotten my name during the duration of the conversation. He also didn't want me to call him back but insisted he phone me. Needless to say I haven't heard a word since. I asked him were he got my number from and he said he was given them by provider.

Have I got this wrong and the whole situation is legit? Do rival mobile phone companies exchange information about their customers?

 

[Leo]

Why would one company provide information to another that could result in them losing business?

 

[Bob_tg]

Do rival mobile phone companies exchange information about their customers?

No, for a myriad of reasons; not limited to competition, data protection laws, and possibly regulatory restrictions.

This sounds like a criminal scam.

Did you get the record of the phone number on your display? To be safe, I think you should report it to the gardai who might be able to identify the culprit and stop them before they scam anyone else.

 

[jhegarty]

Could just be one phone company calling all their competitors customers looking for them to switch.

 

[mathepac]

Could just be one phone company calling all their competitors customers looking for them to switch.

I think you've missed the point - where did they get OP's information from in the first place, including phone number and service provider?

 

[jhegarty]

Lists of phone numbers are easy to get, the provider is usually the same at the number prefix , and I am guessing that didn't have any further details.

 

[Wishes]

I rang my provider who said they would under no way give out anyone's details especially to a rival mobile phone company. Plus every customer is protected under the data protection act.

I also rang the company that the person supposedly rang from to be told that - yes they do get access to data i.e as simply as what was mentioned by JHegarty on the previous post. They couldn't 100% confirm that it was one of their reps but they thought it very much sounded like it was and yes they do ask for account details if they are trying to sell a product by way of a one off standing order

So too very conflicting answers.