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Ever wondered what happens to your old phone number when you change your phone or sim card? Most of us think that our old 11-digit number just stops working, but that’s not the case especially when UK mobile phone networks are under pressure to create new numbers. If you want to find out more about how our old numbers are recycled just like our mobile phones and why.
UK mobile phone networks are increasingly under pressure when it comes to getting new phone numbers which is why the industry has turned to recycling to keep up with the demand. When your mobile phone number has been recycled, it means that your old phone number has successfully been reactivated or disconnected and is then reassigned to someone else. Why? Basically to ensure that every phone number is being used efficiently because as you can imagine, there are lots of people who own more than one phone! Of course, this doesn’t happen straight away, a network provider will always leave a length of time before it decides that a phone number is officially inactive which can be from 70 days to six months, sometimes longer! This time frame differs between mobile phone networks:
O2 PAYG SIMs waits 6 months before recycling a deactivated phone number
Vodafone PAYG SIMs waits 180 days before recycling a deactivated phone number
EE PAYG SIMs are deactivated after 6 months of non-chargeable use.
If you want to correctly deactivate your number, then you should call your network provider and explain your situation. Note that you will need the correct forms of ID to hand as they will need to verify it is you. Most network providers will be able to deactivate your SIM with your old number just by carrying out a few steps over the phone and will let you know when it has successfully been deactivated.
The good news is that these companies do ensure that the new owner of each reassigned number is not bombarded with messages and calls intended for the previous owner. However, it is the responsibility of the previous owner of the recycled phone number to remove and update their number connected to their personal accounts, e.g. Amazon, emails, banks, but we’ll get more into that!
Although the process of recycling numbers seems great so far, it can become problematic for the recipient, because many popular apps, including Gmail, Facebook and even TikTok, require that you provide your mobile number for password recovery or as an additional way to provide security to an account. What this means is that if the recycled number has not successfully been removed from these accounts, it’s possible that you will still be linked to them whilst also having access to that person's personal information.
Countless apps will give you the option to choose from either using your phone number as a recommended added security measure (like text or SMS) but be aware that this can introduce more vulnerabilities. Although providing your phone number seems like the easier option, it’s definitely not the safest. Instead, you should use an email address purely because a phone number is not necessarily permanent. What most of us forget is that the majority of us store a large part of our lives on our mobile phones and the apps on them too, so imagine what could happen if this gets into the wrong hands.
Researchers uncovered security risks that were linked to recycled phone numbers and found that most phone numbers available at T-Mobile and Verizon were still associated with accounts on multiple websites and likely the case for UK providers too. The study carried out by Prof Arvind Narayanan and researcher Kevin Lee, suggests that the previous owners of these recycled mobile phone numbers, had not updated their information on their accounts and ultimately they both managed to access data including multi-factor authentication passwords. This is simply terrifying. The study really highlights the importance of updating our information, especially when they managed to access this info within just one week! So the question is, what is the industry doing to prevent this?
Whatsapp says that they ensure they take the necessary steps to protect its users information from getting into the wrong hands and do this by removing account data if it has been inactive for at least 45 days and activated onto a different device. The best thing to do is to transfer your new number within the account or simply delete the account using the app. Then you’ll have peace of mind that any personal information has been transferred to your new number or erased completely.
Ofcom now has a strict rule for their Pay As You Go (PAYG) phone numbers — “use it or lose it”. What this means is mobile phone network providers in the UK can now suspend numbers from inactive accounts and therefore go ahead and give them to new customers which has a positive impact as it ensures mobile numbers are being used efficiently.
So there you have it, yes mobile phones also get recycled and it can be a positive move if managed correctly. We believe that more should be done by certain websites and companies to ensure the safety of people’s sensitive data, even if that means frequent authentication reminders or more options when proving it’s you. It’s a tricky subject because mobile number recycling is a necessary process in order to keep up with the demand of millions of people getting new SIM contracts on a daily basis and we’re yet to see how this issue will be improved.
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