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I get spam texts fairly often in the UK, and I almost never give out my number, so no idea where they come from. I also occasionally get calls from unknown num

I get spam texts fairly often in the UK, and I almost never give out my number, so no idea where they come from. I also occasionally get calls from unknown numbers, which I don't answer, but if I look them up are usually associated with spam calls. My grandmother also gets them fairly often on her landline, usually of the "there is a problem with your computer" scam variety, but sometimes trying to sell her insurance for a random appliance.

g_p 5y ago
Fingers crossed, but I've not really had any spam issues on a few UK numbers. I have even been quite generous in giving out one (i.e. using for any online stores that insist on a phone number), and I've yet to really have any unsolicited call that I can think of. Phone numbers do get recycled by operators, so there's definitely some luck - I've seen some issues with landline numbers, specifically people trying to trace former users of the number. I imagine if you get "unlucky", you might really have little option beyond call blocking or trying to get a new number. I did find it interesting that, at least for N=1, giving out your number fairly freely, including when you shop online (but not opting in to marketing etc) didn't seem to result in any issues, even after 8 years or so.