Is it possible someone had your number before it was yours, and that they were a hot target for spam? My US phone numbers over the years[1] have normally been

Is it possible someone had your number before it was yours, and that they were a hot target for spam? My US phone numbers over the years[1] have normally been very quiet, but I've had a couple that were quite spammy. [1]: I've been switching providers/MVNOs every time I've found one with a better deal -- for decades. I never, ever port the old number, so I've had a good number of them.