Fraudsters Open Multiple Phone Contracts in Victim’s Name; O2 Writes Off Charges After Investigation

A resident of Washington, Tyne and Wear, says she was shocked when O2 alerted her that six new mobile lines had been opened in her name and six new direct debits were set up, totaling about £150 a month. The notifications appeared on her account even though she had not ordered any new contracts. When she contacted O2, the company said the lines would be canceled and her credit file would be amended. Yet the customer continued to receive alerts related to the accounts, including a message stating, Welcome to Pakistan, while she was at home in the North East. She asked to leave O2 and was told she could do so if she paid a fee of £38.97, which she did, and she subsequently switched to another provider. However, the barrage of communications continued, and she was confronted with a notification claiming she owed hundreds of pounds and faced the prospect of debt-collection actions.

She subsequently received another message from O2 indicating she had taken out four new phone contracts and spent a long period on the phone with the company, only to be told the call would be terminated without resolution. The situation has persisted for months, creating significant worry and financial uncertainty.

The reader, identified as C.C from Washington, Tyne and Wear, contacted This is Money’s consumer champion, Helen Crane, to seek help. Crane notes that the episode is frightening: someone else gained access to the account and could potentially cause lasting financial harm by leaving open lines of credit in the victim’s name. The reader worried about the possibility that her credit file could be filled with search or debt entries that would affect her finances for years.

Crane reports that, in these cases, thieves often obtain a new SIM contract on behalf of the victim but order the phone to be delivered to the fraudster’s address, hoping the scam will go unnoticed as long as possible. In this instance, however, the contracts appear to have been SIM-only deals with two-year terms ranging from about £20 to £25 per month, rather than device-heavy plans. The reader estimated there could be as many as ten lines, but O2 later confirmed there were four. The scammers may have intended to use roaming charges abroad to saddle the victim with additional costs, as suggested by the Pakistan notification. The idea would be that the victim, once alerted to the new charges, would pay or settle the account, unwittingly funding the fraudster’s activity.

The experience leaves the reader anxious about the safety of her personal information and the vulnerability of telecom accounts to takeover. Crane notes that the problem is not isolated to one carrier or one region; it reflects broader security challenges in the digital-identity ecosystem, where access to passwords or email accounts can enable the attacker to pass security checks and reset credentials. The reader had been checking her bank statements and monitoring for direct debits, fearing that her credit file could be harmed by a string of fraudulent inquiries tied to the phantom contracts.

O2 ultimately investigated and confirmed that fraud had occurred, and the charges tied to the fraudulent SIMs were removed. A company spokesperson stated that the culprit was able to pass security checks on the MyO2 account and that O2 acted to remove all charges and ensure no debt remained on the account, with the reader satisfied that the matter was resolved. The spokesperson also encouraged customers to use strong, unique passwords for each important account to guard against such breaches.

The broader takeaway is a reminder of how digital account security can be compromised when passwords are weak or reused across multiple services. The case underscores the importance of adopting robust security practices, including unique, hard-to-guess passwords, two-factor authentication where available, and careful monitoring of account activity across telecom and financial services. For customers facing similar situations, the recommended course is to contact the provider quickly, request written confirmation of any cancellations or debt removals, and review credit reports for any signs of unauthorized activity. In parallel, maintaining updated antivirus and device security, safeguarding primary email accounts, and using password managers can help reduce the risk of credential stuffing and unauthorized access.