I recently switched from an old, reliable and inexpensive Motorola flip phone to my new, amazing Samsung Galaxy S4. (I was thinking of getting the S5, but the S4 got such a good writeup and cost so much less, I went for the S4.)
Long story short, my old phone died while I was traveling, and I got a prepaid phone for a month, so I couldn't bring my original old number over to the nice new phone. I got a new number.
And, of course, my name is Dennis.
The problem is, so is the guy who had this number before me. It took me awhile to figure this out.
On Christmas day, an addiction center called to check on me by name because they "knew" it was a tough time right now. I love Christmas, so I immediately suspected a setup. (Note: Being paranoid does not convince the drug counselor that you're not the guy they're looking for.)
Bill collectors started calling about a debt to a company of which I've never heard. I suspected identity theft.
Eventually, when people started calling about work -- his, not mine -- I realized they were looking for "the other Dennis," whose name they quickly supplied.
It's down to a couple of calls a week now, but it's still very strange. My first name had been sort of "hijacked" by a drug addict who can't get to work on time and hates Christmas. And my family has enough trouble with the last name.
But that's another story...
Long story short, my old phone died while I was traveling, and I got a prepaid phone for a month, so I couldn't bring my original old number over to the nice new phone. I got a new number.
And, of course, my name is Dennis.
The problem is, so is the guy who had this number before me. It took me awhile to figure this out.
On Christmas day, an addiction center called to check on me by name because they "knew" it was a tough time right now. I love Christmas, so I immediately suspected a setup. (Note: Being paranoid does not convince the drug counselor that you're not the guy they're looking for.)
Bill collectors started calling about a debt to a company of which I've never heard. I suspected identity theft.
Eventually, when people started calling about work -- his, not mine -- I realized they were looking for "the other Dennis," whose name they quickly supplied.
It's down to a couple of calls a week now, but it's still very strange. My first name had been sort of "hijacked" by a drug addict who can't get to work on time and hates Christmas. And my family has enough trouble with the last name.
But that's another story...