Short answer: if you're receiving text messages addressed to someone else — appointment reminders, verification codes, delivery follow-ups — it's almost always because your mobile number has been recycled. In France, a cancelled number goes back into the operator's pool and can be reassigned after a quarantine period. The previous holder had given it to dozens of services, none of which were ever told. These messages aren't scams, but they can give you access to accounts that aren't yours: they need to be dealt with, not ignored.
Updated 28 October 2026.
You activate a new SIM card, a plan for your child, a secondary line or a backup eSIM. For the first few days, nothing. Then the messages start arriving: "Your appointment on the 14th is confirmed, Mrs D.", "Your login code is 448 912", "Hi Marc, your order arrives tomorrow". Your name is neither Marc nor Mrs D., you haven't ordered anything — and yet these texts land squarely on your phone, on your number, in your message thread.
It's one of the least-known side effects of French mobile numbering, and one of the most awkward: you inherit part of a stranger's digital identity.
Why is my number receiving someone else's text messages?
Because it has been used before. Mobile numbers aren't created endlessly: they are a public resource, managed by Arcep (the French regulatory authority for electronic communications, postal services and press distribution), which allocates blocks of numbers to operators under the national numbering plan.
When a subscriber cancels, their number doesn't disappear. It goes back to the operator, stays frozen for a quarantine period — intended to let residual calls and messages run their course — then returns to the pool of assignable numbers. A new subscriber gets it.
The problem isn't technical, it's administrative. The network knows the number has changed hands; the hundreds of services where that number was registered do not. The testing lab, the pharmacy, the garage, the bank, the e-commerce site, the gym, the carpooling app: they all keep writing to the same number, convinced they're talking to their own customer.
When does this happen most often?
- A new mobile line with an operator (contract plan, prepaid SIM, secondary eSIM);
- a line reopened after a long interruption;
- a work number taken over from a former employee at a company;
- a second-hand or refurbished phone bought with a SIM still inside — rarer, but it happens;
- a foreign number or a tourist prepaid card number reused quickly.
A related but different case: a text sent to the wrong number because a human sender mistyped it. We covered that separately in this text message wasn't meant for you. Here, the error is structural and repetitive: it won't stop on its own.
Am I at any risk?
You aren't — but the person whose number you've inherited is, and you can end up in a legally uncomfortable position without ever looking for it.
Three levels of trouble, from the most harmless to the most serious:
| Type of text received | Risk for you | Risk for the previous holder |
|---|---|---|
| Advertising, loyalty programmes, retailer newsletters | Nuisance, cluttered inbox | They no longer receive their offers |
| Appointment reminders, parcel tracking, order confirmations | You gain access to personal data (name, address, health) | They miss their appointment or delivery |
| Verification codes, password reset links | You could technically take control of an account | Loss of access, or even compromise |
The last case is the real issue. A six-digit code sent by a bank, a messaging service or a payment platform is a key. If the previous holder hasn't updated their recovery number, anyone with their email address and that number can trigger a reset.
Obviously, you must never use it. Knowingly using a code you've received to get into someone else's account constitutes fraudulent access to an automated data processing system, punishable under Article 323-1 of the French Criminal Code (Légifrance). The "the text just showed up on my phone" argument excuses nothing.
What if it's actually a disguised scam?
That's the most common confusion. A verification code you didn't request can have two very different causes:
- Recycled number: the code is meant for the previous holder, it was sent by a genuine service, and there is no attack.
- An attempt to take over your own account: someone is trying to get into your account, and a phone call often follows within the minute to coax the code out of you.
The telltale difference: the first name. If the text mentions a name that isn't yours, or concerns a service where you have no account, you're in case 1. If it mentions your name or a service you actually use, you're in case 2 — and the rule is absolute: never share that code with anyone, not even with "your adviser". The mechanism is explained in detail in our article on verification codes and account takeover.
How can I tell whether my number has been recycled?
Three simple clues to check in the first few weeks.
- The texts mention a first name or surname that isn't yours. That's the most direct proof.
- Missed calls come from businesses: a medical secretary's office, a garage, an agency, cold calls targeting a profile that doesn't match yours.
- Apps refuse to let you sign up, saying an account already exists with that number. That's a sign the number is still linked elsewhere.
A useful test: try a "forgot password" procedure on your own accounts with that number. If services offer to recover an account you never created, the number is still sitting in their databases. Don't go any further than simply noting it.
To keep a clean record of the messages received during the transition period — handy if you later need to back up a report — a spiral notebook sitting next to your charger beats a screenshot lost somewhere in your photo gallery: date, sender, subject, in three lines.
How do I actually stop these text messages?
There's no single button. You have to work through them by sender category, from the easiest to the most drawn-out.
1. Advertising texts: reply STOP
Every commercial marketing text sent in France must include a simple, free way to opt out, in line with the GDPR and the CNIL's recommendations on SMS marketing. In practice: the wording "STOP au 3xxxx" or "STOP SMS".
Reply STOP to the short code shown in the message, not to any other number. The reply is free and not premium-rated. It only unsubscribes you from that particular sender: you'll have to repeat the process for each brand. We looked in detail at what this keyword really does in replying STOP to a text message: does it really work?.
2. Service messages: contact the sender
For a doctor's surgery, a garage, a carrier or a bank, replying STOP achieves nothing: these aren't marketing messages, and they carry no opt-out wording.
The right approach:
- Identify the sender: the brand name in the text, an alphanumeric sender ID, a short code. If the message comes from a five-digit number, our guide on identifying a short code or an unknown sender explains how to trace it back.
- Call or write to customer service and explain the situation: "This number has been assigned to me, it belongs to a former customer, please remove it from the record."
- Invoke your right to erasure (Article 17 of the GDPR) if the organisation drags its feet: your number is personal data relating to you now, and it appears in a file that isn't yours.
- Never give out the information contained in the text to "prove" anything: you don't have to confirm a third party's name or address.
A common mistake: cancelling the appointment on the stranger's behalf. You have no mandate to do that, and you'd be depriving someone of a medical slot. Just say the number has a new holder.
3. Verification codes: delete them and do nothing else
A code received by mistake should be deleted. Full stop. No clicking the attached link, no login attempt, no reply. If codes keep arriving repeatedly from the same service, write to its support team to report that the number has been reassigned: the major platforms have a procedure for unlinking it.
4. Fraudulent messages: 33700
Among the inherited flow, some texts will be genuine phishing attempts — the previous holder's number had ended up in resold databases. Those should be forwarded to 33700, the reporting service for unwanted texts and calls run by the French operators and recommended by cybermalveillance.gouv.fr. Forward the message to 33700, then reply to the automated text with the sender's number. It's free. Our in-depth piece explains what happens to a report sent to 33700.
You can also register your number with Bloctel, the opt-out list for cold calling managed on behalf of the French state — it mainly targets calls, but it's part of the basic hygiene for a new number.
How long does it last, and how can I speed things up?
The flow dies down naturally, but slowly: services get back in touch in cycles (annual reminders, seasonal campaigns, subscription renewals). A heavily "exposed" number — a former professional, a shopkeeper — can keep receiving messages for several months.
To shorten the period:
- Deal with messages as they come in rather than in batches: a text handled the same day means one more database corrected.
- Turn on the built-in spam filter in your messaging app (Google Messages: Settings → Spam protection; iOS: Settings → Apps → Messages → Filter Unknown Senders). Suspicious messages move to a separate tab without being lost.
- Block repeat senders who don't respond to any request.
- Don't publish your new number everywhere straight away: giving it a few quiet weeks avoids mixing your own traffic with the inherited kind.
And for the future, one underlying habit: compartmentalise. One number for family, friends and sensitive accounts, another for forms, loyalty cards and deliveries. A second eSIM line or a French prepaid SIM card is enough, and an unlocked dual-SIM phone makes the whole thing painless. That's exactly the method described in a second number for everything that isn't family and friends.
And what if you're the one changing numbers?
Same problem, seen from the other side. Before cancelling, take an hour to update your number everywhere it really matters:
- Bank accounts and payments (3-D Secure validation number);
- Messaging apps and Google / Apple accounts (recovery number);
- Ameli, the tax authorities, France Connect and public services;
- Doctor, testing lab, pharmacy, school, employer;
- Delivery and e-commerce platforms you use regularly.
A physical password manager, or failing that a ring binder with clear pockets where you keep the list of accounts tied to your number, turns this chore into a twenty-minute checklist. A USB SIM card reader can also help you read back the contacts stored on an old SIM before destroying it — after which, cut the chip up.
If you're keeping the old phone, think about the messages still on it too: we covered the subject in changing phones without opening the door to scams. An antistatic microfibre cloth and a full factory reset are worth more than simply deleting the conversations.
Frequently asked questions
Has my number really been recycled, or is this a scam?
If the messages are varied, consistent with one another, mention the same name that isn't yours and come from genuine services, it's recycling. A scam, by contrast, arrives in waves of alarming messages with links, usually built around a single pretext (a parcel, a fine, your bank).
Can I ask my operator to change my number?
Yes. French operators will change a number at the holder's request; the conditions, and whether it's free or chargeable, vary depending on the contract and the reason. If the inherited flow is unmanageable, that's the most drastic and fastest option.
Could I be prosecuted for reading these text messages?
No: receiving and reading a message that arrived on your line is not an offence. What is punishable is exploiting its content — using a code to get into an account, disclosing personal information, or impersonating the intended recipient.
Should I warn the previous holder?
You have no lawful way of identifying them, and it isn't your job. By reporting the change of holder to the services that write to you, you set in motion exactly the process that will prompt them to update their records.
Can 33700 stop texts from a doctor's surgery or a bank?
No. 33700 handles unwanted or fraudulent messages, not legitimate messages sent to the wrong recipient. For those, the only lever is the sender's customer service and, if necessary, an erasure request based on the GDPR, with the option of escalating to the CNIL.
