Did you read back a Google verification code?
You listed something for sale, or posted about a lost pet, or answered an ad, and an interested stranger said they wanted to make sure you were a real person first. A 6-digit code arrived on your phone, they asked you to read it back, and you did. Now something feels off, and you are wondering what you actually handed over.
Here is the short version: that was almost certainly the Google Voice verification code scam. The stranger typed your phone number into Google Voice, Google texted you the code to confirm the number was really yours, and by reading it back you confirmed it for them. They now have a Google Voice number that rides on your phone number, which they can use to run scams on other people while the trail points back to you.
Before anything else, take a breath. This one is designed to sound reasonable. Asking to verify a stranger online is exactly what careful people are told to do, and the scam borrows that instinct. Falling for it says nothing about you, and unlike most of what we write about here, this one is usually fixable in an afternoon.
What the scammer actually got
They did not get into your phone, your texts, or your bank app. What they got is a working Google Voice number linked to your real number, plus confirmation that your number belongs to a responsive human. The danger is what they do with it: place scam calls and texts that trace back toward you instead of them, and use the number as a clean identity for the next victim. If you read back codes for anything else during the conversation, a bank login, an email account, a payment app, treat those accounts as compromised and change those passwords now, because those codes unlock much more than Google Voice does.
Reclaim the number, today if you can
Google lets you take the Voice number back by re-verifying your own phone number. Sign in at voice.google.com with your own Google account and set up Google Voice using your mobile number. When Google says the number is already in use, continue anyway. Verifying with a new code sent to your phone unlinks the scammer's account from your number. If you get stuck, search Google Voice Help for “reclaim your number” and follow the current steps there rather than any instructions a stranger sends you.
Lock the door they came through
While you are at it, make the number harder to abuse again. Do not read a verification code to anyone, ever. Legitimate buyers, sellers, shelters, and companies have no reason to ask; the code exists only to prove control of your phone, so anyone asking for it is trying to take that control. If the conversation happened on a marketplace, review our guide on telling whether a marketplace contact is a scammer, because the same crews recycle the playbook.
Report it, even though you lost no money
It is tempting to skip this step when nothing was stolen, but your report is what connects your number to scams the hijacked line gets used for. File at ReportFraud.ftc.gov, and report the profile or ad that contacted you to the platform where it happened. If the scammer got codes tied to your identity or financial accounts, or you start seeing accounts you never opened, go to IdentityTheft.gov and follow the recovery plan it builds for you. Screenshot the conversation before you block the account, so the report has something to stand on. Our guide to preserving evidence covers how to capture it cleanly.
What to watch for in the weeks after
Expect a little noise. People may call or text your number asking about a deal you never made; that usually means the Voice number was used before you reclaimed it, and it fades once the line is back in your hands. Be extra suspicious of follow-up contacts claiming to be Google, your carrier, or an investigator offering to “secure your number” for a fee. That is the second wave of the same scam. Nobody legitimate will call you and ask for a code, a password, or a payment to fix this.
If your situation went further than a code, if money moved, or someone is impersonating you beyond a phone number, text or email us and we will help you figure out what is worth doing next.
— Gus