Woman finds her brand new iPhone full of numbers for A-list celebs after ‘iCloud glitch’ – including David Walliams, Nick Grimshaw and Emma Bunton
Sophie Highfield couldn't believe it when she discovered the stars were literally at her fingertips
A WOMAN was astonished to find her brand new iPhone was full of the personal numbers of stars including Radio 1 DJs, Olympic athletes and even a former Spice Girl - thanks to a suspected iCloud glitch.
Sophie Highfield, 31, mysteriously ended up with the contacts of a host of celebs after the glitch appeared to make her Apple iPhone 5S sync with dozens of others.
She bought the device brand new from Three Mobile and added the numbers for her friends and family.
But months later, when she typed the letter 'M' into the keypad to call her mum, she discovered there were dozens of numbers for different mums.
Confused, she began typing other letters - and discovered genuine contact details for stars such as gold medal-winning long jumper Greg Rutherford, comedian David Walliams, fashion guru Gok Wan and Spice Girl Emma Bunton.
The late actress Lynda Bellingham, Busted's Matt Willis, Loose Women's Denise Welch and Nicholas Lyndhurst - Rodney from Only Fools and Horses - were also listed.
Others big names include Radio 1 DJs Greg James and Nick Grimshaw - listed as Greg 'The Legend' James and Grimmy - as well as producers and other TV figures.
But despite a month-long investigation - involving hours of work for Sophie - Apple has failed to explain how the problem happened.
Sophie, of Erdington, Birmingham, said: "The phone was supposed to be brand new and completely untouched.
"I've got no idea how it has happened. I seem to have access to literally hundreds of people's numbers.
"I didn't notice it at first because the contacts aren't in my address book but when I go into messages to send a text and type in the letter 'A', it comes up with 'A' for Adele.
";There are loads of celebrities - Emma Bunton, Denise Welch, Gok Wan…
"There are also lots of producers. I feel like it might have belonged to someone from the BBC or the TV industry."
As well as celebs, Sophie's mobile contains numbers for a host of random strangers - including 'Brandon from Subway' and 'Sophie Babysitter'.
'Kieran Window Cleaner', 'Christine in the club','Mark pest control' 'Suzie next door' and 'Kev the Ledge' are also in the iPhone's memory.
Other entries appear to be for BBC staff members and others in the TV industry, including various people from the Loose Women and Britain's Got More Talent teams.
While some numbers start with +44 and are from the UK, others begin with +1, indicating hey are from the US.
"It is quite annoying having them all there," Sophie added.
"I actually have no idea how many numbers there are. There must be hundreds.
"I feel like it is a data breach. I've not been entirely sure what to do. It's kind of a big thing.
"I haven't purchased these numbers, they've just fallen into my hands."
Sophie, who bought the phone in June 2014, said she didn't notice the problem at first as she mostly uses Facebook.
But she decided to share her story as she wants to buy a new phone and keep the same number - but wants to get rid of all the celeb numbers clogging up her address book.
Three said the mix-up was not down to them as the phone was brand new when Sophie bought it, and experts believe it's down to an iCloud glitch.
Vladimir Katalov, CEO of software company ElcomSoft, whose headquarters are in Moscow, said: "This is the first case I have heard about.
"The device was new and not refurbished so there was no previous owner, and that device wasn't connected to any other accounts before.
"It must be a problem with Apple iCloud."
He added: "Apple must take it seriously.
"If you can't see any other devices connected to your iCloud but still some information is sharing or syncing across different accounts, we might have serious trouble."
Technology is not always such a blessing, and the news comes a day after diva Mariah Carey found that out the hard way after a technical glitch caused lip-syncing problems at her New Year's Eve performance.
Cyber security consultant Morgan Kemp, of UK tech company Assuria, added: "I would expect that it's something to do with iCloud.
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He added that if the iPhone is a refurbished phone - and not brand new like Sophie was told it was when she bought it - the previous owner's numbers could still be on the device.
"A reset should solve the issue but clearly if it is not, that means there is some sort of automatic syncing," he added.
"This indicates some sort of link up that shouldn't be there."
The bizarre glitch is a far cry from the problems reported by some iPhone users claiming their handsets have exploded.
Three said the device was sold brand new and that is "no way" there could have been any data stored on it, adding that it is a software issue.
A spokesman said: "A new device was supplied to the customer at point of sale with no data stored on it."
Apple carried out a month-long investigation into the issue but declined to comment on what caused it.
It advised the issue can happen with secondhand phones which haven't been properly wiped.
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