Ofcom takes swipe at Squid Game after Netflix hit accidentally airs man’s phone number

Ofcom has made a dig at Netflix’s latest hit Squid Game after the show accidentally aired a man’s real phone number.

A Korean citizen has said he is receiving thousands of calls from fans of the series as his contact details were exposed on a business card in the first episode – and the television watchdog couldn’t help but take a swipe at the blunder.

Taking to Instagram to hit out at the streaming giant’s mistake, its official Instagram page wrote: ‘Things that wouldn’t happen in the UK because of Ofcom rules.’

They then shared an image of a news story which read: ‘Man harassed with “thousands” of calls after his number is shown on Netflix show Squid Game.’

‘When you see or hear a UK phone number in a TV or radio show, it’s from a special list of numbers we’ve set aside for this specific use,’ Ofcom continued.

Ofcom has set out a range of over 16,000 geographic telephone numbers that are recommended for TV and radio drama purposes.

While they are real phone numbers, they won’t ever get to be used by real customers, which makes them completely safe for broadcast or publication without worry someone is going to be bombarded with unwanted calls.

The owner of the phone number used in Squid Game said people are ringing him ‘day and night due to their curiosity’.

‘It drains my phone’s battery and it turns off,’ he told Money Today. ‘At first, I didn’t know why, then my friend told me that my number came out in Squid Game.’

It’s been reported that the production company behind the show is in negotiations with the phone number owner to resolve the issue.

Squid Game, which mixes violence and horror with playground games familiar to millions, has become a global hit since being released on September 17.

The acclaimed nine-episode series stars Lee Jung-jae, Park Hae-soo and Wi Ha-joon, and it’s the first ever Korean series to land at number one on Netflix.

Squid Game is available to stream on Netflix.

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