Netflix will edit phone numbers out of Squid Game following prank calls

Netflix’s immensely popular Squid Game is getting an edit after phone numbers shown in the series dialed real numbers, leading to what the company described as “unfortunate” prank dials.

The Korean drama about a sadistic “game,” in which players find themselves with no option but to participate in a series of twisted challenges, contains visible phone numbers in multiple scenes (a phone number is also clearly visible in the Squid Game trailer).

Reuters, which earlier reported the news, cited Netflix and production company Siren Pictures as saying they purposefully did not include a complete number and weren’t aware the number shown would reach a real line.

Netflix confirmed to The Verge that the numbers that appear in Squid Game will be edited, adding that it hopes that the change will end the prank calls.

A man who claims to be the owner of the number told a local media outlet that he’d been “bombarded” with messages and calls, adding that they had made it difficult to live his life normally. However, it appears as though multiple individuals may have received calls from enthusiast Squid Game viewers. Netflix did not immediately return a request for clarification about whether the series had impacted one or multiple local numbers.

Squid Game has been a massive success for Netflix, becoming the streaming service’s top title in the US as of last week — it remained a top title as of this week as well — the first Korean series to claim that top spot, according to Netflix. That’s great for the show’s creators and certainly a win for Netflix. It’s probably safe to assume the poor individual(s) receiving prank calls from random Squid Game devotees feel differently, though.