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Receiving text from dead number

So a weird thing happened and has me confused. Several months back my dad switched service providers. He got a new phone, number, and sim card. The old number will not deactivate (tracfone thing) til March of next year. Today he texted me, and it arrived from the old tracfone number. I texted back and it was actually him on his new phone. Does anyone know how this is possible. The old contact was removed and a new contact added. There are 2 separate text chains. So we have texted under the new number, but today all of a sudden the texts arrived under the old number.
 
I have put in a tech service request with his carrier. Further testing revealed that everyone using Tracfone show incoming texts as coming from the old Tracfone number. Though it is random who can reply and he receive the messages. For instance, I can text either number and he receives it. He doesn't receive my brother's texts to the old number. Anyone not using Tracfone seems to see the correct new number. It is looking to be a Tracfone issue, but it is the oddest thing I have ever come across. I will see what his carrier says, then contact Tracfone to see if they can explain this phenomenon. I set the phone up. I still have his old dead phone and sim card on my desk. The sim card was never inserted into the new phone and the number was never associated with Tracfone. I tried calling the old number and it goes directly to voicemail without ringing, so it is only a text issue.
 
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