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Tracing A Prank Caller

By Janelle Elizabeth

Republish: EasyPublish™
Published: 03Feb2009
Word count: 573
Viewed: 214 time(s)

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If you're being harassed by a prank caller using an unlisted number, you have a few options available to you to find out who this person is and to stop them.

We'll be talking about two different methods to find out exactly who is on the other end of the phone line and we'll discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each.

The first option is to use a trace provided by your telephone company and the other is to use an online reverse phone directory.

The Phone Company

After receiving a harassing phone call, you can hang up the phone, then pick it back up (make sure there is a dial tone), then dial *57 (the code may vary by area and provider, so if it doesn't work, then do a web search for the code applicable to your phone service).

This will perform a trace on the last phone call that you received. You will have to follow some instructions as relayed by an operator or automated system, but you will receive the number that just called you.

Be aware, though, that this service usually costs about five dollars each time you use it.

If the harassing calls are all coming from the same number, you can report that number to your phone company or to the police. You'll notice that you only receive the phone number that is harassing you, not the name of the person.

Also, some phone companies won't take any action until you perform multiple traces on the same number. An online database, however, addresses both of these concerns.

The Online Database

Okay, before we start, you're going to need to know the phone number of the person calling you. Whether you get it through caller ID, *69, or the trace mentioned above depends on your individual situation.

Once you have the number, go to a reverse phone lookup site - and don't go for the cheapie option - use one for which you pay a fee. The data you receive will be up to date, and extensive. On the main page there is a search box. Enter the number and hit search.

Yes, you will have to pay for good quality service, but its worth it - we'll get back to the cost in a moment.

The phone number is then matched against the site's extensive records database, which is made up of hundreds of millions of individual records. Once the search is completed, you will receive the name of the person who owns that phone line, the person's address, address history, and other information.

The exact details you receive depend on the available records, but if the search doesn't turn up what you're looking for, with recommended companies you can get a full refund of the cost of the search.

As for paying for the search when you receive the information you need: If you compare the cost of a search with one of these top quality companies (or a yearly membership if you're being harassed from multiple phone numbers) with the total individual traces that you will have to run to get the phone company to act, the difference won't be that great.

And you'll know who the harassing caller is - whereas through the phone company all you get is a number.

The choice is yours, but I think the answer is obvious.

Identify that mystery caller easily by using the Reverse Phone Detective - a simple to use online service for tracing the identity of callers through their phone numbers - whether listed or unlisted, landline or cell phone.

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