15 replies to this topic

[Scubatooth]

I have a couple of numbers that keep calling me, and in one case sending SMS messages to my work pager. Is there a way to findout who these numbers are registered to so i can put a stop to this as its getting annoying and stalkerish.


Mods dont worry its not someone on SD I think

[Xcelratr]

I have a couple of numbers that keep calling me, and in one case sending SMS messages to my work pager. Is there a way to findout who these numbers are registered to so i can put a stop to this as its getting annoying and stalkerish.

Mods dont worry its not someone on SD I think

And you thought that $12 bounced check to the 7-11 would never come back to haunt you? Hahaha. j/k

1) whitepages.com has reverse lookup searches. But if the number's not listed, that's kind of a dead end.
2) Google.com. There are some forum websites that are devoted to "who keeps calling me". If the number that keeps calling you is from a sizable enough entity to be using the same number to call a large number of people, you might find it (them?) on there. Fair warning though, that they're forum websites and so you have to take any info you garner from there with a grain of sea salt. Look for a consensus and not just one response.
3) Next time one of them calls, you could try this: Answer the phone. Say "who is this?".

And by the way, if you'd just TALK to me, I could quit stalkerishing you.....

[Scubatooth]

The one number i figured out and have taken care of the issue. First one was a telemarketer that I wont have anymore problems with unless they want to have FCC fines levied against them. This second number sent a page to my work pager (IE not listed outside of where i work) and is more stalkerish. I have a few things working but not gonna say what

[Greg@ihpil]

The one number i figured out and have taken care of the issue. First one was a telemarketer that I wont have anymore problems with unless they want to have FCC fines levied against them. This second number sent a page to my work pager (IE not listed outside of where i work) and is more stalkerish. I have a few things working but not gonna say what

ST ,Better yet,answer and say."There is a tracer on this line",you will be charged with stalking.If anything,cover ones ,a--,notify the locals about it ,just in case.To many weirdos out there today.An ounce of prevention.

[lynnlchan]

I'm reading a book that addresses a lot on this subject and other more serious circumstances like serial murders/rapists, etc. - 'The Gift of Fear'. The basic premise of the book is that you probably know, have a gut instinct about who it is or about a situation being bad but we tend to disregard our intuition. Fascinating subject.

[Victoria]

Sounds like a good book, Lynn. I learned the hard way a long time ago, never to second-guess or ignore gut instinct.

[lynnlchan]

.... I learned the hard way a long time ago, never to second-guess or ignore gut instinct.

Sounds like an interesting experience - care to share?

[Racer184]

The do-not-call registry is your first step. The law does not apply to businesses. So never use your 'personal' phone for your business. If you never answer your business number on evenings or weekends, then those hours of your life will be free from telemarketing calls. If you only have one telephone number at home for example, the IRS is NOT going to let you call that your business number and deduct it. So get a second number for your business. I learned years ago, when starting the business, I paid the county business tax, they 'required' me to give a phone number; I did not have a business telephone number yet, so I gave them my cellphone number. You might guess that it became public record as the number of a business --- boy did the phone start ringing.

It is possible to look up a number and find out what telephone company currently 'owns' it, and exactly which facility the phone is connected to if it is a 'wired telephone; right down to the street that the telephone company equipment is on (not the address of the telephone).

Unfortunately, even if you track down the telephone number, that might not be who called you. It is extremely easy to fake (spoof) the number that appears on caller id when you call someone.

The good news.
It is now illegal to 'spoof' telephone numbers.

H.R. 1258 makes it a federal offense to have caller-id present an inaccurate telephone number for the purpose of deception http://www.jtkcommun...ents/HR1258.pdf

Note that you may still suppress your caller id. If your business has multiple lines, it is ok to have all of your outgoing calls give the caller i.d. of your main incoming number.

So, we are all happy about the new federal law. However, criminals don't care about laws, or if they do, they will go to a country that does not have this type of law, or where it is not enforced.

One thing that really does work is to get the device that you plug into your line at home (sorry, no solution for cell phones). When the phone rings and you answer it, it sends the three tones that indicate "this number is not in service". So the automated machines will drop your number from their list.

Never threaten anyone on the telephone. You are easier to find and convict than the criminal or jerk that called you. Like they say in hockey, the referee might not see the first punch, but they always see the second punch.

I won't recommend this, but some people like the fact that it is illegal to make harrassing or obscene telephone calls, but it is NOT illegal for the called party to be obscene to the caller.

Text message spam
When you get a text message spam, or looks like stalking, ignore it. Then ignore it, and ignore it more. Their computers go through sending text messages to every number out there hoping to get a response. Once it gets a response, they know they have a 'live one' and you will get more.

How do I handle text messaging spam? I have a 'pre-paid cellular phone'. I never set up voicemail and the only people with the number are the dive shop and the boat captains. I only turn the phone on when I am working as a divemaster. So five days a week it is turned off and the automated spammers don't ever get through. Since there is no 'contract', if I ever start having trouble with callers, I will just give the phone away and go buy a new one with a new phone number.

Edited by Racer184, 30 June 2010 - 12:42 PM.

[scubabug]

You could always get your pager company to issue you a new number. You have to notify legitimate people of your new pager number, but if ther possible stalker is not one of those legitimate people, he's out in the dark and you're free.

[Scubatooth]

Issuing a new number to my pager would be a pain in the rear as this is my work pager and coded to the computer aided dispatch program at work. There was a rash of these incidents about the same time as mine that the IT department had reports of and in the end turned over to Law enforcement.

This happened a while ago as I havent worked since i posted this due to a back injury. This item can be considered closed.

[Scubatooth]

Scott

I did but it just told me the phone company it was registered to, and a yellow/white pages search didnt help.

Dan

[Scubatooth]

Well that caller is someone i dont ever want to talk to again, but is now blocked by AT&T as this person started harassing a bunch of my co-workers who are/were on AT&T. if you want to block someone you have to pay for it, but if the same number is harassing a number of people on the same caller they will block it for free. Doesnt make sense but oh well.

The pager thing i dont know what happened with it other then it was turned over to law enforcement to deal with.

This was taken care of back in February so no crazy's since then and my pagers been off since march 1 as i have no need for it.

[scubabug]

So actually this raises an issue, I'm new to this kind of forum. How do you terminate a thread? As in, you don't need any more replies, so sayonara, do you have to ask the IT people to remove it so it doesn't take on a life of its own, or can the originator amputate it or something? Or do you just have to be disciplined enough to ignore the thing? Assuming I ever get brave enough to start my own topic.........