Last updated: October 13, 2026
Trace anonymous text message
Visit our case studies page to get an idea as to how Rexxfield can help you positively identify anonymous, online or mobile phone antagonists by tracing a number.
Our Team Can Positively Identify Your Spoof Call Stalkers
If you need help catching the person who is harassing you behind anonymous Spoof Caller IDs, contact us here. We will help you seek criminal or civil relief, even if the police tell you they can’t help.
What is caller ID spoofing?
Phone spoofing is when the person disguises the phone number they are calling or texting from by altering their caller ID. It is a common practice among scammers to get you on the phone by utilizing a fake number. Most people will answer because it’s often hard for somebody to resist answering a call from an unknown number. It is also used to be (almost) untraceable, but we have ways to trace a number.
Sometimes they spoof the number of an ordinary person. This happened to Ethan who owns a steel and engineering company in Australia. One day he received phone calls from all around Australia from people saying they had a missed call from his number. His phone number was likely spoofed by a scammer.
Some scammers randomly pick phone numbers to make scam calls from. But most international scammers are more sophisticated. They choose a particular number from a neighborhood so the recipients’ area code is similar to the victim. By using the same area code, people are more likely to take the call.
Scammers hijack or imitate phone numbers. Either to pretend to be a certain person, business or department to get information or money. It also often used to appear like a local or legitimate number to better their chances of getting through to their victim. In the US and Australia, there is nothing illegal about phone spoofing. If you use a spoofed number for a prank on a friend, it is legal. However, if you use the spoofed number to deceive someone to obtain information it is illegal.
How to uncover a spoofed number
To find out if a number is spoofed, you can search the reverse phone lookup for the number. If there are no results, it’s a big red flag. This might mean that the number used to call you is not a real number. Try to return the phone call. If it’s out of service, you can be confident it was a spoofed call.
You can also type the number in Google. If it’s used for scams it might be listed on the internet.
How to confirm a number is fake, and what free tools can tell you
Start by confirming the number is fake. A reverse phone lookup that returns nothing is a warning sign, and a number that is out of service when you call back is a strong one. A quick web search can show whether other people have reported it for scams.
Free tools rarely help in a harassment case. Caller ID, the area code and people-search sites show little that you can use, because spoofing apps and texting services hide the real source. A number also does not give you a location. Only an IP address can, and it shows a city and an internet provider, not a street address.
Spoofing does not make a person untraceable. In an OSINT investigation, we follow the other traces the person leaves: the same number, username or email reused across services, linked accounts and public records. When public data is not enough, we use a lawful, controlled engagement. See how the same approach works for a TextNow number, a burner phone number and other anonymous text apps.
How to stop phone spoofing
Even FCC’s commissioners are growing incensed with robocalls. The FCC announced that they will act this year if carriers don’t do enough to fight robocalls.
If you get spoof calls, there are a few things you can do stop them from coming in.
- Block the numbers; this stops the same scammers from calling from the specific numbers you blocked. However, they can call again using a different number.
- Look into call-blocking services that block VoiP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) calls and texts. These services prevent scammers from using a spoofed number to call you.
How to catch a spoof caller
Tracing a spoofed phone number and catching a spoofed caller is not easy. Definitely not as easy as identifying an anonymous Twitter user, the sender of an anonymous email or the person behind internet posting and blogging. Some spoofing services allow the anonymous caller or text message sender to receive replies. In such cases, Rexxfield investigators can often trace a number by tracing the spoof text messages and positively identify the individual responsible for the spoofing harassment. Even out-of-court. These cases are mostly harassment cases. Because the cyberbully wants to hurt someone, they want to engage in a conversation. This allows you to send and receive text messages. By tracing anonymous text messages, we can trace a number and catch a spoof caller.
However, most spoofing services are one way only, especially when it comes to scams. The person can send messages to you, but you cannot reply. In these one-way cases, it may not be possible to identify the origins of the spoofed messages or calls. Except through criminal or civil court proceedings which leverage the use of subpoena or warrants to obtain forensic evidence that may ultimately lead to uncloaking the antagonist.
Tracing a spoofed phone number through teleprovider
In other cases, tracing a spoofed phone number can be done through your telephone company. Sometimes telephone companies can trace spoof calls back to their origin. This, however, can be a timely process and does not always provide correct results.
Read more about how to find the anonymous sender of an email.
Or an anonymous Twitter user or person posting or blogging on the internet.
Who investigates these cases
Rexxfield’s team includes Stephen Dougherty, a former U.S. Secret Service investigator with more than 15 years in cybercrime and wire fraud; Ronnie Tokazowski, our CTO and a threat-intelligence researcher with more than 15 years of experience; and Anna Hulst, a licensed private investigator specializing in OSINT and social engineering. Meet the full team.
