# Annoying Phone Callers - Investigative Techniques **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 17, 2020, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-phone-callers-investigative-techniques/915620 "2020-07-17T23:10:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ficer67](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c57346/32.png) [@Ficer67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ficer67)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2020, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-phone-callers-investigative-techniques/915620/1 "2020-07-17T23:10:16Z")
I have documented 3 scam calls this week, but there have been more. The latest of which is trying to help me with my car’s extended warranty. I bought my car in 2005 - it doesn’t have any warranty anymore… What I would like is to track these scammers down, then inform the police of their activity, to shut them down. I have been using reverse phone number search sites, and some “Who Called You” kind of sites with no real success. So, I am putting it out on the straightdope for all; Are there any good techniques to research a scammer and get information about them? Thanks in advance for the responses. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2020, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-phone-callers-investigative-techniques/915620/2 "2020-07-17T23:18:08Z")
It’s way too easy to spoof phone numbers. Since scammers are universally overseas, there’s nothing you can do. Either hang up or if you have the time, keep 'em on the phone as long as you can. Look up scambaiting on Youtube to see how that can work. [Kitboga](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm22FAXZMw1BaWeFszZxUKw) is an all-star at that sort of thing. His Youtube channel is mostly edited calls while he streams live on [Twitch.](https://www.twitch.tv/kitboga) ---
**Author:** ![Ficer67](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c57346/32.png) [@Ficer67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ficer67)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2020, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-phone-callers-investigative-techniques/915620/3 "2020-07-17T23:19:16Z")
How exactly do they spoof phone numbers? And, thanks for clueing me to Kitboga. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2020, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-phone-callers-investigative-techniques/915620/4 "2020-07-17T23:22:00Z")
> [@Ficer67](#): > > then inform the police of their activity, to shut them down. I’ll tell you right now, that’s a waste of your time and energy. If you go to the police with your info, I’d be surprised if they’d even so much as take a report. For starters, unless the call is originating in your state, this is going to be federal, meaning the FBI or FTC is going to have to do the investigating. Even then, they’re not. You can go and report all these calls to the FTC right on their website. Millions of people have been doing it for at least 10 years and nothing has become of it. The biggest roadblock you’re going to hit is that these calls are likely coming from India. Then what? Interpol? Having said all that, there’s a good CBC documentary about just this. They went and complained to Canada’s version of the attorney general who said something to the effect of ‘we’d stop them if we could find them, but we can’t find them’. The funny thing was the documentary makers had gone to India and tracked them down. Even when they explained that if _they_ could find them, certainly the government could find them and still nothing happened. TLDR: Don’t pick up the phone and don’t get frustrated over it. The problem far exceeds anything the vast majority of us have the ability to do anything at all about. Edit: Here’s the doc, it’s a good watch and only about 20 minutes long. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/O13Vv4n__J8/hqdefault.jpg "Telemarketers: Tracking down the people who call you up (CBC Marketplace)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O13Vv4n__J8) ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2020, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-phone-callers-investigative-techniques/915620/5 "2020-07-17T23:22:59Z")
It’s not that hard. In fact, it is useful for some businesses to allow someone to use the business number as their outgoing number. I don’t know the specifics on how to do it, and if I did, I probably wouldn’t share on this platform, but I do know that my number got spoofed once. For nearly a week, my phone was unusable due to all the people “calling back” to yell at me for calling them. Changed my voicemail to an explanation that the number had been spoofed and turned off my phone. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2020, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-phone-callers-investigative-techniques/915620/6 "2020-07-17T23:25:23Z")
As K9bfriender said, it’s not that difficult (apparently). In fact, ‘neighbor spoofing’ even has it’s own name now. That’s when they use a number with the same area code and prefix, specifically so you think it’s in your area code. IMO, that’s backfired. While I don’t answer random cell phone calls to begin with, I really don’t answer ones that look almost the same as mine. ---
**Author:** ![Ficer67](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c57346/32.png) [@Ficer67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ficer67)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2020, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-phone-callers-investigative-techniques/915620/7 "2020-07-17T23:26:05Z")
It’s particularly aggravating for me because I am on furlough due to Covid-19 issues, and I am looking for another job. I am sure that one of the calls that I did not pick up was a company looking for an employee. But, I am not sure that is on-topic. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2020, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-phone-callers-investigative-techniques/915620/8 "2020-07-17T23:29:51Z")
If you’re waiting for a possible job, I’d find it worth answering scam calls in order not to miss a job offer. Just call them a scammer and hang up. ---
**Author:** ![Ficer67](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c57346/32.png) [@Ficer67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ficer67)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2020, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-phone-callers-investigative-techniques/915620/9 "2020-07-17T23:31:01Z")
Thanks for telling me about the documentary. One of the scammers called from Houston, TX. He actually called twice, and used his real first name. I found him on [whitepages.com](http://whitepages.com). He is the amateur, however. ---
**Author:** ![Ficer67](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c57346/32.png) [@Ficer67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ficer67)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2020, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-phone-callers-investigative-techniques/915620/10 "2020-07-17T23:31:33Z")
I have done that too… ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2020, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-phone-callers-investigative-techniques/915620/11 "2020-07-17T23:38:04Z")
> [@Ficer67](#): > > One of the scammers called from Houston, TX He called from Houston or had a Houston phone number? Someone from India can spoof a Houston phone number without a problem. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2020, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-phone-callers-investigative-techniques/915620/12 "2020-07-17T23:40:11Z")
Exactly. What did he sound like? Though I did see a recent video where the scammer was using voice-changing software. He sounded almost American. There was just a slight hint of accent but his speech patterns/choice of words gave it away. ---
**Author:** ![Ficer67](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c57346/32.png) [@Ficer67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ficer67)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2020, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-phone-callers-investigative-techniques/915620/13 "2020-07-17T23:50:39Z")
He sounded mexican-american, he left a first name, and his caller-id number was in Houston, TX. He called twice. I told him I was not giving him any money. He hasn’t called back since. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2020, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-phone-callers-investigative-techniques/915620/14 "2020-07-18T00:08:45Z")
Last December (2019), Congress passed and Trump signed (!) a new law called the TRACED act, mandating that voice telecom providers begin implementing a new-ish caller-ID authentication protocol called “STIR / SHAKEN”. Some descriptions call it the “beginning of the end of spoofed robocalls”, other descriptions I’ve seen are a little more cautious. (The name, which of course is a typical contrived acronym, is a parody of James Bond, who always demanded his mixed drinks shaken, not stirred.) Google it, and you’ll find umpteen-hundred articles on the subject. I saw one recently that went into substantial technical detail. Of course, with all those umpteen-hundred cites, good luck finding it again. So, here are a few examples of cites that I see today: [STIR/SHAKEN mandate signed into U. S. law](https://transnexus.com/blog/2020/stir-shaken-mandate-enacted/) > [@](#): > > President Trump signed the Pallone-Thune TRACED Act into law on December 30, 2019. This legislation includes several measures to combat unwanted robocalls, including a mandate for voice service providers to use STIR/SHAKEN call authentication. > > The Pallone-Thune TRACED Act has a wide range of requirements, which are [described in this overview](https://transnexus.com/blog/2019/pallone-thune-traced-act/). One of the most notable provisions is a mandate for call authentication using STIR/SHAKEN in IP networks and reasonable measures in non-IP networks. > **[STIR/SHAKEN 101: Do You Need to Sign Your Own Calls?](https://www.bandwidth.com/blog/stir-shaken-101-do-you-need-to-sign-your-own-calls/)** > > One of the most common questions we hear about STIR/SHAKEN concerns is whether service providers need to sign their own calls. Learn all you need to know now. > [@](#): > > STIR (which stands for Secure Telephone Identity Revisited) and SHAKEN (which stands for Secure Handling of Asserted information using toKENs) are Telecom industry standards designed to enable service providers to cryptographically sign calls in the SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) header. > > STIR/SHAKEN (or SHAKEN/STIR) is fundamentally aimed at re-establishing trust in the communications ecosystem, a stronger stance against malicious robocalling, and protecting consumers against fraud and abuse from robocalling. > **[STIR/SHAKEN: The New System That Could Wipe Out Robocalls](https://robocalllawsuit.com/stir-shaken/)** > > Major telecom providers are preparing for the $100 million rollout of a new national call authentication system that could stem the flood of robocalls. ---
**Author:** ![Ficer67](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c57346/32.png) [@Ficer67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ficer67)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2020, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-phone-callers-investigative-techniques/915620/15 "2020-07-18T00:12:39Z")
I read about Stir/Shaken today - that is I have just read about the term. I am going to read more later. ---
**Author:** ![Ficer67](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c57346/32.png) [@Ficer67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ficer67)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2020, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-phone-callers-investigative-techniques/915620/16 "2020-07-18T00:13:54Z")
Thanks for the great responses guys. I know there is not much to be done on the subject right now. But, I am going to keep at it, and maybe… Thanks again. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2020, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-phone-callers-investigative-techniques/915620/17 "2020-07-18T00:16:10Z")
Another option to avoid telemarketing and other scam calls is to sign up with [Nomorobo](https://www.nomorobo.com/), although it doesn’t work with all phone lines. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2020, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-phone-callers-investigative-techniques/915620/18 "2020-07-18T00:28:29Z")
From something I recall reading in that technical STIR/SHAKEN article (the one that I can’t find again today), it should be workable even against incoming robocalls from off-shore (e.g., India). All calls not originating at a domestic telecom provider must necessarily get channeled into a domestic connection at a point of entry. The requirement for an authenticated caller ID could be enforced at that interface. IIRC, the article mentioned that at least in North America, Canada is working cooperatively with the United States to build a pan-North-American protocol, and I think Mexico is in on it too. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2020, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-phone-callers-investigative-techniques/915620/19 "2020-07-18T00:33:08Z")
Yeah, Spectrum offers that, it works pretty well. The police arent interested. Either complain with the FTC or get one of those attorneys that likes to sue them. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2020, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-phone-callers-investigative-techniques/915620/20 "2020-07-18T00:41:21Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > I’ll tell you right now, that’s a waste of your time and energy. If you go to the police with your info, I’d be surprised if they’d even so much as take a report. > [@DrDeth](#): > > The police arent interested. Either complain with the FTC or get one of those attorneys that likes to sue them. I’ll call “Maybe” on that. From some of the rules I’ve seen here-and-there about how to file complaints against robocalls or other unwanted telemarketing, the process begins with a local police report. I don’t know what the FCC or FTC or FBI position is, but if you try to get your own telecom provider to take action, the FIRST thing they will want to see is that police report. So, to be sure, the police won’t take any action, even if they take a report. But you can point out to them that if they take a report – that’s all they need to do, is take a report – you can then take that to your telecom. If you argue that to your local police, you might be able to cajole them into taking a report, even if they do nothing more. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-phone-callers-investigative-techniques/915620.md?page=2)