My daughter received a very malicious email offering “sincere sympathy for what had happend.” She was instantly panic stricken and in tears. The message allegedly came from her aunt and used a nickname that is not particularly widely known. I called the number and got answering machine. Reverse lookup gave no information as to name. What I want to do is call the number again and leave some sort of message that will have a high likelyhood of being returned. I then need a way to get the person to tell me their name. Any advice on what kind of story I can use to achieve both goals?
Since the OP is asking for advice, this is better suited for IMHO than GQ. I have also edited the title to better indicate the subject.
I also remind posters to restrict their advice to activities that are legal. Providing advice on how to break the law is not allowed on this board.
Colibri
General Questions Moderator
Yeah, I wasn’t sure it belonged in general questions, but couldn’t really think of which catagory it did belong in. I was sure that what I was asking was acceptable as far as the rules of the board are concerned, however.
Oh yeah, and it wasn’t and email, it was a text message, obviously.
One thing to try is just google the number, I have seen that work. And you can also try the various phonebook sites such as 411.com
I tried both googling the number. That told me it was a land line in Baltimore Marlyland. Since it was not a land line, but a cell phone, I don’t know how accurate the location would be. I tried the various while pages and reverse directories and really came up with nothing.
Well social engineering is a learned art. I have had two jobs in my life, one in my 20s while I was in college (at a private investigator’s office,) and the other at a bond agency. Both places I did clerical work but they would often use me to do social engineering calls.
The first thing I would do is assume that the original poster message is false. My apologies if this isn’t the case, but the first thing to do is come up with a good story willing to make people want to help me
The OP story does this. It involves a child, which everyone wants to protect. Now for all we know the OP could be a stalker.
Let’s assume the story is true.
First of all there are lots of programs that can change your phone number. Second of all is how well known is your aunt’s “not well known” nickname. Usually a lot more people know things about you than you think they don’t
Is this “nickname” on the Internet.
A malicious message could be nothing more than the girl talking and yacking in the library and disturbing people, so the guy next to her sent her a message. How did he do that?
By listening, you’d be amazed at what information you give out. I sit in back of people on buses who freely give out their phone numbers, addresses, personal info, while talking to their friends. A lot of times a really annoying person yakking on a cell is enough to make me want to write down the cell phone number and post it somewhere, just to show that cell phone user, what it’s like to be annoyed 
You can’t social engineer someone or something unless you can get info. You called the number, no luck.
The better thing is your daughter learned a lesson, don’t believe everything you hear. I mean even if the OP got the person’s name, so what? You couldn’t do anything to that person. So there’s no point but revenge.
Your question is OK as it stands. I was just reminding those who respond to not be excessively creative in their suggestions, especially if it regards harassment. 
No, the story is true, and the nickname of the aunt is not on the internet. It is used strictly by the nieces and nephews and is only used verbally. So it is someone who was at our house when she was there, or someone my daughter knew well enough to have talked about her relatives, in short, someone she thought was a friend. I don’t think she (the aunt) uses any social site on the internet whatsoever.
And you are right, there is nothing I could do. However, someone who knows my daughter well did a very unkind thing. I would hate to come accross this person at a party or something and be friendly and civil. It is simply a matter of wanting to know the name of your enemies.
Right, no luck with phone call, I got voice mail. I am asking for suggestions as to a message I could leave that would have a chance of inducing that person to return the call.
Allude to offering them money.*
I am lot a lawyer. Finding out who these people are is probably a bad idea. If this post violates any rules of the message board, please delete it and pretend I never wrote it.
My first response to the number being a cell number traced to a landline is that it’s a Google Voice number. I picked a 10-digit number that spelled the name of my business but by way of the area code is a landline “located” in Omaha, Nebraska or some place.
By the way, I had never heard the phrase “social engineering” before, but thanks to this thread and the accompanying Wiki entry I now have a technical term for the verb phrase “to Scooby-doo” someone.
To throw a little Occam’s Razor in with the social engineering – are any of the nieces and nephews around the same age as your daughter?
You might also have some luck trying to ferret out who might have a motive. Either it was malicious or a badly thought out joke, right? Ask your daughter if she’s had a falling out with any friends/relatives recently or even any really recent interaction with any of them (she might not realize she pissed someone off). And ask her if a joke or prank like this would be characteristic of any of them.
Also, she might not be the sole target. You might try to determine if any other family members received such a message. Maybe someone looking to get back at the nieces/nephews, the family in general, or the aunt sent it.
Could someone have spoofed the caller ID to prevent it from showing who they really are?
The text of the message itself might be important. You said it was something having to do with “sincere sympathy”… sympathy for what? I could see this being a scam rather than a prank. For example, the caller could be planning to ask for money to pay for bail/funeral costs/plane fare home. Have there been any other messages, or requests for money? Does the aunt have any friends or relatives who might have stolen her phone and be using it to commit fraud? If the message was just mean-spirited, such as “so sorry your dog got run over” when the dog is fine, please disregard the above theory.
I don’t know; you don’t think any of your nieces or nephews ever mentioned your aunt’s nickname in passing to some one else outside the home, such as a girlfriend or boyfriend, or former boyfriend/girlfriend? “I was talking to Aunt Brunhilde last night . . . oh, that’s just what we call my Aunt Hildegard . . .”
I’m completely confused. Isn’t it possible that the person who sent it accidentally types in the wrong phone number? Maybe meant to send it to a different relative? I just don’t understand the “instantly panic stricken and in tears” part. It sounds like just a confused message. Delete it and move on with life. Was it threatening in some way?