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Archive for December, 2008

Caller ID Spoofing

December 29th, 2008

Caller ID Spoofing

Caller ID Spoofing has been around since the advent of Caller ID itself. In its simplest form Spoofing is the ability for a caller hide their identity by appearing to calling from a different or trusted number. One of the earliest uses of this tactic was for national sales teams to spoof using local numbers. Sales targets were more likely to answer a local call than a toll free number that appeared on their Caller ID.

Caller ID Spoofing has been used for fun little pranks to very malicious social engineering or pretexting calls and there are bills floating around to stop the practice. As with most technologies when scammers, fraudsters, stalkers, cheaters, and criminals begin to take advantage, efforts to curb its use take hold.

It doesn’t take a huge imagination to figure out what type of annoying little pranks can be performed with the ability to mask the number of an outgoing calls, but when spoofing into Law Enforcement Agencies, 911 Dispatches, and other public services things can get dangerous. There have been incidents of SWAT teams being sent to locations looking for armed intruders, false claims of hostage situations, and mass panic caused by the ability to conceal an identity.

Most of the trouble with Caller ID Spoofing comes when scammers feel protected enough to continually badger individuals, financial institutions, and credit card companies in an effort to gather information. The result is usually some form of fraud or identity theft.

Even with the possibility of legislation to seriously criminalize Caller ID Spoofing, protecting yourself using common sense is always the best defense against fraud. Currently, the Preventing Harassment Through Outbound Number Enforcement Act and the Truth in Caller ID Act are aimed at making it illegal to mask Caller ID numbers for intentionally defrauding or harassing others. However, these are not laws yet and prosecuting such acts will most likely prove difficult and costly for the average person.

The legislation itself is very limiting in the scope of what would or would not be considered illegal so not surprisingly even in the shadow of possible legislation more and more companies are advertising new and improved tools for Caller ID Spoofing. The names of the services might be ingeniously named but they are all based on the idea of masking identity to get a target on the phone.

So making sure you never give out any private information over the phone and keeping conversations with solicitors short and vague are great ways to avoid being lured into a scam. If you are interested in speaking with the caller who may be salesperson or a representative of a company you currently do business with, don’t be afraid to ask for their direct number and ring them back. If they are truly there to provide you with legitimate service they will have a way for you to call them.

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Who Can See My Phone Records

December 23rd, 2008

Who Can See My Phone Records

Phone records are made up of call logs and text logs. A call log will contain information about calls such as date, time, recipient, general location, and the length of the call. A text log is more general and is more or less a quick wrap up of a call containing the date, time, and call recipient. Contrary to popular opinion there is no real difference between Cell Phone records and Landline phone records.

It is important to point out that phone records are not for sale. In fact, selling phone records is Illegal. When using reverse white pages, companies that provide cell phone trace services do not provide phone records and do not have access to them. Here’s what AT&T has to say about it on their Cell Phone Records Security Page:

As you may have read or seen in the media, a number of websites are advertising the availability for sale of wireless phone records. Please know that AT&T does not sell customer information to, or otherwise cooperate with, these companies, and we are working aggressively to combat their practices. AT&T has filed lawsuits against several of such companies, and has obtained restraining orders prohibiting them from obtaining  customer information or providing it to anyone.  AT&T

AT&T and other major cell phone service providers are leading the charge against the perception that actual cell phone records are being bought and sold, and Trace A Cell Number fully supports this effort. The major cause of public’s misconception has been due to the fallout of the George W. Bush scandal involving the NSA and domestic spying allegations in 2006. The media claimed major cell phone providers were assisting the Bush White House by providing cell phone records which would allow the government to effectively “listen in” on ordinary Americans.

So who can see my phone records?

Besides yourself, only the phone company and their affiliates have access to your phone records. Service Providers my use third party partners to due billing and other tasks. These companies are known as affiliates and they cannot buy or sell phone records.

However, phone companies can take the public information from records and repackage it for sale to marketers but this data is so stripped down it can be found anywhere. Each telephone company does provide opt out solutions for customers if they choose to remove their information from these lists.  Service Providers are also required to cooperate with subpenas and other official requests from government agencies.  This is what had initially raised questions regarding cell phone records and the National Security Agency.

So, the phone company, certain government agencies, and to some extent marketing companies have access to your cell phone records. Anyone who is advertising the sale of information on the open market is not selling phone records. They are actually selling public information compiled from several sources.

This is completely legal but often misunderstood. In this day and age we often give out our information to several entities for many different reasons. Reputable reverse white pages and cell phone numbers search companies simply cast out a wide net over several public sectors and reel the information into very specialized and complete databases. Accessing one of these cell number lookup companies should be very inexpensive compared to buying pieces of information from scattered sources.

People use this information to identify the owners of cell phones that call into their phones from numbers they do not recognize. It is important to be able to know who is on the other end of the phone especially if you are being harassed for some reason. Using a company to find people by phone number is a great and legal way to access information.

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Should I Worry About Pretexting?

December 20th, 2008

Should I Worry about Pretexting?

Pretexting is when someone intentionally falsifies their own identity or lies about something in order to get information out of YOU! This is easily done over the phone by someone who has put a lot of time and effort into figuring out how to get you, or any target, to give up some really personal information that will allow them to do some harm to personal accounts.

Credit Cards and Bank Account information are perfect targets for a pretext scam and some sort of telephone survey is usually put together to withdraw information commonly used in association with accessing those accounts. To protect yourself against a pretexting fraud is not that hard as long as you really think twice about answering questions involving mother’s maiden name, first telephone number, favorite author, etc.  You may recognize some of these terms from setting up your security questions for accounts, or ways to retrieve online passwords if you forget them.

There are plenty of legitimate telephone survey companies out there trying to perform good deeds and collect important information for credible pursuits but who really needs to participate with such a great risk of identity theft out there?  Remember, someone involved in pretexting has gone to great lengths to perfect their scam and appear to be a legitimate representative of some company or agency that most people use.  These criminals are masters of  Social Engineering and know how to gather information without us realizing it is going on.

So why worry about pretexting?

The real problem associated with a pretext type of scam is that once a person has some of your personal information, they can do a pretty good job convincing a customer representative of your bank or credit card company that they are actually you and need either a new credit card issued or some type of malicious balance transfer. There is really no limit to what a good thief can steal and we all really do need to worry about pretexting.

Now there are really two points to be made here. First is that you can protect yourself from a potential scam by knowing who is on the other end of the phone. If they are calling from a cell phone, their number will probably not be associated with any familiar number or a name in your call log.  Searching the number and identifying the owner of the cell phone can be done easily by using a free reverse look up or a cell reverse.  Once you find out the identify of the person behind the calls you can report them to the authorities or simply let them know you caught them phishing. The later usually works and they will move on to the next target.

The second point is that Trace A Cell Number or any reputable mobile number search will not have any information in their database obtained through pretexting. Cell phone number search data and unlisted telephone numbers are accessed through legitimate records and are compiled for use legally. Anyone can pay to use these phone records sources but good reverse look up services have done all the work and have all the information needed in one place and retrieve it for an absolutely minimal cost.

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Can Telemarketers Call My Cell Phone

December 20th, 2008

Can Telemarketers Call My Cell Phone

Telemarketers calling cell phones has been a hot topic of late. The debate stems from some nasty rumors circulating on the internet and I’m the first to admit I fell for them.

Telemarketers cannot legally call a cell phone number the way they can a regular phone listing. Cell phone carriers have always toyed with the idea of creating a 411 directory for cell phones but have yet to do so. And, this idea has sparked a nasty little virus online.

A scam email is circulated saying that in a certain number of days the cell phone 411 will go live and the only way to avoid being called by telemarketers is to sign up for a new and separate national do not call list. Well, this list does not exist and the form people have been filling in to register for the fake list asks for information that could be used to access private accounts.

Human beings tend to use the same security questions for bank accounts, email accounts and other very personal accounts that might prove very fruitful for scammers. When signing up for the fake list the form calls for the registrant to choose a security question and verify their cell phone number. Chances are the most of the victims will use the same security question as they do for their other accounts and they will have given a very hard to find cell phone number as well.

Even though real telemarketers are not supposed to call a cell phone number, you may be surprised to find out that non-profit organizations are permitted to call cell phones. Telephone survey companies and any business you have called from a cell number or done actual business with during an 18 month period of time is legally allowed to call that cell number. Also, any complaint registered by a cell phone owner against an unsolicited caller has 31 days to take full effect.

Our cell phone protection is well intended but tends to fall short because it becomes extremely difficult for cell phone users to identify the owners of the phones calling us. Since cell phone numbers are not listed in a 411 directory, getting someone to stop harassing calls without running a trace on that number through a reverse look up service.

It’s kind of a catch 22 if you ask me but when you are trying to identify a stalker, ducking a bill collector or wondering who may be calling your spouse the small price to access unlimited call traces is worth it.

You may not find a telemarketer on the other end of the call!

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Cell Phone Number Lookup

December 15th, 2008

Cell Phone Number Lookup

A cell phone number lookup is an easy way for you to find information about a number that you’ve found or that has called your home, work, or mobile phone. Whether you’re worried that your partner is cheating, that you’ve missed an important business call, or that you’ve lost touch with an old acquaintance, doing a cell phone number lookup with Trace A Cell Number  can help you get the answers you need, and you won’t even have to leave your computer!

Cell Phone Number Lookups - Your Options

To do a cell phone number lookup, you’ll need to go to a site which provides such a service. Of course, you are probably already familiar with the countless sites on the Internet that offer free reverse lookup services.

Most of these do a great job of providing information if you’re looking for a landline number that isn’t unlisted. The bad news is that a growing number of the phone numbers we’re seeing aren’t from landlines. Free services won’t be able to help you if you’re researching a cell phone or unlisted number.

Trace A Cell Phone - The Best on the Net

In those cases, you’ll need to turn to a paid service. That’s not such a bad thing, usually because you’ll end up with more accurate, up-to-date information and, in the case of Trace A Cell Number, you’ll learn more about the individual who owns the number than you probably imagined possible, like family members, relatives, and background information.

The registration process is simple and you only need to do it once. With Reverse Phone Detective, your membership entitles you to an unlimited number of searches, so in the future you only need to log in to find what you need.

After you’ve registered, you’ll be able to do your cell phone number lookup. Simply enter the area code and seven digits of the phone number in question. After you hit “Search,” the system will make a match using the number and its extensive database of records. While most reverse lookup services contain hardly any records, Trace A Cell Number has wide coverage across the U.S., so you’ll get your results within seconds.

When available, you’ll find out the name of the cell phone number’s owner and their address, as well as background details you won’t find through any free services.

If you want information on a certain cell phone number, then you’re better off going straight to Trace A Cell Number. You will quickly find out what you need to know, and the service is backed by a 100% satisfaction guarantee.

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Click here to visit Trace A Cell Number Now!

December 15th, 2008

Thinking Of Hiring A Private Investigator? Read This First!

From time to time we all are going to need people search information. Maybe you’ve lost track of an old friend and the only thing you have to go on is an outdated phone number from a few years ago. Or you might be curious about strange numbers appearing your family cell phone bill. Or maybe you’re just tired of the prank calls late at night.reverse phone look up

To get answers, you may be tempted to hire a private investigator, but you don’t have to. There is a more affordable solution to your problem – Trace A Cell Number.

Why Turn To A PI?

Private investigators were once the only option you had when you needed hard-to-find information. Ordinary folks had no way of accessing the databases that we can so easily access today. Most of us had no idea what a reverse lookup was or why it would ever be useful. Today, things have changed and private investigators are going the way of the dinosaur.

One of the bad things about hiring a private investigator is that you are essentially going to be paying this person three times what is necessary. First, you’re going to be paying because they know WHERE to get the information you need. Second, you’ll end up paying a fee to cover ACCESS of the databases. Third, you’ll pay for the TIME they spent working on your case.

In the end, you’ll be paying this private investigator hundreds – maybe even thousands - of dollars for doing what you could do for a fraction of the cost.

Save Your Money with Trace A Cell Number.

The same databases private investigators use to get information are available for you to use. There’s nothing secret or special about them; they’re right there on the Internet at Trace A Cell Number. That means now you have the same knowledge as private investigations about how to find people through phone numbers.

Sure, you’ll have to spend a couple of minutes registering, entering the phone number, and waiting for the results, but you probably won’t be sending yourself a bill. Even if you did, the time you’ll spend completing one of these searches is nothing compared to all of the time you’d spend filling in your private investigator about the case details.

The one thing you will still need to do is pay the fee required for accessing Trace A Cell Phone’s massive database of information. And since you were going to be paying a much larger fee anyway to the private investigator, you’ll still come out ahead - because instead of paying three times for the service, you’re only paying once.

In addition, because we give you access to advanced search tools like expanded people search databases, you’ll have more direct access to the information and tools you need. By cutting out the middleman, you’ll get your results faster and cheaper.

Before you consider hiring a PI, visit Trace A Cell Number – you’ll be glad you did!

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Stop Prank Callers With Trace A Cell Number!

December 15th, 2008

Stop Prank Callers With Trace A Cell Number!

You’re sound asleep on a weekend night and enjoying your first chance in days to get a good night’s sleep, then the shrill ringing of the phone wakes you up in a panic. Still shaken, you put the receiver to your ear, only to discover the call was a prank.

Angrily, you slam down the phone and try to go back to sleep while you tell yourself that you’ll find a way to stop prank callers from harassing you again. Why didn’t you sign up at Trace A Cell Number when you had the chance?

Prank Callers - What’s the Solution?

We’ve all received prank calls. In some cases, they are merely one-time annoyances. For other people, prank calls are downright harassment.

A private investigator may be able to help you stop the calls, but you’ll end up investing hundreds of dollars just to find out the identity of the person who owns the number. You could also try doing a reverse phone lookup at one of the many free sites available, but most prank callers don’t use public landline numbers - the only ones you can find information on through free services.

Your best option is to go through Trace A Cell Number. You’ll pay just a single fee for unlimited access to hundreds of millions of records, including information on cell phone, unlisted, and landline numbers.

You’ll also get advanced tools like free search assistance, access to expanded people search database records, even family member information! All you need to do is enter the area code and seven digit number, and you’ll get information like the number owner’s name and address - which will help you stop your prank caller once and for all!

What to Do Next

So, once you have the information, what do you do? For one, you could wait until you receive the next prank call - then call them by name - so they know that YOU know exactly who THEY are.

If they don’t quit, you’ll have the information you need to approach the police or to file a harassment complaint. In most cases, you won’t have to resort to those drastic actions. You can usually stop prank callers once they realize they’re no longer operating in the dark.

Just remember - if you want to stop prank callers, you need information - and the best place to get that information is through Trace A Cell Number.

Stop Prank Callers

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Search By Phone Number

December 15th, 2008

Search By Phone Number

Most people don’t know that you can search by phone number to find out information about a person’s background. Full name, current address, relatives, neighbors, address history, and an assortment of public records can be obtained simply by entering their phone number into the reverse phone number search at Trace A Cell Number and clicking the Search button.

Searching by Phone Number - Your Choices

Of course, to do a search by phone number you have several options. The first places most people go are the free reverse lookup services available all over the Internet. While these services are fine places to start, you’ll find they provide limited information on a very limited amount of numbers.

One problem with the free services is that they only work from databases containing public domain information, such as your landline number. If you want to do a search by phone numbers other than landline numbers, you won’t find any information on them.

You also won’t find information when you do a search by phone number at a free service for cell phone numbers, unlisted phone numbers, or VoIP numbers.

Another problem is that the information you receive from doing a search by phone number will only provide you with very basic details about the owner of the phone number. You’ll learn their name and address, but probably not much else. While that may be all you need at the time, you may find other information about the person’s background useful to have.

Finally, most free search by phone number services don’t update their information regularly. That means the information you do receive could no longer be accurate - and you’ll have reached a dead end in your search.

Trace A Cell Number - Accurate, Easy and Affordable

A more effective way to do a search by phone number is through Trace A Cell Number. Using this service, you’ll be able to find information on almost any number you enter. Reverse Phone Detective provides you with millions of records that you can access for only one fee.

Additionally, you’ll be able to access even more detailed information about the individual if you want. The Trace A Cell Phone members area includes access to hundreds of millions of public records through its expanded people search and investigation databases.

Finally, Trace A Cell Number keeps its databases as up-to-date as possible, so you run little risk of finding invalid or outdated information. If you do, the other investigate tools available free to registered members, such as free search help and expanded database information, will help you continue your search.

If you’re serious about doing a search by phone number, Trace A Cell Number is your answer. Click here to visit the official Trace A Cell Number website now!

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Is There A Free Reverse Cell Phone Directory?

December 15th, 2008

Is There A Free Reverse Cell Phone Directory?

One of the most common questions people have is whether or not a free reverse cell phone directory actually exists out there somewhere on the Internet. Unfortunately, the answer is no. If you’re looking for a complete, accurate guaranteed reverse cell phone directory, you need Trace A Cell Number.

In your search for a free reverse cell phone directory, you will find some pseudo-directories promising to allow free cell phone lookups, but they’re usually just websites that allow you to lookup the carrier or issuing location of a phone number (not the owner).

Why Isn’t There a Free Reverse Cell Phone Directory?

Once people realize there’s no such thing as a free reverse cell phone directory, the big question is - why not? After all, there are plenty of free reverse lookup sites for land line numbers. What’s the difference?

Well, the difference is the classification of the information. Your home telephone number is considered public domain information and has been for decades. That’s why no one has to ask your permission to publish your number in the telephone book. In fact, sometimes you have to pay a fee to keep your name OUT of those phone books (i.e., to get it unlisted or non-published).

Cell phone numbers are generally more private, since you’re charged for every call you receive, including telemarketers you don’t want to talk to (although it’s illegal for them to call your cell phone without permission!). That’s why cell phone numbers are typically harder to track down.

Wireless 411 Directory

A few years back, there was some talk about putting together a reverse cell phone directory. All of the different cell phone service providers would contribute their numbers, and the directory would be made available. However, the concern about telemarketers and privacy caused the idea to be abandoned (for now).

That doesn’t mean that putting together a reverse cell phone directory is impossible. The truth is it can be done- and has been done– but it requires plenty of effort, since the information has to be compiled manually from millions of different records. Because it takes so much work, no one is able to offer this service for free. In addition, most reverse cell phone directory providers who charge simply don’t have access to a complete database of information.

Trace A Cell Number

Trace A Cell Number  stands out as having one of the most comprehensive and accurate reverse phone search databases on the Internet. Just run a few Google searches and you’ll quickly discover they’re often the top-ranked reverse cell phone site online.

Click here to visit Trace A Cell Number now!

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Search Cell Phone Number

December 15th, 2008

Search Cell Phone Number

A woman suspects her husband of cheating on her. She sneaks a peek at his cell phone bill only to discover lots of calls to the same number. When she tries to use one of the free reverse lookup services to determine who owns the number, she gets nowhere, because the calls are being made to a mobile phone.

What should she do? Log in to Trace A Cell Number – and find out exactly what’s going on! Alternatively, she could do nothing at all. But of course, that doesn’t help her solve her problem – that nagging, “unknown” feeling about whether her husband is being faithful.

Landline vs. Cellphone Numbers

Unlike landline numbers, cell phone numbers are not freely available to the public, so gathering them into a directory or database isn’t easy. In fact, any site that promises a free way to search cell phone number directories is probably not legitimate.

To search cell phone number directories, you’ll want to start with Trace A Cell Number. We specialize in reverse cell phone lookups and our databases contain more records than virtually any other service on the Internet. Plus, you’ll be able to conduct an unlimited number of searches with just a single membership - without having to pay a fee every time.

Once you’ve decided to do your search with Trace A Cell Number, you’ll have to register and become a member. We make these steps fairly easy and quick. With Trace A Cell Number, once you’re a member you’ll only need to log in any time you want to do searches in the future.

Trace A Cell Number – The Right Choice for RESULTS

After you’ve registered, you’ll simply enter the area code and seven digits of the cell phone in question. You can also use Trace A Cell Number to search for landline and unlisted / unpublished numbers.

The results will take a few seconds to retrieve because the system will be running through all of the options trying to make a match. When the match is made, the information on that person – full name, address, relatives, neighbors, and more - will be pulled and displayed for you to view.

With other sites, you’ll only have access to the basics: the person’s name, address, etc. But with Trace A Cell Number, you’ll be able to obtain background information if you wish. In fact, even if you have an outdated phone number, you’ll still be able to use that number to search for the latest address for the individual using people search investigative tools available to members.

The bottom line: the quality of the results you’re going to get when you search cell phone number directories is determined on the site you choose to go through. With our 100% results guarantee, Trace A Cell Number takes the guesswork out of picking the right service!

Click here to visit Trace A Cell Number.

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