When using a any of the caller ID spoofing providers, all one typically has to do to make a fake caller ID phone call is to enter the number your phone number, your destination phone number, and the phone number that you want to show up on the other person’s caller ID. Getting into someone’s voicemail is as simple as using that person’s phone number as the number you want to show up. If you are lucky and their voicemail system works without having to enter a passcode everytime (like on the iPhone) you will go right to their voicemail with administrative access. This also only works if the person you are calling doesn’t answer the phone when you try doing this. There is however, a way around this if you happen to have your victim’s direct dial voicemail number. There are plenty of resources around that discuss the various local phone number access numbers one can use to call their voicemail systems, it is different for each cell provider. I have tested this on my own AT&T service, and it works like a charm everytime.

Check our list of caller ID spoofing providers

We make no claims as to the legality of caller ID spoofing and/or using it to obtain access to someone’s voicemail. There are many legitimate uses for caller ID spoofing that don’t involve accessing other people’s voicemail, just as there is a valid reason that the voicemail systems are so easily accessible by others.

If you have caller ID, you have undoubtedly had at least one blocked call in your lifetime and if you’re like everyone else, you want to know who was calling you from that ‘private’ number that showed up on your caller id.

If you own a cell phone there is a service that will give you this information and much much more! The service is called TrapCall and is available in (4) different levels of service including a free basic version and on up to a $24.95 a month version that includes many additional features that your cell phone provider should have provided you with.

The service Plans

TrapCall is nice enough to provide a free plan, we decided to try the free trial of the Bear Trap service ourselves and continued to keep it and pay for it accordingly.

TrapCall Testing & Usage

We tested many features of the Bear Trap service and found it to be a great service. We tested TrapCall with an iPhone 3GS. The initial reason for testing was to discover who was calling from blocked numbers, which the service revealed very easily. Beyond that, we found an additional use for the service that TrapCall makes no mention of on their website.

We found that if you travel overseas and want to avoid keeping your phone on and incuring expensive international roaming fees, you can turn your cell-phone (or leave your phone off) into an airplane like mode (so that it doesn’t try to connect you to a cell network). This will allow your calls to be forward to your voicemail while you are in a different country. As long as calls are able to reach your voicemail, you can receive an email notification of the phone call with caller ID, as well as a transcript of the voicemail. This has the potential to save you a bunch of money if you are a regular overseas traveler.

Note: The reason we say OFF, is we found that if you leave your phone ON and do not answer, the incoming call is rarely if ever routed to your voicemail. It usually goes to a message from the local cell phone company.

Conclusion

I can tell you that the service works great, it does an amazing job of unmasking private callers. The additional features of the paid service are worthwhile if you need them. We really have nothing bad to say about the service!

DISCLAIMER: This an affiliate blog posting. The editor of this site may receive a comission for any sale that occurs. (Editor’s Note: When I wrote this I had a genuine need for the service and actually paid for the service and used it for several months. The views and opinions expressed in this post are those of myself and this article copy was not influenced in any way by TrapCall or it’s affiliates. It was reviewed prior to any affiliate programs.)

Harassment by use of a fake caller ID is becoming more and more common. For years caller ID technology has helped people screen their phone calls to avoid both private parties, as well as pushy businesses such as telemarketers. The innovation of caller ID spoofing however has once more opened the door to unscrupulous activities.

The law strictly forbids the use of a fake caller ID to harass people, and even a faked ID number can be traced back to the calls origin by the proper authorities. However this does not dissuade many people from using the technology for illegal reasons. Many times people simply are not tech savvy enough to understand that you can still have the call traced.

People have abused this technology for everything from simple and harmless prank calls, to stalking. Some people have used a faked caller id to direct police to a home in a practice known as “Swatting”, while others have abused a process known as voice mail hacking. Voice mail hacking can allow someone to infiltrate the voice mail of another person, using the faked ID, and delete messages that may be important.

Many abusers of ID spoofing use this technology for obscene or threatening phone calls. By using the fake ID the confuse their victims, and make the call both difficult and time consuming to track. These blatant violation of the law are some of the most commonly seen abuses of faked caller Ids.

While not as threatening some people will use a faked caller ID to simple annoy random people by calling, then hanging up. When the recipient of the aggravating calls attempts to call the numbers back, the number is often nonexistent, or a computer says that it has been disconnected.

In other types of harassment people may call a person who works in a controversial business such as an abortion clinic, and leave threatening or insulting messages. These can be as frightening and stressful as lewd phone calls.

Some people have been caught using call spoofing to defraud people. By calling and claiming to be a local fire department collecting donations, or by posing as telemarketers selling a product these thieves can acquire monetary payments through check, money order, and even steal credit card numbers by using a fake number, or even a legitimate businesses phone number to further complicate the matters.

You can protect yourself to some extent from scam artists by following the same protection methods you would use against online fraud. Be suspicious of anyone that asks for your personal information, credit card, or bank account numbers. Add your number to the National Do Not Call registry. This will help you avoid real telemarketers, but more importantly identify fake ones. In the case of threats, sexual harassment, or abuse of that nature, do not wait, call the police and report the incident. Emergency service workers have way to override a faked caller ID.

Many people today can scarcely recall what it was like before you could screen your calls with a simple glance, and while caller ID is now common, there was a time when it was cutting edge technology. A Greek communication engineer named Theodore Paraskevakos is credited with the development of the method behind caller Ids operation.

For the next decade Paraskevakos, as well as several other notable inventors would continue to work on perfecting the caller identification device. The first market trials for caller ID were held in 1984 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, by Bell Atlantic Company. The middle of the year saw trial testing done by Bell South as well. The company was seeking to understand the potential for revenue behind the technology. Companies would continue to market the product throughout the 1980′s and early into the 1990′s before an updated type of caller ID appeared.

In 1995 the world would be introduced to call waiting id which would further upgrade peoples ability to monitor their calls, by allowing the recipient of a call to see who was call while they were already on the phone. Some of these options that were added to this were an option to place either call on hold, send an incoming call to your voice mail or answering machine, or even add the new caller in a three way call.

This technology has been indispensable when avoiding telemarketers, harassing bill collectors, and prank phone calls. It allows people to keep track of the calls they missed while busy in an initial conversation, and for many people the feature alone nearly replace a standard call list, depending on the use of the phone.

Caller ID has overall been a reliable technology, though at times when a number is coming in from a roaming phone, or an out of country call the recipient will often times get a message saying “Unknown caller”, or “unavailable”. Many bill collectors, and prankster will also use a call command that will block the caller id and show them simply as “unknown”, however telemarketers are required to allow a visible number, as approved by courts in 2004. Also, different countries often use separate standards for the transmission of caller data. This can cause the caller id on phones purchased in other countries to fail.

Virtually all telephone companies offer a call blocking command, so that you can call without your information being transmitted, however many companies also offer an option to automatically refuse, or redirect blocked numbers. Police and emergency service personnel can also override a blocked number, this helps prevent people who would use the blocking command to harass or threaten people.

All in all caller ID has come a long way from its’ origins, and is now a staple of everyday life, used by practically everyone, and left forgotten is the long history behind it.

This might have you wondering if there are any other laws on the books regarding call spoofing. The most important thing to know is that caller ID spoofing is absolutely legal; however, a few restrictions do exist regarding its use. Several states have passed laws similar to the federal bill, and these laws intend to keep caller ID spoofers from deceiving or defrauding telephone call recipients. Generally speaking, though, caller ID spoofing for the sake of a joke, prank, or even revenge is legal, as long as the phone calls don’t start to border on harassment. Most caller ID spoofing services offer recording capabilities; it is worthwhile to note that in many states recording a phone call without the express consent of all parties is illegal.

Another use for caller ID spoofing that is not technically illegal, even if it is morally questionable, is voicemail hacking. The process works by using the cell phone number you are dialing as your spoofed ID, tricking the cell phone into thinking it is calling itself. Cell phone voicemail systems which have the password protection disabled are the most vulnerable to voicemail hacking. There have been many high profile voicemail hacks, including the voicemails of tabloid queens Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton. Again, what might simply be a little harmless (and legal) investigative action becomes illegal if it crosses into harassment territory. One high profile example involves a fashion house publicity director named Ali Wise, who used her Spoofcard to hack into her rivals’ voicemails and delete messages over 700 times. She faced numerous counts of eavesdropping, computer trespass and tampering, stalking, and aggravated harassment.

Then there are the obvious misuses of caller ID spoofing. Known as “swatting,” there have been some pranksters who have taken their jokes much too far by sending SWAT teams to various addresses using caller ID spoofing services. “Pranks” like this result in jail time, since the spoofing service will hand over the account holder’s information to law authorities as soon as it’s asked. Of course, using caller ID spoofing services for obvious illegal activities such as fraud or information phishing will also most likely result in intervention by law enforcement.

The set-up is simple. Imagine for a moment that you have a strong suspicion that your partner is cheating. If possible, review their cell phone call log and contacts to find the number of the ‘other’ cheater. Once you have this information and a simple fake caller ID card, you are ready to use call spoofing technology to catch your cheating partner.

If you were to use your own cell phone and contact information, or to hide your caller ID information, to call the ‘cheater’ it is unlikely your call would be picked up. By substituting your partner’s caller ID information for your own, you increase the likelihood of making contact. As an added benefit, the ‘cheater’ will believe your partner placed the call. This way, there will never be ‘suspicious’ calls or concerns that you know!

Technology on your side

Luckily, there isn’t a lot of complicated software or hardware involved. In fact, all that is required is a simple fake caller ID card. Think of it like buying minutes for your phone. The cost is not prohibitive and the cards are readily available on the Internet. Even better, it only takes a few minutes to change the contact information.

Some of these call spoofing programs offer additional benefits that can make collecting evidence of the infidelity even easier. In some cases, you may be able to record all or part of a conversation for later use. It is important to be careful using this feature, as it is illegal in some states to record conversations without the permission of both parties.

The possibilities for fake caller ID are almost limitless. They can be used any time you wish to keep your name and contact information private. People have had success using the technique to fake telecommunicating from home, when they are really on vacation, and to assist in skip tracing.

The future of caller ID

When caller ID was first developed, it was an ‘added’ service and one that not many people had. As technology changed, caller ID has become the norm. While most of us enjoy the ability to screen calls, it does have its downside – caller id announces us to everyone we call. Fake Caller ID is yet another step in the process of developing technologies to aid us in communications. Whether you are choosing to use Fake Caller ID to catch a cheating spouse, lie about your whereabouts or simply protect your identity, it is a tool that everyone should have in their arsenal.

Caller ID Spoofing shouln’t be used for harassing or illegal purposes.

The service was called Phone Fake, and of course that actual service doesn’t exist, but others do. If you want to try out caller ID spoofing or text spoofing, check out our list of providers.

Also of note: By using a third party caller spoofing service, your phone number will NOT show up if someone is using this method. By allowing your call to be placed on your behalf and connected to you with one of these services, your anonymity remains intact because only the real number of services’ outbound line would show up…if anything at all.

Although not the intended usage of fake caller ID, it is a great product and is used by private investigators as a fast, easy, and inexpensive method of obtaining ownership information of a phone number. Check it out for yourself!