Nowadays, more and more telemarketers and scammers are using various methods to trap users in their evil plans. Caller ID spoofing, as one of the most common methods, can be very devastating if it happens to you.

If you’ve just received a phone call and you don’t know whether it’s legitimate or comes from a scammer with a spoofed phone number, don’t worry. You’ve come to the right place!

To help yourself, just read this article and you’ll learn what caller ID spoofing is, how to tell if a phone number is spoofed, how to handle spoofed calls or texts, and how to trace a spoofed phone number.

How to trace a spoofed phone number

In the past, it was almost impossible to trace a spoofed phone number. However, as reverse phone lookup technology advances, you can trace a spoofed phone number easily!

There are several websites that provide the reverse phone lookup feature. You don’t have to try them all, just pick the one that suits you best:

Search here
BeenVerified
Spokeo
PeopleFinders
PeopleLooker
Social Catfish

1. Search here:

The easiest and most effective way to trace a spoofed phone number is to do it right here:

^{Enter the unknown # into the search box above, and then click “Search Now” to uncover detailed information about that phone number.}

2. BeenVerified

As one of the top background search websites, BeenVerified is the go-to choice for everyday information. BeenVerified provides users access to billions of records from leading sources, and most importantly, for over 10 years, BeenVerified has been committed to privacy.

With BeenVerified’s Reverse Phone Lookup feature, you can uncover the name of the owner and where the number originates. You might also search for the caller’s real number or name.

To trace a spoofed phone number, you just need to enter the phone number in the search box below and click the Search Now button:

You can also trace a spoofed phone number on the BeenVerified website, to do so:

Sign up for BeenVerified.
Go to BeenVerified’s Reverse Phone Lookup page.
Type the phone number you want to trace and click SEARCH.
In the search report, you may uncover the background info about the phone number, including the owner of the phone number, age, email address, location and social media accounts linked to the number. If the reverse search doesn’t return any results, that may suggest that you’re dealing with a spoofed call.

Please note that BeenVerified is a subscription-based service. If you’re not a member yet, now you can try BeenVerified for $1!

This special offer allows you to search for the phone number you just typed and get a reverse phone report for the entire trial period.

Search out who is calling

Search Owner’s Name, Address & More!

Since robocalls utilize VoIP services and general fake phone numbers, it may be difficult to trace these phone numbers back to an individual or company.

3. Spokeo

Spokeo is another powerful people search tool that has reverse phone lookup features. It boasts billions of records from a wide range of industry-leading data sources, which can help you find the caller’s real number or identity.

Besides, Spokeo’s Phone Reputation Score feature is also a great tool that can help you tell if a call is coming from a spoofed number.

To trace a spoofed phone number on the Spokeo website, just follow the steps below:

Visit the Spokeo official page.
Click the PHONE tab to access the reverse phone lookup feature, enter the phone number and click SEARCH NOW.
You’ll get a search report that contains information associated with the phone number, including if known, the name of the owner.

4. PeopleFinders

PeopleFinders is an industry-leading Data-as-a-Service (DaaS) provider. With billions of up-to-date records about over 250 million adults in the U.S., the PeopleFinders reverse phone lookup can help you find unknown callers quickly and easily!

Go to the official PeopleFinders site.
Click on the Phone tab and enter the phone number. Then click the Search Now button to start searching.
You’ll get all the available details about the phone number in the PeopleFinders database: their name, address, email address, and so much more.

5. PeopleLooker

PeopleLooker is another popular people search site that provides a reverse phone number lookup tool. Its reverse phone number lookup is capable of returning information that’s on public records, which can help you search for information that you cannot search with Google.

To trace a spoofed phone number on the PeopleLooker website:

Visit the official PeopleLooker Phone Number Search page.
Enter the phone number and click the Search button.

PeopleLooker will scour millions of public records to get as much information as possible. After a few seconds, you’ll uncover the phone number owner, current address, email addresses social media profiles and more when available!

As an online dating investigation service based in California, USA, Social Catfish has proprietary online tools like reverse phone lookup. At Social Catfish, your search is completely private and secure.

You can use Social Catfish to trace a spoofed phone number and get the most information about the person.

To start tracing the phone number using Social Catfish:

Go to the Social Catfish Reverse Phone Lookup page.
Enter the phone number and click the Search button to start searching.

Social Catfish will let you know if the phone number is really registered to a person as well as if it’s a VOIP phone line. What’s more, it will also provide you with detailed personal information linked to this phone number, such as the number owner, addresses, emails, and even the social platform profiles when available.

People search sites at a glance

Features	Pricing	Star Rating
✔️People search ✔️Reverse phone lookup ✔️Public record search ✔️Background check ✔️Accurate reports ✔️Dark web scans ✔️Mobile app ✔️Easy to use	1 month of unlimited reports: $28.05/mo or 2 months of unlimited reports: $23.28/mo ($46.56 now)	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
✔️High data accuracy ✔️Detailed search report ✔️Easy to use ✔️Property check ✔️Dark web scan ✔️Reports monitoring ✔️Neighborhood watch ✔️Unclaimed money search	Start at $14.49/mo when availing of the 3-month plan	⭐⭐⭐⭐
✔️Easy to use ✔️Detailed search reports ✔️Social media search	start at less than $20/mo	⭐⭐⭐⭐
✔️Easy to use ✔️Free basic search ✔️Super fast results ✔️Powerful social media search ✔️Informative search reports ✔️Report updates	1-month membership: $19.95/mo 3-month membership: $14.95/mo	⭐⭐⭐⭐
✔️Easy to use ✔️Deep Search ✔️Lightning-fast results ✔️Professional customer services ✔️Android & iOS app available	PeopleFinders Membership: $9.95/1st mo, then $24.95/mo PeopleFinders Premium Membership: $9.95/1st mo, then $29.95/mo	⭐⭐⭐⭐
✔️100% confidential search ✔️Reverse iamge search ✔️Easy to use ✔️Over 200 billion records ✔️Lightning-fast results	Unlimited Social Search: $5.73 for 5 Days; then $27.48 /mo. Unlimited Image Search: $5.99 for 5 Days; then $26.99/mo. Hire A Search Specialist: $297 (One Time Fee)	⭐⭐⭐⭐

What is caller ID spoofing?

Caller ID spoofing is when a caller deliberately falsifies the information transmitted to your caller ID display to disguise their identity.^[1] It is primarily used by scammers and telemarketers to hide their original identity and pretend to be trustworthy.

Simply put, a spoofed phone call is one that appears to come from a specific phone number, company or person when it pops up on your phone’s screen, but is actually being made by a different phone number.

Individuals and companies can easily spoof the caller ID, and for the general public, it can be hard to tell if a phone number is spoofed or not. So when you receive a phone call, you cannot always trust what the caller ID says.

How to tell if a phone number is spoofed

While there is no 100% accurate way to detect a spoofed number, you may not be able to tell right away if an incoming call is spoofed. Here are some tips that can help catch a scammer in their tricks:

Do a basic web search. When you receive a phone call, a simple Google search can help you get more information about that phone number. If you find that many people say that that number is spoofed, you just need to ignore that call. If you’ve answered it, hang up immediately.
Call the number back using another phone. When you’re on the call, if possible, you can also dial the same number from another phone. If you find that the called number is engaged, it may suggest that the call is genuine and not a spoofed call.
Call the company to confirm. If the caller says that he is from a company, you can look up the contact info of that company on the Internet. Dial the official contact number to confirm the existence of the person who called you.

How to handle spoofed calls/texts

You may not be able to tell immediately if an incoming call or text is spoofed. Here are some tips that can help you protect yourself when you receive spoofed calls or texts:

Don’t answer calls and reply to texts from unknown numbers. If the text you received contains links, don’t open those links.
If the caller asks you to tap a button to stop getting calls, don’t hang on, hang up.
Don’t give out your personal information (e.g. account numbers, Social Security numbers or passwords), and don’t answer security questions.
Use extreme caution if you’re being pressured for immediate payment.

[1] Caller ID Spoofing | Federal Communications Commission

By Justin Zeng

Justin is a technical writer. As a Microsoft 365 Certified: Modern Desktop Administrator Associate, he loves exploring new technologies and writing technical how-to tips to help people fix their computer / phone issues. When he's not writing, there's a 99 percent chance he's reading, playing video games or listening to music.

Contributor(s):