Phone Investigations: Fake Caller ID Cards

In this article, the second in a series on phone investigations, we’ll look at caller ID (CID) and counterfeit caller ID cards, or the falsification of the information displayed on a person’s caller ID when calling them.

This is a tool that every private investigator should have in their phone investigation arsenal. Imagine the uses you can imagine for pretext calls at work locations, jump tracking, vehicle recoveries, and process service.

One of my favorite excuses to use when trying to reach someone is the “storage locker call”. I call the subject or a friend or relative of the subject and identify myself as the owner of a storage unit. I explain that a locker has been abandoned and there are personal items in the locker that I would rather not throw away. I describe a box with the name of the jumps that contains old letters, pictures and cards. I tell them I’d be happy to mail it, I just want to make sure it gets to the right person.

This has been very effective in getting the current mailing address out of hundreds of omissions over the years. Now, if the target caller ID says “Ace Storage”, it becomes even more effective. You can do it with a fake caller ID card.

How about a pretext to locate a person’s current workplace? Perhaps a spoofed caller ID call from “2008 Election Poll” asking if the target wishes to participate in a quick phone poll. But first we need some background, like age and occupation. As you can see the possibilities are endless.

Many caller ID spoofing services will also offer related services, such as call recording or voice changing technology. This can be extremely useful for documenting undercover investigations. Some services even have a voice stress analysis feature that can be used as a lie detection tool.

Caller ID spoofing can be used in conjunction with other phone investigation tools, such as reverse phone number database lookups and phone traps. Perhaps he calls the target with a fake card and leaves a pretext message on his voicemail with instructions to call back a trap line. You can instruct the target to call you back during normal business hours. when they call the hotline, the automatic number identification feature will reveal their daytime work phone number. A reverse phone number lookup may reveal your place of employment or the location where you can perform service or process or recover a vehicle.

As you can see in the examples above, being able to fake a caller ID screen can be a valuable tool for all private investigators. It’s something that every researcher who is serious about her profession should have in her toolbox.