How often have you heard that “new message” alert tone from your phone, just to check it and find spam or some other message from an unknown number? Unfortunately, this seems to happen a lot more than it used to, and if you have a new phone you’re going to hesitate to block a number.
What if it’s someone you know or care about and you just don’t have their number yet?
This is the open door that many spammers and scammers take to try to take advantage of people.
In these situations being able to find out who’s texting you on your Android or iPhone (That’s right – Apple users aren’t immune to text scams), and having a way to find out this information without having to pay for it, is important.
You shouldn’t have to pay to figure out whether or not messages from unfamiliar sources are people you know or messages from scammers/hackers. Whether it’s calling, texting, or SMS messages – tracking down the source can be very important.
The good news is that there are several ways to know who’s behind those anonymous messages.
This guide will share tips on discovering the identity of unknown text message senders using various tools and methods.
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Table of Contents
Track Down the Anonymous Text Sender
Search for the Phone Number on Facebook
Many people have a phone number tied to their social media account. Especially on accounts set up a long time ago – meaning using the search function on big social media platforms can sometimes lead to an answer.
Some people use phone numbers to search for an individual’s Facebook account. We can also reverse that by utilizing Facebook to look for a person’s phone number.
To do a phone number search on Facebook, use the search bar at the top of the Facebook profile and enter a phone number. If someone on the platform tied this personal information to their profile, that profile might pop up.
You also might find messages where someone posted asking about this phone number. The responses might have an answer, especially if it’s a scam or spam telemarketing call.
Facebook will give search results, but if there are no matches, the person probably has the profile set to private or he did not provide a phone number on his account.
Use Snapchat to Find Out Who Is Texting You
Most people who think of Snapchat instantly think about cute filters and lenses, but the app has far more going for it than just photo-sharing abilities.
We can use it to track the identity of unknown senders, as long as they use Snapchat.
To use Snapchat to find out who messaged/texted you:
- Pull up the message from an unknown sender and temporarily save the number of the anonymous sender to the contact list.
- Open Snapchat and tap the user icon on the upper left corner of the app’s camera, leading to the profile screen.
- Once there, tap “Add Friends” and select the “Contacts” tab.
Snapchat will show a list of friends in the contacts. The user’s display name will appear if the mystery text uses the app. If not, do a web search for their display name.
That’s it – an easy three-step process for figuring out an unknown message sender on Snapchat.
Use Google to Detect Texting Scams
Google is a pretty strong tool for finding out who texted you. If you want to find some answers just put in the number, including the dashes to get better results.
If that doesn’t work try adding words like “phone,” “number,” or “scam” to see what comes up. There are many small forums across the web where spam numbers are recorded and finding these in Google search results can make it easy for you to find if the number is related to known spam or scams.
If this doesn’t grant any information, the next best step is to find one of the top-rated reverse phone lookup tools to uncover who is likely behind the number that texted you.
Best Sites for Reverse Phone Lookup
BeenVerified
BeenVerified is a great tool that is one of the more popular reverse phone number searches for good reason. With the help of BeenVerified, we have access to billions of pieces of aggregated public data.
The site’s reverse phone lookup feature helps identify whether the phone number is legitimate or a scam, and you may even be able to find who the last known owner of that number was.
Just a note, basic searches of the name are free but supporting details like age, social media profiles, address, and number, are only available on paid subscriptions.
BeenVerified’s paid plan ranges from $14.86 to $22.86 monthly.
Cocofinder
Cocofinder takes pride in how they handle the information with privacy and security. This site houses an extensive database of contact information that can identify the sender of a text ranging from digital phone numbers to caller’s name, location, address, social media accounts, and more.
A simple layout makes it easy to use for even non-tech people and it only takes the original number to start looking.
Also worth noting: CocoFinder doesn’t require premium plan subscriptions to unlock advanced features.
Spokeo Reverse Phone Lookup
With more than 12 billion records, Spokeo helps identify unknown calls and text messages from potential fraudsters or scammers.
Spokeo will get you the first and last name of the phone owner, address, and other available information.
The site’s resources help identify unknown numbers and allows users to end or block anonymous calls and messages.
Spokeo offers a 7-day free trial, and when the user wants to subscribe to the premium plan, it costs from $0.95/report to $24/month.
PeopleFinders
PeopleFinders currently contains 43 billion public records from over 6000 information sources.
This reverse phone lookup site helps users find information about a person through either a landline or mobile number. Some tools only do one or the other, but this has records for both.
By just providing a phone number, it provides details like a person’s name, address, public records, etc.
PeopleFinder is 100% secure and primarily focuses on providing convenient and quality service to the user at fair costs. Its monthly membership rate ranges from $24.95 to $29.95.
Truecaller
One of the unique features of Truecaller is that it serves other countries and is not limited to the U.S.
The site helps users store and manage contacts and, at the same time, find the owners of the numbers that still need to be part of the phonebook.
Truecaller initially helps the user search through his contact list, and if there are no matches, the site searches its database of 1 billion records and displays the owner’s name should it find any matches.
A premium subscription to Truecaller starts at $2.99 per month, and the cost varies depending on the number of uses and thoroughness of the information search.
Spy Dialer
Spy Dialer uses publicly available information, social media, and user-contributed address books to help identify unknown or suspicious phone numbers.
By simply entering a US-based phone number, the site will search for information about the owner of the number and what company they use for service.
One of its unique features is that it includes a satellite image of where the number line is potentially located. Spydialer allows users to extract at least 25 number searches a day for free.
CellRevealer
What differentiates CellRevealer from other sites is that it doesn’t just provide details from phone books and public resources.
It runs its reverse phone lookup in the caller ID database to produce real-time and possibly more accurate results.
Apart from the U.S., CellRevealer’s free reverse phone search feature also works with numbers in different parts of North America, like Canada, Hawaii, Guam, and the Caribbean.
This can be very effective, however, it is worth noting that it will be less useful as a resource if it’s being routed to/from India, The Philippines, or other nations outside North America that have large call centers.
Spytox
The site gives a wide range of information from multiple sources. Although it is less powerful than the other sites’ features, Spytox can quickly identify an unknown number.
It searches its internal database and the deep web to find the unknown number’s owner.
Spytox is a free reverse phone lookup site that does not require any sign-up or subscription. Users need to enter the unknown phone number, and the site will show all available information.
ZLOOKUP
The site lets users call an unknown number on the website itself. This way, the users will keep their number private to confirm if it is indeed owned by a person and not a bot.
ZLOOKUP searches through millions to gather information about a person. It aims to create transparency and accountability on landlines and cell phone users.
Although ZLOOKUP does background checks and can’t search for names, or email addresses, the site is free of charge for basic reverse searches.
White Pages
As one of the pioneers in the people search site industry, White Pages now contains millions of names, addresses, phone numbers, and more.
White Pages offers a free basic information lookup service for basic details like name, age, and location of the number’s owner. More details are provided with premium plans.
Premium plans are also available with prices ranging from $4.99 to $29.99.
AnyWho
Anywho provides a quick and easy way for users to find the owners of an unknown phone number.
While the site lacks features like reverse email lookup, its reliable phone records make it a solid choice for a narrow question like finding out who sent a text.
It offers its basic phone lookup for free. However, if users want more detailed background information or a premium search, the subscription plan starts at $24.95 per month.
Identify Unknown Text Message Senders
It’s always great receiving a quick note or message from a friend, family, or other loved one, and with today’s technology it’s easier than ever to stay connected.
Unfortunately, despite all the benefits of social media, email, and messaging apps, there are downsides from spam, harassment, and outright scams. Often coming from completely unknown sources!
Using the tools I provided in this article will help you get information on unknown sends and by simply taking the time to enter the phone number on several of these sites you will have a much better chance of staying safe in a digital world.
There is no shortage of ways to know the identity of an unknown text sender. It’s just a matter of finding the tool or method that suits you best.