Reverse Cell Phone Lookup: Police Trace an "Untraceable" Phone

Last month, New York State police enjoyed the opportunity to put a cocky criminal in his place. Police operators received seven calls from a young man who enjoyed teasing and threatening the police. He claimed to be calling from an untraceable cell phone, bragged about riding stolen all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) with his friends, and proclaimed himself too smart to be caught. The police enjoyed the challenge to prove him wrong.

On a daily basis, we hear about new technologies and devices that help with locating phones, tracing caller activity, unmasking hidden numbers - you name it. This daredevil had made a tragic mistake, thinking he had in his possession a gadget that made his phone completely untraceable. How naive of him to think he could possibly have come across a technology as yet unavailable to the police.

It didn't take long to uncover the hidden number, match it with the owner's name and address via a reverse cell phone lookup, and trace the phone's location and activity for a few days. The local police were having fun, playing like a cat with the mouse who thought it was invincible, when in fact the trap was about to snap shut. The man claiming to be too smart must have felt pretty stupid when he saw police cars in his driveway.

Thanks to simple technology tricks such as reverse cell phone lookup, which by now has pretty much become a household name, the State Troopers have arrested the 25-year-old Rochester man and charged him with aggravated harassment for threatening to shoot a trooper during one phone call and, of course, grand theft auto for stolen ATVs. Hopefully, that'll teach him not to challenge authority.