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How To Track Down Someone Who Scammed You? [7 Proven Methods]

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Have you ever been tricked by a fake boyfriend? Fooled by a bogus shopping site? Received a phishing email?

One in ten US adults are victims of scams or fraud each year. Phone scams, email scams, shopping scams, and dating scams are some of a scammer’s typical schemes.

What do you do if you fall prey to a scam? Continue reading to learn how to track down scammers.

Ways to Track Down the Scammer

Other than money, scammers also steal personal information. According to statistics, there are 27 million victims of identity theft in the US. Also, almost 60 million Americans lost money to phone scams.

Plus, Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reported that business-impersonation scams increased during the pandemic from 25,798 to 97,779. Job scams even caused US citizens to lose $68 million last year.

However, you don’t have to worry. If you have been a victim of scams, below are effective ways to track down the scammer:

Method 1: How to Track Someone Who Scammed You With Name

A scammer usually uses an alias. However, their name is the best starting point when tracking them down. You can use a people search engine to scour through people with the same name as your scammer.

BeenVerified is one of the most trusted people search tools. It helped over 1 million users access public records. It performs criminal, social media, and property checks. This tool can give you the data you need to stay safe and scam-free.

To get started, follow these steps:

1. Go to beenverified.com.

2. Type the scammer’s name into the search bar. Click Search.

3. If you know their city and age, type those in for more specific results.

4. Wait for the results to load.

5. Enter your email address to receive the results in your mailbox.

6. Look for the scammer’s personal information in the results.

BeenVerified is a paid service. It can cost $26.89 per month. However, there are free background check websites that you can visit.

Method 2: How to Track Someone Who Scammed You with Phone Number

If you received a scam call, you can track them down using their phone number. PeopleLooker.com is a phone number search tool that provides public record information quickly.

Track down the scammer by following these steps:

1. Head to PeopleLooker.

2. Select Phone Search from the top search box.

Select Phone Search

3. Enter the phone number of the person who scammed you and hit enter.

4. Wait for the results to load.

5. Enter your email address to receive the results in your inbox.

6. Review the results and note any information about the scammer.

PeopleLooker.Com is a subscription-based tool that costs $22.86 per month. However, they also offer a 7-day trial membership for only $1.

You can also try free reverse phone lookup services.

Method 3: How to Track Someone Who Scammed You with Email

If you received a phishing email or got a hold of your scammer's email address, use TruthFinder.com to track them down.

TruthFinder is one of the most reliable background check services in America. They provide a reliable email search engine to detect fraudsters. Here’s how to use it:

1. Visit TruthFinder.com.

2. Create an account and purchase a membership plan.

3. Go to the Search by Email screen from the dashboard and enter the email address used by the scammer. Click Search.

4. Wait while TruthFinder scans its public record data sources.

5. Once the report is up, open it and scroll down to the Personal Details section.

6. If available, you will find the scammer's full name, aliases, and profile picture.

Method 4: How to Track Someone Who Scammed You with an Image

If you've exhausted all other search methods and all you have is a picture of the scammer, SocialCatfish got your back.

SocialCatfish is an online investigation service that’s been proven and tested when it comes to verifying someone’s identity. Its Image Search feature lets you reverse engineer a picture to get a facial recognition match in its database.

Find the information you want by following these steps:

1. Go to Social Catsfish’s official website.

2. Select Image from the search box.

3. Upload the scammer's image (max size 10MB).

4. Wait 1-2 minutes for analysis.

5. Possible matches will appear, revealing the image source.

To get extensive reports and unlimited image searching, Social Catfish charges a subscription fee of $5.99 for five days. After that, the fee will be raised to $26.99 monthly.

Scammers are lurking everywhere, and social media is their favorite place.

Good thing Intelius' detailed background check covers social network accounts. This helps a lot in tracing social media scammers. It scans Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and more.

Here's what you need to do to get started:

1. Go to Intelius.

2. Select Background Check from the navigation bar.

3. Enter the person’s name, phone number, or address.

4. Answer some questions to help Intelius narrow down the results.

5. Review the overview of the results.

6. If you find a profile you think belongs to the scammer, click Full Report for detailed information.

How to Track Down a Scammer in a Shopping Scam?

Online shopping became a trend during the pandemic due to its convenience. However, people with malicious intent also saw this as an opportunity.

Better Business Bureau reported that online shopping scams were the most dangerous scam type in 2021. Many shoppers became victims of various shopping scams. 75% of these people even lost money.

With technology, scammers can easily create bogus shopping websites that look genuine. They mimic the layout of real e-commerce sites. They even use identical URLs and give too-good-to-be-true pris to draw buyers.

Once a victim purchases something from the fake website, the scammer will send a counterfeit item (or nothing). Sometimes, they also steal financial and personal information for other scam activities.

One way to track down shopping scammers is through Whois Lookup.

Tracking Down a Scammer Using Whois Lookup

Go to the WhatIsMyIPAddress website.
Get the website's IP by entering its domain name.
Copy the IP address. Head to whois.domaintools.com.
Paste the IP address into the search bar.
Hit the "Search" button to retrieve more information about the website.

Hit the "Search"

Identifying the IP address makes it possible to determine the country, region, and city where the server hosting the fake website is located.

Disclaimer: Finding an IP address alone is not enough to track down a scammer. It requires expertise and collaboration with law enforcement agencies. Use internet guides sensibly and avoid taking matters into your own hands.

Identifying a Scammer in a Dating Scam

Also known as romance scams, dating scams are today’s rising fraud schemes. About 70,000 people even reported that they were victims of dating scams in 2022.

Caution should be exercised when using dating sites. According to Comparitech, 1 in 7 profiles on popular dating apps might be fake.

The nature of the scam is a person will steal photos and information of attractive people and put those in their profiles. Slowly, they build trust and relationships with their victims before asking for money or personal details.

To determine if someone on a dating site is scamming you, follow these steps:

Research the person's profile. It could be fake if their picture is too good to be true or their profile description is generic and missing in detail.
Check their online presence. Search for the person's other social media accounts. Scammers may use many accounts with different names and photos.
Ask for a video chat. Requesting a video chat can help verify the person's identity. It could be a red flag if they refuse or devise various excuses not to.
Avoid sending money. Do not send money or give your credit card information to someone you've met online, even if they claim to be struggling.

Note: Some dating apps like Tinder have security features that allow users to flag suspicious profiles. You can also block or restrict them.

Bottom Line

Tracking down a scammer can be challenging, but it is possible.

Remember to gather as much information as possible about the scammer. Check if anyone else has reported them or if they have any criminal records.

If all else fails, hire a private investigator to help you out. Prevention is the best defense against scams, so always be vigilant. Stay safe.

FAQs.

Is it easy to track a scammer?

Scammers often use fake names, throwaway email accounts, and untraceable phone numbers. It makes them difficult to track. However, you can increase your chances of identifying them by trying the methods above.

Is it legal to track down scammers?

It is legal to use publicly available tools such as search engines. On the other hand, hacking a scammer's computer or stealing their information is unethical.

Can I get my money back if I track down the scammer?

Tracking down a scammer does not guarantee you will get your money back. Recovering lost funds requires law enforcement and banking institutions.

Muninder Adavelli

Munni is also an ardent student of human-computer interfaces and user experience design. He makes the vital connections between technology and the end user. He always finds the ultimate way to tell the story of software, to highlight its strengths and weaknesses in an accessible way. He often contemplates the dynamic relationship between humanity and technology over a pint of lager, while enjoying some classy classical rock.

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