Can the Police trace withheld calls?

[dr.pepper]

A friend of the family has been on the receiving end of crank calls from a withheld number. BT have advised that for the previous calls, they can't do anything. The last time the prankster called, he was firmly told that the Police would be getting involved.

Do the police have any way of tracing the previous calls or can they only work from the new ones?

[marshalla]

They will be traceable via billing records.

[Shaw Tarse]

I'm sure they can.

[EU_Foreigner]

Just add the supressed number rejection feature to your phone. Used to receive lots of unwanted calls from people selling stuff and other undesirables. That BT feature stopped all of that.

[Scuffers]

dr.pepper said:

A friend of the family has been on the receiving end of crank calls from a withheld number. BT have advised that for the previous calls, they can't do anything. The last time the prankster called, he was firmly told that the Police would be getting involved.

Do the police have any way of tracing the previous calls or can they only work from the new ones?

yes, several ways....

it's worth noting that 'withheld' numbers are only withheld from 'most' lines/ccts etc, the number is still carried though the network, and will be available on 'some' lines/ccts.

[dr.pepper]

Thanks for the responses.

The line in question is a business line, and he receives a lot of calls on it. It would be a royal PITA for him to break down the bill and find the exact call as he didn't log the specific time.

He's decided to wait for future calls and will make a log of them to present to the Police.

[mmm-five]

EU_Foreigner said:

Just add the supressed number rejection feature to your phone. Used to receive lots of unwanted calls from people selling stuff and other undesirables. That BT feature stopped all of that.

Wouldn't let most of my family get through though, as their numbers are ex-directory/suppresses/hidden so that they only give their numbers to people they want to have it.

[milessimpson]

All numbers on the network are available to the network operators and the police can get access to them when investigating crimes. It won't be done because it is annoying though I belive it would have to be serious to get the police to get hold of it and act.
Record the times of all of the calls and make a complaint to your network operator.

[EU_Foreigner]

mmm-five said:

EU_Foreigner said:

Just add the supressed number rejection feature to your phone. Used to receive lots of unwanted calls from people selling stuff and other undesirables. That BT feature stopped all of that.

Wouldn't let most of my family get through though, as their numbers are ex-directory/suppresses/hidden so that they only give their numbers to people they want to have it.

Not really, they just have to dial 1471 in front of your number to un-hide their number. It only stops people who want to hide their number, those who do not can still call you by adding the prefix.

[AndyRw]

The network operator can often deal with the nuisance more quickly than us BiB, or we can work together if you permit the operator to disclose certain information about your account. Alternatively, BiB complete an application under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act for communications data - i.e. the source number of the relevant calls. This has to be authorised by an Officer of the appropriate rank (Inspector for some things, Superintendent for others). A further RIPA application would then be sent to whichever company provides the offender's service for account details.

The forms are a bit complicated (unnecessarily) and it can take some time - depends on the provider. I've had one back the day the Inspector authorised it before, on the other hand I'm still waiting for one over a month after submission (though it's not just a phone no. I'm after in that case). Dates and times would be needed for the relevant calls - we need to be sure that we're not obtaining information of some unconnected party who has also called you! I've had one result come up blank with the source number, when it came from a VOIP phone.

If it's an occasional nuisance as opposed to persistant, then it may not be proportionate. If it's affecting your life, then report it. Don't expect Officers to attend on blues, or sort it overnight, as it can take time. I don't know whether some forces deal differently, but certainly we'd be submitting the necessary for a persistant problem.

EU_Foreigner said:

Not really, they just have to dial 1471 in front of your number to un-hide their number. It only stops people who want to hide their number, those who do not can still call you by adding the prefix.

1470

[aquatix]

AndyRw said:

EU_Foreigner said:

Not really, they just have to dial 1471 in front of your number to un-hide their number. It only stops people who want to hide their number, those who do not can still call you by adding the prefix.

1470

Thought it was 141 ????

[AndyRw]

aquatix said:

Thought it was 141 ????

According to BT

I must admit I've never tested it to see if the other numbers both function like a toggle.

Edited by AndyRw on Monday 23 February 17:42

[Westy Pre-Lit]

Ummmmm tracing withheld phone calls, now that's a sore point!!!!

Around our way we have had about 18 burglaries in about 4-5 weeks.

One of my neighbours had a laptop stolen amongst a lot of other items. A few nights ago at 12.30 at night, they had some tt calling them up and asking/talking about personal information and asking about passwords. This phone call would only have been from somebody who had the laptop to hand.

Funnily enough the number had been withheld. In the morning my neighbours called the police and told them about it and could they trace the number. They where then told "Sorry no as it costs £1000."

The fact it's costing 10's of thousands to attend these burglaries etc, others will probably be broken into in the mean time and they still haven't caught the fkers, doesn't seem to be a problem.

So in answer to the OP's original question, Yes the number is traceable, will it be traced ? Don't count on it.

Edited by Westy Pre-Lit on Monday 23 February 19:21

[xxplod]

Yes.
Doesn't cost £1000, but there is a cost. I'm amazed any force wouldn't progress that where there is potential to detect a dwelling burglary.

[Westy Pre-Lit]

xxplod said:

Yes.
Doesn't cost £1000, but there is a cost. I'm amazed any force wouldn't progress that where there is potential to detect a dwelling burglary.

£1000 was the given figure they were told.

Yes mate your not the only one. Angry is not the word!!!!!!

Edited by Westy Pre-Lit on Monday 23 February 19:10

[Scuffers]

Westy Pre-Lit said:

xxplod said:

Yes.
Doesn't cost £1000, but there is a cost. I'm amazed any force wouldn't progress that where there is potential to detect a dwelling burglary.

£1000 was the given figure they were told.

Yes mate your not the only one. Angry is not the word!!!!!!

Edited by Westy Pre-Lit on Monday 23 February 19:10

that's total tosh....

yes, the networks charge for number tracing etc, but it's nothing like that (it's based on provable admin costs)

[Westy Pre-Lit]

Anybody know what the cost is then off hand as I can then give this figure to them. They can then kick asses in the right direction. That's if they haven't already done so.

Cheers.

[Scuffers]

Westy Pre-Lit said:

Anybody know what the cost is then off hand as I can then give this figure to them. They can then kick asses in the right direction. That's if they haven't already done so.

Cheers.

have not got the current scales, however, it depends what info is required (as in how much detail/time it takes etc).

that said, I would suggest your looking at less than a fiver for a simple calls list to a number (within a given date etc)

[dr.pepper]

AndyRw said:

The network operator can often deal with the nuisance more quickly than us BiB, or we can work together if you permit the operator to disclose certain information about your account. Alternatively, BiB complete an application under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act for communications data - i.e. the source number of the relevant calls. This has to be authorised by an Officer of the appropriate rank (Inspector for some things, Superintendent for others). A further RIPA application would then be sent to whichever company provides the offender's service for account details.

The forms are a bit complicated (unnecessarily) and it can take some time - depends on the provider. I've had one back the day the Inspector authorised it before, on the other hand I'm still waiting for one over a month after submission (though it's not just a phone no. I'm after in that case). Dates and times would be needed for the relevant calls - we need to be sure that we're not obtaining information of some unconnected party who has also called you! I've had one result come up blank with the source number, when it came from a VOIP phone.

If it's an occasional nuisance as opposed to persistant, then it may not be proportionate. If it's affecting your life, then report it. Don't expect Officers to attend on blues, or sort it overnight, as it can take time. I don't know whether some forces deal differently, but certainly we'd be submitting the necessary for a persistant problem.

EU_Foreigner said:

Not really, they just have to dial 1471 in front of your number to un-hide their number. It only stops people who want to hide their number, those who do not can still call you by adding the prefix.

1470

Thanks Andy.

The main problem is that my friend is an idiot and always rises to the pranksters. He ends up swearing at them and "entertaining" them. I've advised him to shut up and not entertain them as they will soon get bored.

If they still persist then he'll probably take it further. He'll have to log the times and dates though.

[Westy Pre-Lit]

Scuffers said:

Westy Pre-Lit said:

Anybody know what the cost is then off hand as I can then give this figure to them. They can then kick asses in the right direction. That's if they haven't already done so.

Cheers.

have not got the current scales, however, it depends what info is required (as in how much detail/time it takes etc).

that said, I would suggest your looking at less than a fiver for a simple calls list to a number (within a given date etc)

Thanks for that. Why they would come up with a figure of £1000 then is beyond my comprehension, I'm absolutely disgusted tbh. Thought £1000 didn't seem right but that's taking the piss.

Everybody on the estate at the moment are worried they could be next on the hit list, then when things like this happen and there is a real chance of catching the s........well i just give up i really do!!!!!!!

Sorry to hijack this thread.