Traditional phone calls are easy to trace because they are made through established operators. Telephone companies manage the physical telephone lines and can trace the origin of each call.

When you want to trace a VoIP call, it can get a lot more difficult. VoIP stands for Voice over Internet Protocol and refers to the technology that enables people make phone calls over the Internet instead of using a landline connected to the public switched telephone network.

Landline VoIP numbers are tied to a specific address and are no trouble at all to track. The problem is that most spam calls come from non-landline VoIP numbers that are linked to only one user, which could be a burner email address set up with a fake identity.

There are limits to what you can find out on your own if a caller takes steps to hide their identity. But that doesn’t mean you’re powerless to act. In this guide, we’ll show you how to track a VoIP call yourself and, if necessary, escalate your issue to law enforcement.

The best way to trace a VoIP call

If the caller has a registered IP address and caller ID, your service provider can help you trace the VoIP call. This is your best bet to find out the identity of the caller.

To get started, make sure you have all the information ready that your supplier will need when you contact them. Here is some of the information I may ask you:

• Date and time of the call. If there have been multiple calls from the same number, print or take a screenshot of the phone log so you have the details handy when you talk to your service provider.
• Caller’s phone number or username (if available).
• Any other call detail records recorded in your system.
• The content or purpose of the call.

After you provide this information, your service provider can take several steps to track your VoIP call:

• Review call logs and records to try to identify the source of the call, including the associated caller ID and IP address.
• Detect where the call came from by analyzing network data and routing information, the service provider can find the caller’s location.
• Help with legal claims, if it comes to that. They will work with law enforcement to provide information needed for an investigation.

Additionally, service providers will know how the call was routed through their network, so you can understand the path they took before contacting you.

That said, even your service provider may not be able to trace a call, especially if the caller is using a VPNif IP address is used by more than one number or if the number was not registered in the first place.

And what’s more, they may not be willing to give you the information you request. Privacy laws may prevent the service provider from handing over call details. They are much more likely to cooperate with law enforcement if it is a serious problem.

Should you contact the authorities to trace a VoIP call?

If you suspect the caller has malicious intent—potentially illegal or threatening—don’t try to play detective.

Anytime calls are related to harassment, scams, threats, or illegal activity, you should involve law enforcement. Authorities have access to more advanced tools and legal processes set up to get the information you need.

Put simply, the police can do several things that most people cannot:

• Get information about the caller with legal requests: Police may ask service providers for caller details and call records.
• Use warrants for monitoring: They can also get permission to listen to calls and monitor them in real time with search warrants.
• See calls from different places: Officials can check calls that pass between states or countries.

The average person will hit a wall when trying to get help from upstream providers. Law enforcement will have much better luck getting the data you need and are much better equipped to analyze it.

The next time you receive calls involving unsolicited telemarketing spam or someone looking at another company, it’s best to report them to Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

The FCC is a government agency responsible for managing communications and ensuring consumer protection.

For example, if you are on the national Do Not Call list, you should not receive sales calls or spam. If you still are, you can report this to the FCC so they can take action against scammers and protect consumers from deceptive practices.

How to trace a VoIP call yourself

If you have the time and desire to track a VoIP call on your own, there are a few steps you can take. Of course, making them yourself requires some basic knowledge. The more technology you’re willing to get, the more you can learn. However, a VoIP provider will still be able to find out a lot more.

First I’ll cover some of the language you need to know, then I’ll go through a few different methods you can use.

Each VoIP call contains specific details that can give you information about the identity of the caller, such as:

• Caller ID: Caller ID helps trace a VoIP call by providing the caller’s number or username. However, some callers may hide or spoof their caller ID, making it less reliable.
• Caller IP (Internet Protocol): This unique number is assigned to a device connected to the Internet. It helps in tracking the geographical location of the caller.
• CNAM (Caller Name): The CNAM is associated with a phone number in caller records and can help you find out their name or organization.
• Additional data: Beyond these basics, VoIP calls may contain additional tracking data such as call duration, call quality, background noise, and any network-related information that may give you clues.

You can try to trace the calls yourself first, but always contact your service provider if the following methods don’t work. And remember, if illegal activity is involved, you should always go directly to the authorities.

1. Use a reverse phone lookup

Reverse phone lookup services allow you to enter the caller’s phone number or username to retrieve information about the caller. They use databases that contain user details associated with phone numbers.

You may be able to access the caller’s name, address and sometimes additional details.

Some reverse phone lookup services are available for free, while others may require a small fee for the complete caller profile.

If you’re lucky, you may be able to get information through this method. However, it may not always work because not all VoIP numbers are linked to an individual caller and the number you see on caller ID may not be the actual number the caller is calling from.

2. Set up Caller ID on your VoIP device

Setting up a caller ID on your VoIP device does not inherently track VoIP calls in the sense of tracing their origin, but it can provide valuable information for identifying calls.

When someone calls your VoIP device, caller information is transmitted along with the call. Your VoIP device, configured with Caller ID settings, displays this information on the screen when the call is received.

All you have to do is navigate to your VoIP device’s account settings, which are usually found in the main menu.

Look for the option to enable incoming VoIP call number and name display. When this feature is activated, if the caller’s name is already saved in your phonebook, it will be displayed automatically.

In cases where the caller’s name is not in your contacts, the service will check online databases to match the number with the owner’s name and display it on the screen when you receive a call. Some services even allow you to create answering rules so that calls without a registered caller ID cannot reach the phone.

3. Check online directories

As mentioned, all landline VoIP numbers are tied to a physical address.

This means you may be able to look up callers in what is essentially the online version of the phone book

There are publicly available directories that show the name and address associated with a phone number.

Note that the success of this method depends on the availability of information.

Some online directories offer free basic search functions where you can enter a landline VoIP number to retrieve limited information such as the caller’s name or location. If you need more information, they may offer the option to purchase a more detailed report for a one-time fee or via a subscription plan.

What else can you do to trace a VoIP call?

If you have a friend or colleague in IT, they might be able to help you find out a little more about the caller using network monitoring tools to analyze relevant VoIP traffic.

To be honest, even calling a friend in this situation goes a long way, even if they are an IT wizard. At the end of the day, if someone wants to mask their identity and make calls using VoIP, it’s not that hard.

Contacting law enforcement is really the best option, and even they will encounter some obstacles related to privacy laws, accessing upstream provider data, and successfully tracing the call.