How to Deal With Textual Bullying

Posted on Oct 24 2017 - 10:36am by Editor

With the advent of cell phones, text messaging became a primary source of communication.  Unfortunately, some text messages can become threatening, or prank texts, and if you cannot identify who the sender is, you need to begin by tracing the number that is sending you the offensive texts. According to the Huffington Post, textual harassment is considered bullying. Here are some of the steps that you can follow to ensure that you catch the person sending you the text messages:

How to Deal With Textual Bullying

  1. Tracing the number. Technology today enables you the privilege of finding out who sent you the message. If you have the phone number, you can find out who sent the message using free reverse phone directories. If you want to gain more information on the source of the text, you may have to pay a small fee to get the said information. If all you want is the location of the source, you will not need to pay for that information.
  2. Retrieve the number. By going to your phone menu and pulling up the text message, you can click on the tab labeled ‘option’ and the number will show up. If your phone doesn’t work this way, it may be a good idea to check out your user manual so you can find out how retrieval of numbers works.
  3. Contact the service provider. Your service provider may be able to retrieve the necessary information to let you know who is sending the messages. If you are dealing with stalking and harassment and the company has not helped you out, a detective or private investigator is able to subpoena the necessary phone records. It may also be possible to speak to your service provider about the possibility of retrieving your call and message logs online.
  4. Online search. Using a free reverse phone lookup online after you have the number, you are able to search using the phone number and get the location and name of the person who owns the number sending you the unwelcome text messages. If you are looking to report the sender to the authorities, then having this information is important. With the number on hand, you are also able to block it from texting or calling you ever again.

Now that you know the name and location of the person sending you the messages, you can also go further to carry out a people search on him or her. Some of the searches you can carry out include the following:

  • Criminal records. Here, you will find information on any misdemeanors, felonies, traffic offenses, pending and dismissed charges, DUI’s, severe violations and more that may be linked to the person.
  • Arrest records. You will also find information on whether this person has ever been arrested for any kind of offence. You may find information on felonies committed and prison time if any.
  • Sexual offender. You can find out if the person has a record of sexual offences listed by the government through the main registry of sex offenders.
  • Matrimony Information. If the person has any marital relationship, you will be able to find it by searching public records. This is also true for divorce proceedings if any.
  • Other records. Other information that you can find includes information on civil trial cases, home or property records, social networking information, credit reports and more.

Anyone harassing you through text messages should be put to a stop as fast as possible. Once you have the person’s information, you can report him or her to the police and put your mind at rest knowing that the person can no longer have access to you. You don’t have to feel helpless in such situations, there are several things you can do to find the person.