Harassment by anonymous spam messages? Methods for identifying the sender.

You have received spam messages with questionable content. At best, a donation request or a marketing message. At worst, an offer to purchase high-quality cannabis at a ridiculously low price. Either way, it’s unacceptable. You’ve sent “unsubscribe,” “1,” a message of “Stop!”, and nothing helps – the spam messages keep coming. So you decided to file a small claims lawsuit, only to encounter a “minor” problem: you have no idea who is behind the message. All you have is a phone number.

According to the law, to file a small claims lawsuit against a person or company, three defendant details must be stated: their full name, registered address, and identification number (*). But how are you supposed to sue a phone number?

Well, it’s impossible. However, there are several actions you can take to identify the person behind that phone number. Surprisingly, they are quite simple and mostly free.

I only have the defendant’s phone number. How can I sue?

In recent years, there has been a very common phenomenon of sending marketing spam messages from anonymous sources. As a result, even when wanting to file a small claims lawsuit against the sender, it is unclear against whom to file it. Well, there are several common methods:

1. Search Engines. It may come as a surprise, but entering phone numbers in search engines like Google, Yahoo, or Bing may reveal a great deal about the mobile phone holder. Sometimes you can find other publications about them, or even legal proceedings they are involved in.
2. The most common method – identification apps. The most common method for identifying a person by phone number is to enter their phone number into apps that allow identification by phone number. The most popular are: Truecaller, ME, Call app. After entering the “annoying” phone number, it may become clear who is behind it. And completing the rest of the details about them, such as their address or ID number, can be done in the following ways.
3. Telegram. Those who do not wish to download any of the apps can use the bot found in the Telegram channel “Hamid’eon”.
4. Private Investigator. This option is daunting for many, mainly due to the assumption that it involves high costs – but this is not necessarily the case. Usually, an investigation to find the sender’s details is a short and simple matter that will not incur excessive costs. Moreover, most private investigators charge on a success basis. That is, if they fail to locate the sender, they will not charge anything.

How will I know if I have a “case” to file a lawsuit?

In January 2008, Amendment No. 40 was added to the Telecommunications (Cable and Broadcasting) Law, 5742-1982. The section heading is “Sending advertising matter via a cable facility.” Or by its better-known name: “The Spam Law.” The amendment prohibits sending “advertising matter” without the recipient’s consent or after they have withdrawn their consent, in one of four ways prescribed by law. In fact, there is a rather simple formula for identifying whether it is spam. If so, it is possible to file a small claims lawsuit for spam. Or at the very least, send a warning letter before a lawsuit hoping it will save legal proceedings.

Details required by law to file a small claims lawsuit

A small claims lawsuit is a simple, fast, and short civil procedure. To file a small claims lawsuit, there are several conditions, but the first is that the amount of the claim does not exceed the ceiling set by law (NIS 38,900 as of January 2024). According to the law, there are three details that must be stated in the writ of claim: (1) the full name of the defendant; (2) the registered address of the defendant (residence or business); (3) and the defendant’s identification number. There are also a few asterisks to be aware of, specifically the ways to locate each of the defendant’s details mentioned.

I have identified the anonymous sender! What to do?

You can send them a warning letter before taking legal action, demand compensation, and hope that will end the matter. If this didn’t work or you wish to expedite processes, you can file a small claims lawsuit under the Spam Law. Dino’s service allows the average user to prepare a small claims lawsuit on any subject, from any device, in just 14 minutes (on average). The software was developed to address the procedural difficulty experienced by many plaintiffs. This difficulty is also reflected in official data from the judiciary, according to which approximately 50% of lawsuits are dismissed outright – that is, without examining the dispute. One of the most prominent reasons is that the lawsuit was simply not filed “correctly.” Dino’s service is designed to overcome this gap precisely and to make the path to the courts accessible to the average citizen so that they can exercise their rights.