My wife and I are being harassed by untraceable numbers. What can we do?

r/

My wife and I have been harassed for over 2 years now by someone I was in a toxic relationship with many years ago. The harassment began in early 2023, though she had sent random messages from fake accounts before that as well.

She uses anonymous texting apps or burner numbers to send messages that range from:
– Racial slurs and violent threats toward my wife
– Fabricated and sexualized stories involving me
– Nudes and explicit images
– Graphic lies meant to hurt and divide us

She’s tried many times to convince my wife that I’ve been cheating or secretly in contact with her — all of which are false, and provably so.

We’ve:
– Filed police reports (they can’t act without a real number or address)
– Attempted protective orders and cease-and-desist letters (couldn’t serve her/confirm delivery)
– Changed our phone numbers (she found our new ones within days)
– Tried contacting her mother and current boyfriend — both deny or dismiss what’s happening

At one point in 2024, she somehow found and texted all of us at once — my wife, my parents, my younger brother, and me — sending disgusting lies, graphic messages. I don’t know if my family continues to be messaged because it’s not something we comfortably discuss, but it deeply affected all of us.

This year, the messages have mostly stopped being verbal, but we still receive random photos of her and her boyfriend, likely meant to provoke us. They come from new numbers every time. It hasn’t fully stopped, just shifted.

I haven’t had any contact with this person in over 7 years. I don’t follow her, I don’t respond, I don’t engage. My wife and I keep our social media private and rarely post. We don’t believe anyone in our circle is assisting her. She appears to have been keeping tabs on me over the years and became extremely angry to discover I got engaged/married.

We’re exhausted. This has taken a serious toll on our marriage, our mental health, and our sense of safety.

Has anyone been through something like this? Is there anything else we can do legally, practically, or digitally when the messages come from untraceable numbers and the person evades all attempts to serve them? I have reason to believe she moved out of state so the changes of finding an address are even harder now.

Any advice or support would mean a lot.

Location: Virginia

Comments

  1. enabed Avatar

    I went through something similar but not with someone i was in a relationship with so my state didn’t allow a protective order. I filed harassment charges with my municipal court and changed my phone number and communication finally ceased. Your person sounds deranged and may not be phased by legal recourse