Catch someone creating fake dating profiles of me and using my phone number to harass people?

[artek57]

I recently got a text message telling me that I need to stop bothering someone with so many texts. This text came from a phone number I am unfamiliar with and am certainly not bothering. Now recently, someone has been creating fake dating site accounts with my picture, name, and telephone number.

I am engaged and now, aside from having to explain to each person that texts me that this account is a fake, I am now afraid someone may be "caller id spoofing" with my phone number. This worries me because I dont want to get in legal trouble for harassing someone i am not really harassing.

I have an understanding fiance who has already proven my innocence by chatting with the creator of one of these fake profiles while I was sitting next to her. Sure enough, they tried to lead her into thinking it was really me and gave her my REAL phone number. So, she got the picture. But what happens when someone harasses someone with my phone number and gets me in trouble?

Will this persons phone records show texts that came from my number?
I pondered the idea of changing numbers... however, I don't know who this is and how they got my number to begin with. I am pretty sure they just looked it up. I know you can get almost anyone's information online for a small fee. I have had that proven to me before. So what good would changing my number do?

I am at a loss here. Whoever this is, is giving me so much trouble and I am not sure how to figure out who they are. Even if I found said profile, and made a report and some sort of law enforcement were able to track down an I.P. address, who is to say that it won't lead me to a computer at a local library or something? And would I be paying for that type of (then useless) information?

I am tired of this. I am tired of receiving texts from people asking to see more pictures and questions like "what do you do for fun?" I am going to be married in just over a year and I do not want my fiance to deal with this stuff anymore. I would have thought whoever was doing this would just get bored, but now it seems they are just getting more creative... And I assume you would have to pay a fee to use a service that changes the appearance of the phone number you are texting/calling from. So now this person is willing to pay money to bother me?! What's next? I tried ignoring this, but I should not have to. Whoever is doing this to me should be charged criminally. I want... NEED to find out who they are.

Any suggestions on what to do next?