Hello again! Today we wanted to go over a useful tool that you can use whenever you need to find out who owns a particular phone number. With just a phone number in hand, you can discover somebody’s full name and address along with other details such as their background information.
As you probably already know, unlisted and cell phone numbers are not in any phonebook. This means they aren’t in any “public domain” so information on these types of phones is not easy to get a hold of.
All hope isn’t lost though! There are companies that have been established that specialize in building databases of all phone numbers. They pay to have access to every existing record and then put together directories that anyone can search through to get details on who owns a certain phone number.
These searches can be performed over the web on these directories. Known as “reverse phone directories” since they allow for lookup by number rather than by name, one just enters the number and allows the directory’s search engine to handle the rest. The results, hopefully information on the number holder, will be displayed.
Immediately following this article is a link which will allow you to do a sample search for free; try it for yourself.
These services are not free, but they are not terribly expensive; and if they can get you the information you’re seeking, they are arguably well worth the cost. Many of these directories just charge a one time fee for access to their directory - which is the way to go if you will need to perform searches fairly often. This way you can avoid having to pay each time you want to investigate a number using the directory.
Several different reasons lead people to use these sort of services. Checking up on a spouse who is exhibiting suspicious behavior to see who has been calling them, or putting a stop to frequent prank calls are two common uses for these services. Any time you want to find out about someone, but have only a number to work from, these directories come in handy.
Before you take the plunge and hand over money to one of these sites though, there is one simple and free thing you can do. Perform a Google search on the number in question: be sure to use quotation marks around the number, and search it.
A paid search isn’t terribly expensive, but Google is worth a try nonetheless. You may be surprised!
If the number you’re looking for is online anywhere, Google will most likely pull it up for you. Whether on personal websites or in online ads, phone numbers do turn up on the web sometimes. Perhaps even the number you’re looking for.
You never know - if you do get a result from Google, the page may contain the information you want. If you strike out, then it’s time for the paid directories.
I’m always impressed with how much information you can find out about someone when all you have is their phone number. By using a reverse phone directory you get to feel like a detective right from your own home!
