How to do a Free Reverse Cell Phone Lookup
This article shows you how to run a reverse phone lookup over the internet.
Reverse cell phone number lookup has become a popular service as technology has made it readily available. In the past you had to know a person's name to look up information such as their address — the White Pages listed everything alphabetically by name, so finding out who a number belonged to meant hours of poring over tiny listings. Reverse phone lookup flips this around: with just a phone number, taken from a calling list or your phone's caller ID, you can find out the name and address behind it.
How It Works
Today you can perform a reverse telephone lookup on your computer. The service is offered by numerous companies, and it is useful mainly for mobile numbers, since there are no public directories or phone books for cellular numbers the way there are for landlines. Reverse lookup providers pay telephone operators a substantial fee to access their subscriber databases, and they agree to terms that protect subscribers' privacy — good services maintain up-to-date information on a large share of active cell numbers in the US and Canada. To run a search, you enter the phone number and the service returns the details associated with it, such as the registered owner's name and address.
Free vs. Paid, and Choosing a Service
Many services are advertised as "free," but that usually only gets you basic information — often just the general location where the number is registered — after which you pay a small fee for complete details. Because providers must protect subscriber privacy, they cannot hand over full information for free; when you pay, you typically enter a credit card, which is stored, meaning the information cannot easily be used for unlawful purposes because your own identity can always be retrieved. It is worth shopping carefully: not all companies offer the same quality of support or data. Look for one that covers both cell phones and landlines (some even cover unlisted numbers), and decide whether you prefer to pay per lookup or a one-time or annual membership — a membership often makes free reverse lookups available for as long as it lasts, which is the best deal for regular use. Also check exactly what information is provided; some services offer additional background information, or even full background checks, for an extra fee. Free information, by contrast, is often neither reliable nor up to date, and when tracing a number, the authenticity of the information matters.
What It Is Useful For
Reverse phone lookup is a valuable service for tracking down addresses for party invitations, reconnecting with lost contacts or locating classmates for a reunion. It is also invaluable to anyone receiving harassing, prank or hang-up calls who wants to identify the caller — a technique that has helped combat crimes such as kidnapping, blackmail and stalking. It can even be used to check the background of a person before doing business with or hiring them. Your own identity is not disclosed in the process unless you are involved in criminal activity, making the modest fee well worth it for the peace of mind.
