If you are receiving strange calls from an unknown number or want more information on a potential business client, it can be useful to use a reverse phone lookup service. While such services are not free, there are a few reasonably priced options. With just a phone number, it's easy to uncover information like location, age, and other important details.
Searching Phone Number Prefixes
While not as useful as reverse phone lookup services, using a phone number prefix locator can give you information regarding where a phone number was originally registered, whether it's a cell phone or landline number (and with which provider), and when the number was created. If you only need to know what city a number was created in, these can be useful tools.
Searching Social Media
Phone numbers are often associated with social media accounts like Facebook and Instagram. If a user has registered their phone number with their social media account, performing a search of the phone number may bring up the account registered with the phone number. Social media accounts show recent activity and information like city of residence, age, employers, and education. For both Facebook and Instagram, you will need to have an active account in order to search for other users.
Reverse Lookup Services
Reverse lookup services are a great resource when searching for additional information connected to a phone number. However, there are certain limitations to these services. Depending on who registered the phone number, and if it's a cell phone or landline number, the information may not be entirely accurate or complete. There can be multiple names attached to a phone number, so knowing the name of the person who is calling you will make the search process easier.
White Pages
White Pages provides minimal information for free. You can discover where a phone number is located and whether it's listed as a "spam" number. To get full search results, you will have to upgrade to a premium account. Premium accounts are $5 a month for 20 lookups and $20 a month for unlimited lookups. White Pages searches include:
- Name
- Current and previous address
- Previous owner(s) of the number
PeopleFinders
PeopleFinders is a great option for performing a one-time lookup of a phone number. For just 95 cents, you can get a three-day trial for looking up phone numbers. If you don't cancel within the three days, you are charged $24.95 for a one-month subscription. After the initial trial, individual lookups can be made for the reasonable price of $3.95 each. PeopleFinders may provide the following information connected to a phone number:
- Name
- Full address
- Aliases
- Birthday
- Relatives and listed associates
Spokeo
Spokeo Reverse Phone Lookup has a great user interface that is attractive and easy to use. It is a subscription-based service that offers discounts for longer subscriptions. One month of reverse phone lookup will cost $13.95. A six-month subscription will cost $4.95 a month. Subscriptions auto-renew, so you will need to cancel before the renew date if you want to stop using the service. Spokeo can provide the following information tied to a single phone number:
- Name
- Full address
- Location history
- Birthday
Intelius
Intelius has a great reputation in industries like real estate that use reverse lookup services. It is a little more expensive than other services. It costs $19.95 a month for unlimited searches, but the first month is only $9.95. As with other subscriptions, this one renews automatically too, so make sure you cancel before the renew date. Intelius allows users to create profiles and leave notes on certain search results. Phone number searches can yield the following information:
- Name
- Full address
- Age
- Family history
Determining Caller Identity
No matter what option you choose, these solutions provide the best ways to determine the identify who is calling you. Of course, the identity you discover will be that of the person who registered the cell phone and it may or may not be the actual caller.
