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Using Reverse Phone Lookup Services to Trace Phone Numbers

By Michael Toth, published Jul 17, 2008
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Reverse phone lookup services are quite common today. Unfortunately, they are sometimes complicated, and some reverse phone lookup services will even try to scam you. It is therefore very important that you know what you're doing before attempting to use one of these services. This article will explain the basics of what a reverse phone lookup service is and how you should use one.

Reverse Phone Lookup: What is it for?

Reverse phone lookup services are the opposite of a phonebook. You enter a person's number, and the reverse phone lookup service will give you that person's name. While you likely know most people who are calling you, the reverse phone lookup service could be helpful in some situations. A prank caller is likely the most common example, but you could also use a reverse phone lookup service if you simply find a phone number lying around and don't know who it belongs to.

Reverse Phone Lookup: Finding the Best Service

There are many different reverse phone lookup services; some are free, some cost money, and some are simply scams. You should start by performing a Google search of the phone number in quotations "XXX-XXX-XXXX". Google and many other search engines offer a reverse phone lookup service of their own, and these tend to be the most reliable. If this doesn't bring up the search engine's reverse phone lookup service, it may bring up results on other services. Unfortunately, this usually only provide results for home and business phones.

If the previous method was unsuccessful, you should consider free reverse phone lookup services such as WhitePages. This site usually only works with home and business phones, but it's worth a try before having to spend money on more expensive reverse phone lookup services.

Using Reverse Phone Lookup Services to Trace Phone Numbers

Reverse phone lookup services typically charge money for cell phone numbers

Credit: Inklean

Copyright: Wikimedia Commons

Takeaways
  • Many search engines provide their own form of a reverse phone lookup service
  • A reverse phone lookup is the opposite of a phonebook; you enter a number and they give you a name
  • Some reverse phone lookup services are scams, so you should look for online reviews before paying
Did You Know?
Paid reverse phone lookup services are often much more comprehensive than the free services offered by search engines
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