Looking Up a Cell Phone Number

Cell Phone

People need access to phone numbers every day. Many use cell phones. You may lose your contact list or need to find the number of a new person, which is not an easy task. You may have a person’s phone number with no name attached, which is equally frustrating. Online services offer information, but it is rarely free; or they say there is a free search, but you must pay for the results.

Reasons to Search

There are many reasons you might need to search for a mobile number. The person may have given you the number but you wrote it down wrong; you may have lost it; you may find a phone number with no name attached; your contacts were deleted or your phone was stolen or hacked; you want to locate an old friend or family member.

Getting Information

You’ve lost your contact list on your phone and need to get the numbers back. Users can check for backups, go through text messages or phone calls, and publish on social media. You may have to search out a cell number by the person’s name, or simply wait for the person to call you.

Reliable Services

Landlines are easy to track down, but cell phones are not. You can access a reliable lookup service to get a person’s cell phone number. Apps help people to search for phone numbers by name or through a reverse phone lookup. The services work for iPhone and Android. Some companies offer free trials or discounted searches before requiring a membership.

Popular search sites:

Search by Name

You can search for a phone number by the person’s name. When searching you should add the city and state for the most accurate results. Some results show many people with the same name. You can choose the right person by address, age, workplace or family members and associates.

Reverse Phone Search

You find a piece of paper with a phone number written on it, but no name. You don’t call because the person who answers may be a potential boss or date and you don’t want to embarrass yourself. Use the same search app or program that you use to search for a person by name. Type in the phone number you wish to search and wait for the results. The results may show a list of similar numbers.  The company might charge you to get the specific number, unless it belongs to a business.

Social Media Sites

Hundreds of millions of people use social media sites every day. Many share their phone numbers and email addresses. Enter a person’s name in the search bar and sort through the results. You can add a location is the name is common or use quotation marks to narrow the search, e.g., “Jane Jones.” You may not get much information, but it will be accurate and free.

Too Much Information

We live in the Information Age. People want to know more about us than just our phone numbers. They can’t get that information from the phone book or Yellow Pages. Many search engines and phone lookups give out a lot of information including work history, educational history, criminal and arrest records, social media profiles, bankruptcy and court information.

Sensitive Information

People can access sensitive information about us online. Many services require you to agree to avoid using the information against a person. It’s important to run a search on yourself to find available information. It could save you from identity theft.

How to Protect Your Number

We get frustrated over receiving calls from unwanted parties. The FTC reports that more than 30 billion robocalls were made in 2017. The number continues to increase. The callers use the same phone search techniques to get our phone numbers. There are other ways cell phone numbers are made available to the public. Here are some ways to protect your number.

Keep Your Number Private

We want to find the numbers of other people, but want to keep ours private. Yet, we share our phone numbers every day. We enter the number on orders at a favorite restaurant, on contest entries, warranties, online services, at the local salon, and on social media sites. Nearly every entry on a form (except for medical) can become an advertisement for your phone number. Many companies sell their lists to third parties. The numbers end up on search engines and in places we could never imagine. Solicitors love that.

Sign Without Reading

Many sites require users to create an account for the smallest things. Few people read the Terms of Service before signing. That opens us up to having personal information become public.

Big Brother is Watching

We live in an age of Big Data. Almost all of our information is online. It can be accessed in seconds by powerful search engines that cull websites from around the world.

Robocalls

Robocalls are becoming increasingly invasive. Just because you receive a call from a telemarketer doesn’t mean the company has your number. Not specifically. They dial thousands of numbers an hour. Telemarketers attach your information to the number when you interact with them.

Automatic Number Identification

Calling toll-free numbers allows an Automatic Number Identification (ANI) system to identify and store your phone number. They can sell the number to third parties.

Credit Bureaus

Limit information you use on credit applications. Credit bureaus do not protect basic information.

Do Not Call Registry

By law, telemarketers must abide by the National Do Not Call Registry. However, some don’t pay attention to the rules. If you give away your cell phone number, it can be used by solicitors. Sign up for the registry. Note that people can still call up to 6 months after you sign up. Listings never expire.

Conclusion

Whether we are trying to access or protect information, it’s important to know what resources are available. Use the resources wisely.

Reverse Searches for Cell Phone Numbers

Reverse Phone Lookup

Have you ever received a call from an unknown number? How do you know if it’s a call you should answer or ignore? One of the easiest ways to identify an unknown number is to use a reverse phone search. The search will identify the name and location of the owner, whether it is an individual or business. The searches are easy, and usually free. However, if the caller is using a cell phone, the search is a little more difficult.

Search Engines

If you want to search for a phone number, you can do it in one of two ways. The first way is to go online and type the information into a search engine like Google. You can also choose to use a website devoted to searches, such as WhitePages.com.

You must type the phone number in with the area code and select “search.” The results will show you the name of the caller. Users prefer websites that are free, however, that’s not always possible. The hosts must pay to get information and keep it up to date. This is especially true when it comes to cell phones.

Why It Isn’t Free

Websites collect data from various sources and then use it to do the searches. The sources include other websites, phone directories, social media, reverse phone directories, and more. While there are free services, the information is often outdated. There isn’t a single source that records and maintains data for cell phones.

Cell Phone Numbers

People can’t get cell phone numbers easily because cell phone companies issue the numbers. Therefore, there isn’t a single directory for cell phone numbers. Traditional phone companies have to interface with other companies which is why it’s possible to have a phone directory of landlines. Companies would have difficulty in maintaining a directory because people change phone numbers frequently. Internet phone numbers make the task more difficult. Intelius, Inc. tried to make a cell phone directory in 2008, but people complained about an invasion of privacy, plus a wireless company threatened to sue.

Cell Phone Look Up

Users can do a search on cell phone numbers, but it is rarely free. First, type “reverse cell phone lookup” into a search engine. You’ll get a list of sites that have the information. Second, pick a site and type in the phone number. You’ll be asked to pay a fee for the search, or you can subscribe to the service. Some sites don’t charge for searches if they are unable to get the information.

Fake Numbers

Some telemarketers and scammers use fake numbers to trick you into answering the phone. To keep from getting repeat calls, you can use an app or the settings on your phone to block the number. If you get repeat calls from someone claiming to be from a government agency, report the activity to the agency and to the Federal Communications Commission.

 

Why Use A Reverse Phone Number Lookup?

Looking up phone numbers online

Cell phone users can find many reasons to use an iPhone reverse cell phone lookup app. Unknown numbers top the list. People want to know if the person calling is a neighbor, friend, their child’s school, or a telemarketer. Using a reverse lookup app can tell you the person’s name and address, allowing you to decide whether to answer the phone, let it go to voicemail or block it when the call arrives.

These are a few reasons to use a reverse phone number lookup app:

  • You notice a missed call from Fred Jones at 813-555-1234. Who is Fred Jones and where is the 813 area code?
  • You find a piece of paper or Post-it Note with a phone number written on it and no other information. It’s obviously an important number but you can’t remember why you wrote it down. You can call the number to find out who it belongs to, or much less embarrassing, do a reverse phone number search.
  • You receive a phone call from an unknown number. Should you call back?
  • Your doctor refers you to a specialist and only have his phone number. Use a reverse number search to find the doctor’s location.
  • There are calls on your phone bill that you don’t recognize.

Landlines vs. Cell Phones

Although there are many online services that allow you to lookup landline and business phone numbers, mobile phone numbers can be trickier and are almost never free. Why? Most cell phone users choose not to have their numbers published. Many are private and want to stay that way. Individual phone companies issue phone numbers rather than interlocking phone systems which issue landline numbers, so tracing them becomes more difficult.

Cell Phone Directory

Statistics show that there were more than 225 million cell phones in use in the U.S. in 2018. Compiling a directory for all those numbers – many of which change frequently – would be nearly impossible or outdated as soon as it was published. Additionally, the use of VoIP phone numbers has exploded over the past couple of years.

Google allows you to enter cell phone numbers, but you will be routed to another service that requires a fee or membership in their service. The fees can be a one-time fee or a monthly or yearly membership. Some websites will offer free results.

Invasion of Privacy

Cell phone directories have been a hot topic over the past decade. In 2008, Intelius announced the publication of a cell phone directory containing 90 million phone numbers. The response was not positive. Intelius faced consumer complaints claiming an invasion of privacy in addition to the threat of a lawsuit by a wireless phone company. As a result, Intelius discontinued the service. Therefore, a true cell phone directory with all cell phone listings won’t be created anytime soon, if ever.

How To Trace A Phone Number Easily

Tracing a phone number is the best way to find out who is calling you. There are many different reasons why you might want to trace who is calling you. Here are some of the many reasons you might want to lookup who’s calling you:

  • Having a stalker and want to make sure it’s not a serious issue.
  • Getting repeat calls from debt collection agencies that are contacting the wrong person or trying to collect on old debts.
  • Dating and want to know more information about the person you just met.
  • Interviewing for new jobs and want to know if a potential employer is calling you.

For whatever reason you have, tracing a phone number can be a very easy and super helpful. We’ll go over a couple of ways you can trace unknown callers on your iPhone.

How to Trace a Phone Number Easily

Step 1

The first step in running a reverse search on a phone number is to have it. You may have gotten calls from the number already or someone may have given you the number. Tracing a phone number is different than find out the phone number of a specific person. In these types of searches you start out only with a number and you won’t have any name or other information to help you out.

Step 2

The second step is to search the phone number using a search engine or an app for reverse phone lookups. There are many sites that will help you find out who a number belongs to. Be sure to pick a reputable one. You may need to make an account if there are no free results available or if you’re downloading an app for lookups.

It’s a good idea to download a caller ID app for conducting reverse phone lookups on your iPhone. These apps allow you to quickly lookup who’s calling you and will even automatically identify some incoming calls or block calls from known scam phone numbers.

Step 3

Once you’ve found a good site for phone number searches you may decide to purchase a report on the phone number that you’re looking up. These reports usually cost a small fee and can give you a lot of information, like the phone owner’s full name, address, and social media profiles.