Searching for reverse phone lookup services can become complicated. You may begin with a simple Google search, hoping it will automatically pop up and you'll discover the information you require with minimal work. Yet what actually appears is a long list of paid directories which vary from under a dollar for one lookup to upwards of fifteen dollars for a service subscription.

Editing your search to indicate free reverse phone lookup brings even more pay directories advertising claims to be free. They sometimes allow you to type in the number free of charge and deliver very basic information such as the city and state, but if you want to see the useful details such as a name or address you will then be requested to pay.

Totally free reverse phone lookup is not possible at this point. Providers of this data go to great measures and even money to collect information like unpublished landline numbers, cell phone numbers, and sometimes address histories. These businesses have no purpose to collect this information other than to make it available to you for a small charge.

whether you move forward from this point depends on how much you really need to identify the person connected to that phone number. In the age of identity theft most people won't just pick the cheapest site and hand over their personal information. Finding the most reputable directories is just as important as when you purchase tennis shoes or handbags over the internet.

Retrieving the information you want isn't very hard, once you locate a legitimate service.

There are a growing number of competitive websites all with different charges and delivering different combinations of information. When you simply need to determine the person connected to a unidentified number calling your home or wish to determine exactly who your teenager is talking with in the middle of the night, you probably don't have the desire to compare different services.

The most effective answer may be to go with a brand that many of us have grown up with and access the online version of the white pages. There is a sense of safety when you use a well known household name that has been trusted for years. You can search a phone number and get the most basic information here without paying, including whether the number is a cell phone or landline and a map indicating the general location of a home or business. You won't find much more than that, especially if you are researching a cell phone or a residential number that is unpublished.

Be aware at this point because there will be links on these pages that promise more information, like registered names and residential addresses, for a charge. These links go to other webpages, so you have left the familiarity of the white pages website so you need to verify the legitimacy of these websites just as you would with any other. Yellow pages itself is not going to deliver much information beyond a general location; you will need to look elsewhere for anything else, especially if you want to know about a cell phone or unlisted number.

The most effective way to access reverse phone lookup websites for basic needs is to go to a reputable service with a reasonable one time charge paid with a secure payment system. If you only need a one time lookup then it is usually not worth the fee to commit to a long term service. Look for one that provides a single lookup for a small price, usually just a dollar or two.

Shelling out a high fee for small amounts of information or being asked to secure information by delivering financial information through email or other non-secure forms are obvious warnings of a scam.