Looking for reverse phone lookup services can become complicated. You may begin with a quick internet search, assuming it will immediately pop up and you'll have the information you need with very little work. Yet what actually appears are various paid services which range from under a dollar for one lookup to upwards of fifteen dollars for a service subscription.
Changing your search to indicate free reverse phone lookup brings even more pay services hiding behind claims that they are completely free. They sometimes allow you to enter the number for free and give very nominal information such as the city and state, but in order to see the more substantial information like a name or address you will once again be asked to hand over a fee.
Totally free reverse phone lookup is not possible at this point. Providers of this information put out great efforts and even money to compile information such as unpublished home phone numbers, cellular numbers, and even address histories. They have no use for this information other than to make it available to consumers for a small fee.
how you proceed from this point depends on how much you really need to find out the name behind that phone number. In the age of identity fraud most people won't just pull up the cheapest site and hand over their private information. Finding the most trustworthy directories is just as crucial as when you shop for tennis shoes or purses through the web.
Finding the information you need isn't very difficult, once you locate a reputable lookup directory.
There are many competing directories all offering different prices and delivering different combinations of data. When you only need to determine the person behind a strange number calling your home or want to identify exactly who your child is talking with at all hours of the night, you may not have the patience to compare different websites.
The quickest solution may be to go with a brand that many people have grown up with and access the web-based version of the yellow pages. There is a sense of safety when you use a well known popular name that has been trusted for years. You can search a phone number and get very basic information here free of charge, including whether the number is a cell phone or landline and a map indicating the general location if it is a home or business. You won't get much more than that, especially if you are looking up a cell phone or a landline that is unpublished.
Be aware at this point because there are links on these pages that offer additional information, including names and desired addresses, for a charge. These are links to other webpages, so you have left the security of the white pages website so you need to check the security of these databases just as with any other. White pages itself is not going to reveal much information other than a general location; you will have to look elsewhere for more, especially if you need to research a cell phone or unlisted number.
The most effective way to find reverse phone lookup services for basic needs is to find a reputable database with a small one time fee accepted with a secure payment system. If you only need a one time number search then it is probably not worth the money to sign up for a unlimited service. Look for one that delivers a one time search for a minor charge, often just a buck or two.
Paying a huge fee for very limited information or being asked to pay by delivering personal information by email or other non-secure methods are clear signals of a scam.