Looking for reverse phone lookup directories can become confusing. You may begin with a quick internet search, believing it will automatically pop up and you'll find the information you desire with minimal effort. Yet what actually comes up is a long list of paid websites which range from less than a buck for one lookup to over fifteen dollars for a service subscription.

Revising your search to specify free reverse phone lookup brings even more pay services hiding behind claims to be free. They sometimes allow you to type in the number free of charge and deliver very nominal information such as the city or state, but if you want to obtain the important details such as a name or address you will then be asked to hand over a fee.

Completely free reverse phone lookup is not possible at this point. Providers of this data put out great efforts and sometimes money to compile information including unlisted landline numbers, cellular numbers, and even address histories. They have no use for this information other than to deliver it to consumers for a minor charge.

Where you go from this point depends on how much you really desire to identify the person connected to that phone number. In the age of identity fraud many people won't just pull up the cheapest site and hand over their credit card information. Finding the most reputable services is just as crucial as when you buy tennis shoes or handbags online.

Finding the information you need isn't very hard, once you locate a proven service.

There are many competitive services all with different prices and offering different combinations of data. When you simply need to know the person registered with a particular number calling your home or wish to determine exactly who your child is talking with at all hours of the night, you may not have the patience to compare different directories.

The easiest solution may be to go with a brand that many of us have grown up with and use the online version of the yellow pages. There is a sense of legitimacy with a well known household name that has been used for years. You can look up a phone number and get very basic information here without a fee, including if the number is a cell phone or home line and a map pinpointing the general location if it is a home or business. You won't find much beyond that, especially if you are searching a cell phone or a residential number that is unpublished.

Be aware at this point because there are links from these pages that offer more detailed information, including names and desired addresses, for a charge. These links lead to different webpages, so you have left the security of the yellow pages website so you should ensure the reputation of these services just as with any other. Yellow pages itself is not going to give you much information beyond a general location; you will need to search elsewhere for more, especially if you need to research a cell phone or unpublished number.

The easiest way to locate reverse phone lookup websites for basic information is to find a proven directory with a small one time charge collected through a secure payment system. If you just want a one time lookup then it is obviously not worth the money to commit to a long term service. Look for one that offers a single lookup for a minor price, usually just a dollar or two.

Forking over a high fee for very limited information or being asked to pay by delivering personal information through email or other non-secure methods are flashing signals of a scam.