Searching for reverse phone lookup directories can become complicated. You may begin with a quick Google search, hoping it will immediately pop up and you'll have the information you require with minimal work. Yet what actually appears are various paid websites which range from under a dollar for one lookup to upwards of fifteen dollars for a long term subscription.
Revising your search to specify free reverse phone lookup reveals additional pay directories hiding behind claims that they are completely free. They sometimes allow you to type in the number without mention of a fee and deliver very nominal information such as the city and state, but if you want to get the useful details such as a name or address you will once again be prompted to hand over a fee.
Absolutely free reverse phone lookup is not possible at this point. Providers of this data put out great measures and even money to assemble information like unlisted landline numbers, cell phone numbers, and even address histories. These businesses have no use for this information other than to deliver it to buyers for a nominal fee.
how you proceed from here depends on how badly you really need to find out the person connected to that phone number. In the age of identity theft many people won't just pick the cheapest site and enter their credit card information. Finding the most reputable services is just as necessary as when you shop for clothing or purses through the web.
Retrieving the information you desire isn't very difficult, once you access a proven service.
There are a growing number of competing websites all with different prices and delivering different combinations of information. When you only need to identify the person registered with a strange number calling your home or want to determine exactly who your child is talking with at all hours of the night, you probably don't have the desire to rate different websites.
The quickest solution may be to go with a brand that many people have grown up with and use the web-based version of the yellow pages. There is a sense of safety with a common household name that has been around for years. You can look up a phone number and get the most basic information here for free, including whether the number is a cell phone or home line and a map indicating the general location if it is a home or business. You won't receive much more than that, especially if you are researching a cell phone or a landline that is unpublished.
Be aware at this point because there will be links from these pages that offer additional information, like registered names and desired addresses, for a fee. These links go to other sites, so you have left the familiarity of the white pages website so you must ensure the security of these services just as you would with any other. White pages itself is not going to reveal much information beyond a general location; you will need to search elsewhere for more, especially if you want to know about a cell phone or unpublished number.
The most effective way to locate reverse phone lookup directories for basic information is to find a reputable database 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 charge to sign up for a long term directory. Look for one that offers a one time lookup for a low charge, often just a buck or two.
Forking over a large charge for very limited information or being asked to secure information by sending personal information by email or other non-secure forms are obvious signs of a scam.