Searching for reverse phone lookup directories can become confusing. You may begin with a simple Google search, believing it will immediately appear and you'll discover the information you require with minimal effort. Yet what actually comes up is a series of paid directories which range from less than a buck for one lookup to over fifteen dollars for a long term subscription.
Changing your search to specify free reverse phone lookup brings additional pay directories advertising claims to be free. They may allow you to type in the number for free and award you with very basic information such as the city or state, but if you need to obtain the useful information like a name or address you will then be prompted to hand over a fee.
Totally free reverse phone lookup does not exist. Providers of this data go to great measures and sometimes money to assemble information like unpublished landline numbers, cell phone numbers, and sometimes address histories. They have no purpose to collect this information other than to make it available to consumers for a minor fee.
Where you go from this point depends on how badly you really desire to find out the name connected to that phone number. In the age of identity theft many people won't just pick the first site they find and reveal their credit card information. Finding the most trustworthy services is just as crucial as when you buy clothing or purses over the internet.
Finding the information you desire isn't very hard, once you access a proven lookup directory.
There are a growing number of competitive websites all with different charges and delivering different combinations of data. When you only want to know the person connected to a strange number calling your home or wish to identify exactly who your child is chatting with at all hours of the night, you may not have the time to rate different services.
The easiest answer may be to go with a name that many of us have grown up with and use the web-based version of the yellow pages. There is a sense of legitimacy with a common household name that has been trusted for years. You can search a phone number and get the most basic information here without paying, including if the number is a cell phone or residential line and a map indicating the general location of a home or business. You won't get much beyond that, especially if you are looking up a cell phone or a residential number that is unpublished.
Be aware at this point because there are links on these pages that will deliver more detailed information, like names and specific addresses, for a charge. These are links to different sites, so you no longer necessarily have the familiarity of the white pages website so you should verify the legitimacy of these services just like any other. Yellow pages itself is not going to give you much information other than a general location; you will have to look elsewhere for more, especially if you wish to know about a cell phone or unlisted number.
The most effective way to locate reverse phone lookup websites for basic needs is to go to a trustworthy service with a nominal one time fee accepted with a secure payment system. If you only need a one time lookup then it is probably not worth the fee to commit to a more detailed directory. Locate one that delivers a single search for a minor charge, often just a buck or two.
Shelling out a huge charge for small amounts of information or being asked to secure information by delivering personal information through email or other non-secure methods are flashing warnings of a scam.