Searching for reverse phone lookup services can become complicated. You may begin with a simple Google search, assuming it will immediately appear and you'll find the information you need with minimal work. Yet what actually appears are various paid directories which vary from under a dollar for one number search to upwards of fifteen dollars for a service subscription.
Editing your search to indicate free reverse phone lookup reveals even more pay directories hiding behind claims to be free. They may allow you to type in the number for free and give very basic information such as the city and state, but in order to see the useful details such as a name or address you will then be prompted to hand over a fee.
Absolutely free reverse phone lookup does not exist. Providers of this data put out great measures and even money to assemble information such as unlisted landline numbers, cell phone numbers, and even address histories. They have no use for this information other than to pass it on to buyers for a nominal fee.
Where you go from this point depends on how badly you really need to find out the person registered to that phone number. In the age of identity fraud many people won't just access the cheapest site and hand over their personal information. Finding the most trustworthy sites is just as crucial as when you shop for clothing or pocketbooks over the internet.
Retrieving the information you need isn't very difficult, once you find a reputable service.
There are many competitive services all offering different charges and delivering different combinations of information. When you simply want to know the person connected to a strange phone number calling your home or wish to determine exactly who your teenager is talking with at all hours of the night, you probably don't have the time to compare different directories.
The quickest answer may be to go with a name that many people have grown up with and access the web-based version of the white pages. There is a sense of security when you use a common household name that has been used for years. You can search a phone number and get the most basic information here free of charge, including whether the number is a cell phone or residential line and a map indicating the general location of a home or business. You won't find much more than that, especially if you are looking up a cell phone or a landline that is unlisted.
Be aware at this point because there will be links from these pages that offer additional information, like names and specific addresses, for a charge. These are links to other webpages, so you no longer necessarily have the security of the yellow pages website so you must verify the legitimacy of these databases just as with any other. Yellow pages itself is not going to reveal much information besides a general location; you will need to look elsewhere for more, especially if you need to know about a cell phone or unlisted number.
The most effective way to find reverse phone lookup websites for basic needs is to go to a trustworthy directory with a nominal one time charge collected through a secure payment system. If you just want a one time lookup then it is usually not worth the money to commit to a unlimited directory. Locate one that delivers a single search for a minor fee, usually just a dollar or two.
Forking over a high fee for very limited information or being asked to secure information by delivering financial information by email or other non-secure methods are clear signals of a scam.