Searching for reverse phone lookup directories can get confusing. You may start out with a simple Google search, hoping it will quickly appear and you'll find the information you desire with minimal effort. Yet what actually comes up is a long list of paid directories which vary from less than a buck for one lookup to over fifteen dollars for a long term subscription.
Editing your search to indicate 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 free of charge and deliver very useless information such as the city or state, but if you want to get the more substantial details like a name or address you will once again be requested to pay.
Totally free reverse phone lookup is not possible at this point. Providers of this information go to great efforts and even money to compile information like unpublished residential numbers, cellular numbers, and sometimes address histories. These businesses have no use for this information other than to make it available to you for a minor charge.
Where you go from this point depends on how much you really want to identify the person connected to that phone number. In the age of identity theft most people won't just access the cheapest site and enter their private information. Finding the most trustworthy services is just as important as when you shop for tennis shoes or handbags online.
Retrieving the information you want isn't very hard, once you locate a reputable lookup directory.
There are a growing number of competing directories all with different prices and delivering different combinations of data. When you only want to identify the name behind a strange number calling your home or wish to know exactly who your teenager is talking with in the middle of the night, you probably don't have the time to rate different services.
The easiest solution may be to go with a name that many people have grown up with and use the web-based version of the yellow pages. There is a sense of legitimacy when you use a well known household name that has been around for years. You can search a phone number and get very basic information here without a fee, including whether the number is a cell phone or landline and a map pinpointing 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 You won't receive much more than that, especially if you are researching a cell phone or a home phone number that is unpublished.
Be aware at this point because there will be links from these pages that will deliver more detailed information, including registered names and desired addresses, for a charge. These links lead to different webpages, so you no longer necessarily have the familiarity of the white pages website so you must ensure the legitimacy of these services just as you would with any other. Yellow pages itself is not going to give you much information beyond a general location; you will have to search elsewhere for anything else, especially if you want to know about a cell phone or unlisted number.
The most effective way to access reverse phone lookup websites for basic information is to find a reputable service with a reasonable one time fee paid through a secure payment system. If you just want a one time lookup then it is obviously not worth the charge to commit to a more detailed service. Find one that provides a single search for a low price, usually just a dollar or two.
Forking over a large fee for very limited information or being asked to secure information by delivering card numbers by email or other non-secure forms are flashing signs of a scam.