Searching for reverse phone lookup services can become complicated. You may begin with a quick Google search, believing it will quickly pop up and you'll have the information you require with very little effort. Yet what actually comes up are various paid directories which range from under a dollar for one number search to over fifteen dollars for a service subscription.

Revising your search to specify free reverse phone lookup delivers additional pay services hiding behind claims to be free. They sometimes allow you to enter the number for free and give very basic information such as the city and state, but if you want to get the more substantial information like a name or address you will then be prompted to pay.

Completely free reverse phone lookup is not possible at this point. Providers of this information put out great measures and sometimes money to assemble information like unlisted home phone 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 charge.

how you proceed from this point depends on how badly you really need to reveal the person connected to that phone number. In the age of identity fraud many people won't just pick the first site they find and enter their private information. Finding the most trustworthy sites is just as important as when you buy tennis shoes or pocketbooks online.

Getting the information you desire isn't very hard, once you find a reputable service.

There are a growing number of competing websites all with different prices and delivering different combinations of data. When you simply need to identify the name behind a particular 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 rate different websites.

The most effective answer may be to go with a brand that many of us have grown up with and access the online version of the yellow pages. There is a sense of security when you use a well known household name that has been trusted for years. You can look up a phone number and get very basic information here for free, including whether the number is a cell phone or landline and a map indicating the general location of a home or business. You won't receive much beyond that, especially if you are searching a cell phone or a home phone number that is unlisted.

Be aware at this point because there will be links from these pages that will deliver more detailed information, such as registered names and specific addresses, for a charge. These links go to other sites, so you no longer necessarily have the familiarity of the yellow pages website so you need to ensure 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 want to research a cell phone or unlisted number.

The easiest way to locate reverse phone lookup directories for basic needs is to find a reputable database with a small one time charge paid through a secure payment system. If you just want a one time number search then it is obviously not worth the fee to commit to a unlimited directory. Look for one that offers a single search for a minor price, often just a dollar or two.

Paying a large fee for small amounts of information or being asked to secure information by delivering financial information through email or other non-secure forms are flashing signals of a scam.