Looking for reverse phone lookup directories can get confusing. You may begin with a simple internet search, assuming it will automatically appear and you'll find the information you require with very little effort. Yet what actually appears is a long list of paid websites which range from less than a buck for one lookup to upwards of fifteen dollars for a service subscription.
Revising your search to indicate free reverse phone lookup delivers additional pay services advertising claims that they are completely free. They may allow you to enter the number for free and award you with very nominal information such as the city and state, but if you want to see the more substantial details such as a name or address you will once again be prompted to hand over a fee.
Completely free reverse phone lookup does not exist. Providers of this information go to great efforts and even money to compile information including unpublished home phone numbers, cellular numbers, and sometimes address histories. They have no use for this information other than to pass it on to consumers for a nominal charge.
Where you go from here depends on how badly you really want to find out the name behind that phone number. In the age of identity fraud most people won't just pick the first site they find and enter their personal information. Finding the most trustworthy directories is just as necessary as when you buy tennis shoes or purses over the internet.
Finding the information you want isn't very difficult, once you locate a reputable 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 determine the person registered with a unidentified number calling your home or wish to know exactly who your child is talking with in the middle of the night, you may not have the desire to evaluate different websites.
The most effective answer may be to go with a brand that many of us have grown up with and use the online 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 if the number is a cell phone or residential line and a map pinpointing 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 are links from these pages that promise additional information, such as registered names and desired addresses, for a fee. These links lead to other webpages, so you have left the security of the yellow pages website so you must verify the legitimacy of these websites just like any other. White pages itself is not going to deliver much information beyond a general location; you will have to search elsewhere for anything else, especially if you need to know about a cell phone or unpublished number.
The best way to access reverse phone lookup directories for basic information is to find a trustworthy directory with a reasonable one time charge accepted with a secure payment system. If you just want a one time lookup then it is probably not worth the charge to commit to a more detailed directory. Locate one that offers a single lookup for a minor price, often just a dollar or two.
Forking over a huge charge for small amounts of information or being asked to secure information by sending card numbers by email or other non-secure methods are obvious warnings of a scam.