Searching for reverse phone lookup services can get complicated. You may start out with a simple Google search, assuming it will immediately pop up and you'll have the information you desire with minimal effort. Yet what actually comes up is a series of paid services which range from less than a buck for one lookup to upwards of fifteen dollars for a service subscription.

Editing your search to include free reverse phone lookup reveals even more pay services sneaking in claims to be free. They may allow you to type in the number free of charge and deliver very basic information such as the city and state, but in order to see the more substantial information like a name or address you will once again be prompted to pay.

Totally free reverse phone lookup does not exist. Providers of this information put out great efforts and even money to collect information such as unpublished residential numbers, cellular numbers, and sometimes address histories. These businesses have no use for this information other than to pass it on to consumers for a minor fee.

Where you go from this point depends on how badly you really want to identify the name connected to that phone number. In the age of identity theft most people won't just pick the cheapest site and reveal their credit card information. Finding the most trustworthy directories is just as important as when you purchase tennis shoes or purses online.

Retrieving the information you need isn't very difficult, once you locate a legitimate service.

There are many competing directories all with different prices and offering different combinations of data. When you only want to determine the person connected to a unidentified number calling your home or wish to identify exactly who your teenager is talking with at all hours of the night, you probably don't have the desire to rate different services.

The quickest solution may be to go with a brand that many people have grown up with and use the online version of the yellow pages. There is a sense of security when you use a well known household name that has been used for years. You can search a phone number and get the most basic information here without a fee, 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 You won't get much beyond that, especially if you are searching a cell phone or a residential number that is unpublished.

Be careful at this point because there are links from these pages that offer more information, including registered names and desired addresses, for a charge. These are links to other sites, so you no longer necessarily have the familiarity of the yellow pages website so you should ensure the security of these websites just as with any other. White pages itself is not going to give you much information beyond a general location; you will have to look elsewhere for more, especially if you want to research a cell phone or unlisted number.

The best way to find reverse phone lookup services for basic information is to go to a trustworthy directory with a reasonable one time charge paid with a secure payment system. If you just want a one time lookup then it is obviously not worth the fee to sign up for a unlimited directory. Find one that offers a one time lookup for a low fee, often just a buck or two.

Paying a high fee for very limited information or being asked to secure information by sending financial information by email or other non-secure methods are flashing signs of a scam.