It used to be that everyone had a standard phone in their home and searching for a number or address was a matter of opening the phone book and searching for the name. It is often more difficult now that cell phones are widely used and many people do not even have home phones, and if they do their number may be unlisted.

Even with the invention of caller ID on most home phones, many numbers may appear without an identifying name and there are ways for callers to stop their name from coming up. Reverse phone lookup services have responded to these changing times to provide a very valuable service to resourceful phone users.

There are two typical functions for these directories.

Finding Names

If you are receiving calls from someone and only a number shows on your caller ID, or you want to identify cellular phone callers, reverse phone lookup directories can assist in finding the name registered to the number in question. Just by entering the phone number you will be able to identify whoever is initiating those phone calls in question.

People needing lookup directories include those wanting to check up on a number constantly phoning their spouse or teenager's cell phone, since there is no public directory for cell phone numbers. Others may use this when they need to identify a name registered to a landline that is unlisted. If you have a phone number but are uncertain who it is connected to, a reverse phone lookup service can help.

Searching for Addresses

another common purpose is to locate an address for someone, whether you know the name of the person or not. Once you find the information linked with a particular phone number most directories will give other sorts of data as well, which may include the address of the landline or the address listed to a cell phone number.

This may not be an everyday need for most people, but it does have its benefits in quite a few situations. For example, take a parent in a rush to find a teenager who has run away or is still out long after curfew. If they can find phone numbers from the teenager's belongings or cell phone a reverse phone lookup could quickly uncover addresses and names of places the teenager may be located.

Other situations may be looking for addresses to send out party invitations to your child's friends. If you have their phone number you can access their address and easily deliver the invite without calling and tracking down other busy people.

Lookup websites can also give you a connection to other various types of data, including income brackets and address histories, and one site even gives a map with an estimated pinpoint of where the home or business is located.

There is a minor fee for any legitimate reverse phone lookup service, but if your business or personal situation requires particular data it is worth the money in the end. The charge is necessary because this variety of information is not easy or free to research, collect, and save, so distributing it immediately to others like you must also include a charge to account for these serviceable costs.

There probably will never be a phone book for cellular numbers, and even if they were compiled it is probable many of the numbers would be unlisted as is the case with many landline numbers right now. The only way to get access to such numbers is to put up a small charge either to complete a one time number search or to join a lookup directory if you will be using the service on a regular basis.