Not long ago, everyone had a landline phone in their home and searching for a number or address was a matter of opening the white pages and locating their name. Things have grown more difficult now that cell phones are widely used and many people do not even have landlines, and if they do their number may be unpublished.

Even with the invention of caller ID on most home phones, some numbers may show up without an identifying name and there are ways for callers to prevent their details from appearing. Reverse phone lookup providers have stepped up to these changing times to provide a very valuable service to resourceful phone users.

There are two typical uses for these directories.

Finding Names

If you are getting calls from someone and only a number comes up on your ID, or you need to identify cell phone callers, reverse phone lookup services can assist in finding the name listed to the phone number of concern. Just by entering the phone number you will be able to identify the person who is behind the bothersome phone calls.

People needing such services include those wanting to identify a number often phoning their spouse or teenager's cell phone, since there is no phone book for cell phone numbers. Other people may use lookup directories when they need to know a name connected to a landline that may be unlisted. Whenever you have a phone number but aren't sure who it is connected to, a reverse phone lookup service can assist you.

Searching for Addresses

another typical function is to locate an address for someone, whether you know their name or not. Once you find the contact information linked with a specific number most directories will give other sorts of data as well, which may include the address of the home phone or an address associated with a cell phone number.

This may not be a typical need for some people, but it does have its uses in some situations. For instance, consider a parent desperate to find a teenager who has run away or has not returned home long after curfew. If they can get access to numbers from the teenager's belongings or cell phone a reverse phone lookup could quickly tell them addresses as well as names of places the child may be at that time.

More common situations may be searching for addresses to mail out party invitations to your child's classmates. If you have a phone number you can find their address and get the invite in the mail without calling or tracking down other busy family.

Lookup directories can also give you access to other various types of information, like income brackets or address histories, and one site even gives a map with an rough pinpoint of the most current location.

There is a minor fee for any legitimate reverse phone lookup directory, but if your business or personal life demands certain data it is more than worth the payoff in the long run. The charge is necessary because this variety of information is not simple or free to research, compile, and save, so dispensing it immediately to people like you must also come with a charge to make up for these working costs.

There probably will never be a phone book for cell phone numbers, and even if they were compiled it is probable many of the numbers would be unlisted as is the case with many home phone numbers today. The best way to obtain access to these numbers is to pay a small charge either to complete a one time phone number search or to join a lookup service if you will be using the directory on a regular basis.