Not long ago, everyone had a standard phone in their home and locating a number or address simply required opening the phone book and locating the name. This has become 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 widespread use of caller ID on most landlines, some numbers may show up without an identifying name and there are ways for callers to stop their name from coming up. Reverse phone lookup providers have stepped up to these changing times to provide a very timely service to modern phone users.

There are two common functions for lookup directories.

Locating Names

If you are getting calls from someone and only a number shows on your ID, or you want to figure out cellular phone callers, reverse phone lookup services can help you find out the name registered to the number in question. Just by typing in the phone number you will have access to whoever is behind those phone calls in question.

People looking for lookup directories include those who need to identify a number constantly texting their spouse or children's cell phone, since there is no public directory for cell phone numbers. Other people may use this when they want to find a name registered to a landline that may be unlisted. If you have a number but aren't sure who it belongs to, a reverse phone lookup service can assist you.

Searching for Addresses

another common use is to locate an address for someone, whether you know the name of the person or not. Once you plug into the contact information connected with a specific phone number most directories will deliver additional information as well, such as the address of the home phone or an address listed to a cell phone number.

This may not be a common need for most people, but it does have its benefits in some situations. For instance, consider a parent needing to locate a teenager who has run away or has not returned home long after curfew. If they can come up with 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 at that time.

More common situations may be searching for addresses to mail out party invitations to your child's peers. If you have their phone number you can find their address and easily deliver the invite without calling and tracking down other busy people.

Lookup websites can also give you access to other various types of data, like income brackets and 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 relevant reverse phone lookup directory, but if your business or personal life requires accurate data it is more than worth the payoff in the long run. The charge is unavoidable because this variety of information is not easy or free to research, compile, and protect, so distributing it as needed to consumers like you must also come with a fee to cover such operational expenditures.

There more than likely will never be a public directory for cellular numbers, and even if there were it is probable a lot of the numbers would be unlisted as is the case with many home phone numbers today. The best way to gain access to these phone numbers is to give a nominal charge either to do a one time phone number lookup or to join a lookup directory if you will be using the directory on a regular basis.