It used to be that everyone had a landline phone in their home and searching for a number or address simply required opening the yellow pages and searching for the name. This has become more complicated now that cell phones are widely used and many people do not even have landlines, and if they do their number may be unpublished.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 development of caller ID on most home phones, many numbers may come up without an identifying name and there are ways for callers to block their details from coming up. Reverse phone lookup directories have stepped up to these changing demands to offer a very valuable service to modern phone users.
There are two typical uses for lookup services.
Searching for Names
If you are getting 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 phone number in question. Just by entering the number you will be able to identify the person who is behind those phone calls in question.
People looking for such services include those who need to identify a number frequently texting their spouse or children's cell phone, since there is no accessible directory for cell phone numbers. Other people may use lookup directories when they want to find a name listed to a home phone that may be unpublished. If you have a phone number but aren't sure who it belongs to, a reverse phone lookup website can deliver the information.
Searching for Addresses
another common use is to find an address for someone, whether you know the name of the person or not. Once you find the contact information associated with a certain phone number most services will give additional information as well, which includes the address of an landline 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 quite a few situations. For example, take a parent desperate to find a teenager who has run away or is still out well past curfew. If they can come up with numbers from the teenager's bedroom or cell phone a reverse phone lookup could quickly reveal addresses and names of places the child may be located.
Other circumstances may be looking for addresses to mail out party invitations to your child's friends. If you have their phone number you can find their address and mail out the invitation without calling and tracking down other busy parents.
Lookup websites can also give you access to other sorts of data, such as income brackets and address histories, and one site even gives a map with an general pinpoint of where the home or business is located.
There will be a small charge for any relevant reverse phone lookup directory, but if your business or personal situation requires accurate information it is money well spent in the end. The charge is required because this sort of information is not simple or completely free to research, pull together, and store, so issuing it immediately to consumers such as you must also include a fee to cover these operational costs.
There more than likely will never be a phone book for cell phone numbers, and even if there were it is probable a lot of the numbers would be unpublished as is the case with many landline numbers today. The best way to get access to such numbers is to pay a nominal charge either to complete a single number lookup or to join a lookup directory if you will need to access the service on a regular basis.