It used to be that everyone had a standard phone in their home and searching for a number or address simply required opening the yellow pages and locating their name. It is often 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now that cell phones are widely used and many people do not even have landlines, and if they do their number may be unpublished.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 come up without an identifying name and there are ways for callers to prevent their details from coming up. Reverse phone lookup directories have stepped up to these changing demands to offer a very useful service to resourceful phone users.

There are two typical uses for lookup services.

Finding Names

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

People needing such services include those wanting to identify a number often calling their spouse or children's cell phone, since there is no public directory for cell phone numbers. Other people may use lookup directories when they need to know a name listed to a home phone that is unlisted. Anytime you have a number but are uncertain who it is connected to, a reverse phone lookup website can help.

Finding Addresses

another typical purpose is to find an address for someone, whether you know the name of the person or not. Once you find the information connected with a certain number most directories will give additional information as well, which may include the address of the landline or the address listed to a cell phone number.

This may not be a common need for some people, but it does have its benefits in some situations. For example, take a parent in a rush to locate a teenager who has run off or is still out long after curfew. If they can get access to 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.

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

These services can also give you access to other kinds of information, including income brackets or address histories, and one site even gives a map with an estimated pinpoint to the business or home's location.

There is a minor fee for any relevant reverse phone lookup directory, but if your business or personal life requires particular data it is more than worth the payoff in the end. The fee is unavoidable because this kind of information is not simple or free to research, compile, and save, so distributing it as needed to people like you must also collect a fee to cover such operational expenditures.

There probably will never be a phone book for cellular numbers, and even if there were most likely the majority of the numbers would be unlisted as is the case with many home phone numbers today. The only way to get access to these numbers is to pay a small fee either to complete a one time phone number lookup or to join a lookup service if you will be using the service on a regular basis.