Not long ago, everyone had a standard phone in their home and locating a phone number or address simply required opening the white pages and searching for the 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 unlisted.
Even with the invention of caller ID on most home phones, many numbers may come up without an identifying name and there are ways for callers to prevent their name from coming up. Reverse phone lookup services have responded to these changing times to provide a very valuable service to modern phone users.
There are two typical uses for lookup directories.
Searching for Names
If you are receiving calls from someone and only a number is revealed on your caller ID, or you want to figure out cellular phone callers, reverse phone lookup services can assist in finding the name listed to the phone number in question. Just by entering the number you will have access to whoever is responsible for those phone calls in question.
People in search of this service include those who need to check up on a number frequently calling 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 want to know a name listed to a home phone that may be unlisted. Whenever you have a number but don't know who it is connected to, a reverse phone lookup service can assist you.
Locating Addresses
The other typical use is to find an address for someone, whether you know their name or not. Once you find the contact information linked with a certain phone number most directories will deliver additional data as well, which may include the address of the home phone or the address listed to a cell phone number.
This may not be a common need for some people, but it does have its uses in quite a few situations. For instance, consider a parent desperate to find a teenager who has run off or has not returned home well past curfew. If they can come up with numbers from the teenager's belongings or cell phone a lookup directory could quickly uncover addresses and names of places the child may be at that time.
Other situations may be searching for addresses to send out party invitations to your child's classmates. If you have the phone number you can access their address and easily deliver the invite without calling and tracking down other busy people.
Lookup directories can also give you access to other kinds of information, including income brackets and previous addresses, and one site even gives a map with an estimated pinpoint of the most current location.
There will be a small charge for any legitimate reverse phone lookup directory, but if your business or personal life demands particular data it is more than worth the payoff in the long run. The fee is required because this variety of information is not simple or free to research, pull together, and save, so issuing it immediately to consumers like you must also come with a fee to make up for such serviceable expenditures.
There more than likely will never be a phone book for cell phone numbers, and even if there were it is probable the majority of the numbers would be unlisted just like many home phone numbers right now. The best way to obtain access to these phone numbers is to put up a small charge either to complete a single number lookup or to join a lookup service if you will need to access the directory on a regular basis.