Not long ago, everyone had a landline phone in their home and finding a number or address was a matter of opening the yellow pages and searching for the name. This has become more difficult now that cell phones are in common use and many people do not even have landlines, and if they do their number may be unlisted.

Even with the development of caller ID on most home phones, some numbers may come up without an identifying name and there are ways for callers to block their name from showing up. Reverse phone lookup services have stepped up to these changing times to provide a very timely service to resourceful phone users.

There are two typical uses for these directories.

Searching for Names

If you are receiving 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 number of concern. Just by entering the phone number you will be able to identify whoever is initiating those calls of concern.

People in search of such services include those wanting to identify a number often calling their spouse or teenager's cell phone, since there is no phone book for cell phone numbers. Others may use lookup directories when they want to find a name connected to a landline that may be unpublished. If you have a phone number but don't know who it belongs to, a reverse phone lookup website can assist you.

Locating Addresses

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

This may not be a common need for some people, but it does have its benefits in quite a few situations. For example, take a parent needing to locate a teenager who has run off or is still out 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 located.

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

Lookup directories can also give you access to other sorts of data, including income brackets and previous addresses, and one site even gives a map with an rough pinpoint of where the home or business is located.

There is a minor fee for any up to date reverse phone lookup service, but if your business or personal life demands certain data it is money well spent in the end. The fee is necessary because this variety of information is not easy or free to research, compile, and protect, so distributing it on demand to people like you must also come with a charge to cover such working costs.

There more than likely will never be a phone book for cellular numbers, and even if they were compiled most likely a lot of the numbers would be unlisted just like many landline numbers today. The best way to obtain access to these phone numbers is to pay a minor charge either to complete a single phone number search or to join a lookup directory if you will need to access the directory on a regular basis.