Not long ago, everyone had a landline phone in their home and locating a phone number or address was a matter of opening the white pages and searching for the name. Things have grown more complicated now that cell phones are in common use and many people do not even have home phones, and if they do their number may be unpublished.

Even with the development of caller ID on most home phones, a lot of numbers may come up without an identifying name and there are ways for callers to prevent their name from appearing. Reverse phone lookup providers have stepped up to these changing demands to offer a very timely service to resourceful phone users.

There are two common uses for these services.

Searching for Names

If you are getting calls from someone and only a number shows on your ID, or you need to identify cell phone callers, reverse phone lookup services can assist in finding the name registered to the number of concern. Just by typing in the phone number you will be able to identify whoever is responsible for those bothersome phone calls.

People in search of lookup directories include those who need to check up on a number constantly phoning their spouse or children'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 listed to a landline that is unlisted. Whenever you have a phone number but are uncertain who it is connected to, a reverse phone lookup service can assist you.

Locating Addresses

another common purpose is to locate an address for someone, whether you know their name or not. Once you plug into the information linked with a certain phone number most directories will give other sorts of data as well, which includes the address of the home phone or the address connected to a cell phone number.

This may not be an everyday need for most people, but it does have its benefits in some situations. For example, take a parent needing 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 uncover addresses as well as names of locations the child may be located.

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

These services can also deliver access to other sorts of data, such as income brackets or address histories, and one site even gives a map with an rough pinpoint to the business or home's location.

There is a nominal price for any legitimate reverse phone lookup website, but if your business or personal situation requires accurate information it is money well spent in the end. The fee is necessary because this kind of information is not simple or completely free to research, collect, and store, so dispensing it on demand to consumers such as you must also come with a charge to make up for these serviceable costs.

There likely will never be a public directory for cellular numbers, and even if they were compiled it is probable a lot of the numbers would be unlisted as is the case with many landline numbers today. The best way to gain access to these phone numbers is to put up a nominal fee either to complete a single number lookup or to join a lookup service if you will be using the directory on a regular basis.