It used to be that everyone had a standard phone in their home and finding a number or address was a matter of opening the phone book and searching for their name. This has become more complicated now that cell phones are widely used and many people do not even have home phones, and if they do their number may be unlisted.
Even with the widespread use of caller ID on most landlines, a lot of numbers may come up without an identifying name and there are ways for callers to prevent their name from coming up. Reverse phone lookup directories have stepped up to these changing times to offer a very useful service to modern phone users.
There are two common uses for lookup services.
Searching for Names
If you are receiving calls from someone and only a number shows on your caller ID, or you need to identify cell phone callers, reverse phone lookup services can help you find out the name registered to the number of concern. Just by entering the number you will be able to identify the person who is initiating the bothersome phone calls.
People looking for lookup directories include those who need to identify a number frequently calling their spouse or children's cell phone, since there is no phone book for cell phone numbers. Others may use lookup directories when they need to find a name listed to a home phone that may be unpublished. If you have a number but don't know who it is connected to, a reverse phone lookup directory can deliver the information.
Searching for Addresses
The other typical function is to identify an address for someone, whether you know the name of the person or not. Once you plug into the contact information associated with a specific phone number most directories will deliver additional information as well, such as the address of an landline or the address listed to a cell phone number.
This may not be an everyday need for some people, but it does have its benefits in quite a few situations. For example, take a parent in a rush to track down a teenager who has run off or is still out long after curfew. If they can get access to numbers from the teenager's bedroom or cell phone a lookup directory could quickly reveal addresses and names of places the child may be at that time.
More common situations may be searching for addresses to mail out party invitations to your child's peers. If you have a phone number you can get their address and mail out the invitation without calling or tracking down other busy people.
Lookup websites can also deliver access to other kinds of data, including income brackets or previous addresses, and one site even gives a map with an general pinpoint of where the home or business is located.
There is a nominal price for any up to date reverse phone lookup website, but if your business or personal life demands particular information it is more than worth the payoff in the long run. The fee is necessary because this kind of information is not simple or free to research, pull together, and save, so dispensing it on demand to others like you must also come with a charge to account for these serviceable expenditures.
There probably will never be a phone book for cell phone numbers, and even if they were compiled it is probable the majority of the numbers would be unlisted as is the case with many home phone numbers right now. The best way to get access to such numbers is to put up a small fee either to complete a one time phone number search or to join a lookup directory if you will be using the directory long term.