Not long ago, everyone had a standard phone in their home and searching for a number or address was a matter of opening the phone book and locating their name. Things have grown more difficult 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 unlisted.

Even with the widespread use of caller ID on most home phones, a lot of numbers may show up without an identifying name and there are ways for callers to prevent their name from coming up. Reverse phone lookup directories have responded to these changing times to offer a very timely service to modern phone users.

There are two typical functions for these directories.

Locating Names

If you are getting calls from someone and only a number comes up on your caller ID, or you want to figure out cell phone callers, reverse phone lookup services can help you find out the name registered to the number in question. Just by entering the number you will have access to the person who is responsible for those bothersome phone calls.

People looking for this service include those wanting to identify a number frequently texting 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 Other people may use lookup directories when they need to know a name registered to a landline that is unpublished. If you have a phone number but don't know who it is connected to, a reverse phone lookup directory can deliver the information.

Finding Addresses

another typical purpose is to identify an address for someone, whether you know their name or not. Once you gain access to the information connected with a certain number most directories will deliver other sorts of data as well, such as the address of an landline or the address connected to a cell phone number.

This may not be an everyday need for some people, but it does have its benefits in some situations. For instance, consider a parent needing to find a teenager who has run away or has not returned home long after curfew. If they can get access to numbers from the teenager's belongings or cell phone a lookup directory could quickly reveal addresses as well as names of places the teenager may be at that time.

More common circumstances may be searching for addresses to mail out party invitations to your child's classmates. If you have the phone number you can find their address and mail out the invitation without calling and tracking down other busy people.

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

There will be a small charge for any relevant reverse phone lookup directory, but if your business or personal life demands certain data it is worth the money in the end. The fee is required because this variety of information is not simple or free to research, collect, and protect, so distributing it as needed to others like you must also include a charge to cover these serviceable expenditures.

There probably will never be a phone book for cellular numbers, and even if there were it is probable many of the numbers would be unpublished as is the case with many home phone numbers today. The best way to obtain access to these phone numbers is to pay a small fee either to complete a single phone number lookup or to join a lookup directory if you will be using the directory on a regular basis.