There are several different methods you can use if you decide “I also need to know who a phone number belongs to.” The first is to simply call the number back and see who answers. If you don’t want to be tracked, you can call from a mobile phone or hide your caller ID. However, there are other, more sophisticated methods that can work just as well. Here are two of the most common in more detail.
Google has a “PhoneBook” feature that is extremely useful for looking up phone numbers and works for both mobile and landline phones. All you need to do is visit Google.com and type “phonebook: number”. This will display any results that Google has in its database that include the number.
The problem with Google’s phone book method is that it only returns numbers that are somewhere in the public sections of websites. If the person trying to call you has never disclosed their phone number online, it’s unlikely that Google will be able to find it. This is the case for both mobile and landline phone numbers. For this reason, the method is most effective when used for business numbers, but varies greatly when looking at house numbers.
The other method to match a phone number to a person is to use a free or paid reverse phone lookup website on the internet. One of the main advantages of these websites is that they have access to the national database of phone numbers, making it easy to find out who owns a particular number. The downside is that these websites do not have access to unlisted or mobile numbers. That means if a number owner has removed their phone from the national directory, the website won’t be able to find anything.
Another advantage of a search service is that, in some cases, you can get access to additional information, including the person’s address and date of birth.
Choosing a reverse phone lookup site is not always easy because there are so many. It is essential that you choose a company that uses an up-to-date database; there is no point in finding out who owned a particular number several years ago. The newer the database, the more likely it is to find the right owner. You should also avoid paid services unless they can provide you with a high level of service. Some paid websites do not offer anything extra compared to the free ones.