subject: Reverse Phone Lookup - Get Their Name, Get Them To Stop Dialing [print this page] The best resource you have to defend yourself against annoying or harassing phone calls is a reverse phone lookup service. These services allow you to input a phone number and gain information about the person connected to the line. The most basic information delivered by these services is the name and address of the person registered to the line, though some reverse phone lookup services may offer even more extensive information than that.
If you are dealing with a landline, then all you need to make this work is the phone number. These numbers are publically available for the most part, so you should have no problems putting the number into a reverse phone lookup directory online to learn exactly who is calling you.
If you are dealing with a cell phone number, then you won't have as easy a time trying to get the name and address of the person calling you. There is no collective database for cell phone numbers, as there are for landline numbers. There is no phone book that can be used for cell phones to date. Some cell phone services offer directories, but they only include numbers for their customers and the directories are usually only available to customers of that service. You can try to use these directories, but keep in mind that the number may not be through that carrier or the owner may pay extra to keep their number private.
One other option for cell phone numbers is to do a basic Google search for the number. There are websites that offer forums where people can discuss numbers they get calls from and who may be connected to them. Some websites dedicate themselves to reporting the numbers of aggressive debt collectors as well, so that may be helpful if you think the person calling you may have a business connection.
In the case of someone calling you for personal reasons or just to harass you, the only option is to find a good reverse phone lookup service and run the number. Just take the number from your caller ID or the display on your cell phone and type it into the service. If it matches an available number in the directory, you will get a display with all known information on file for the owner of the number.
The only problem with reverse phone lookup is that you have to find the right service. These services have to collect all the data in their system, so some will have more numbers than others. Some databases are updated constantly and routinely scout for updated information, while others are rarely updated and may not deliver accurate information.
You may get lucky with a free reverse phone lookup service, but in many cases you will have better luck with a paid service. The paid services are more likely to have updated, accurate information since they use the money charged to continually update and expand their database.
Some people feel reverse phone lookup services are an invasion of privacy, especially if they are able to deliver information on numbers that are supposed to be unlisted. What these people have to keep in mind is that these are people calling homes causing emotional distress and aggravation. You do have the right to put an end to the calls and the easiest way to do that is to find out who is behind the calls.
