You have probably heard about—or been the target of—the harmless neighbor phone prank. While these pranks can be a nuisance, neighbors tend to get the message after you complain and involve the cops. On the other hand, dealing with phone scams is an entirely different nightmare. Scammers are brazen in their attempts, with many impersonating employees of reputable companies. These scammers aim to trick unsuspecting customers into providing personal or financial information they can exploit for illicit gain.
Other times, it is unrelenting telemarketers looking to sell you a product or service over the phone. Listing your phone number on the DoNotCall registry is one way to deal with telemarketers. However, listing your number on this database does not deter unscrupulous telemarketers. You can report such entities to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) or legal actions against them, depending on your state’s telemarketing laws. In all these scenarios, it is much better to see the caller’s identity before even engaging them. That way, you can choose the calls you answer and know the callers to block outrightly.
How To Find Unknown Callers’ Identity
There are several ways to find a caller’s identity. Some services require you to create a free account on an app, while others provide a web-based search service. Either way, the goal is to find a caller’s identity for free. Here are the ten (10) best, free ways you can do that.
Indeed, Google is not exactly the first choice if you want to find the phone number owner quickly. However, it is a good starting point because of its extensive search engine, which can quickly retrieve information from indexed pages. So, if the phone number has been listed on a website, there is a good chance you can find the caller’s ID with a Google search.
- Truecaller
Truecaller is a phonebook app for identifying the caller ID of unknown numbers. The app also lets you block spam calls and automatically record phone call conversations. Its telephone directory is crowd-sourced. When a person registers on the app, they grant Truecaller the permission to read and collect information on their phone contacts — particularly phone number, associated name, and email address. Truecaller then refines this data and provides it when other users perform a phone number search. Besides unveiling the caller’s identity, Truecaller also lets you know if other persons have listed the phone number for spam.
To use Truecaller, you must register an account with a phone number or email. Only then can you perform a free reverse phone lookup on Truecaller’s database. The information presented via the search is based on the consistency of the person’s caller’s ID across several phonebooks.
Facebook once required users to register accounts with their phone numbers until it allowed email signups. And even persons who do not sign up with phone numbers often list their contact details on their profile or in the comments section. For businesses, listing phone numbers on their profiles is a rule of thumb. Either way, this works as a free way to look up a phone number on one of the largest people databases on the planet. To look up a caller’s ID, enter the phone number in the Facebook search bar and look through the search results displayed.
- org
PhoneNumbers.org is a dedicated phone number search website where you can look up callers’ IDs. The site compiles its phone numbers database from mobile carrier directories. It uses deep web technology to assemble information that would have been otherwise inaccessible to regular users via search engines. To find a caller’s identity on PhoneNumbers.org, enter the phone number in the search bar. You will get instant results on the caller’s name, their exact address, and how long they have owned the phone number. You can also get additional information like employment history and property records through this public record search.
- NumLookup
NumLookup is a simple web tool for finding an unknown caller’s identity. You enter the unknown phone number in the search bar, and the website retrieves information from its database. Then, it presents the caller’s name and address in the search result. You also get to see the mobile carrier and type of line.
- WhitePages
WhitePages has been around for a long time. The website takes its name from the traditional white pages—the physical phonebook directories you would find in a convenience store or local phone booth. Those physical directories were notoriously outdated, with several pages torn out for personal use, privacy reasons, or sheer vandalism.
Today, the online WhitePages uses the same idea—compile phone numbers in a database and make them searchable. A phone number search on WhitePages will present the caller’s ID and the exact address of the individual or business. You also get to see a spam rating and publicly available records attached to that person.
- SpyDialer
SpyDialer is a free reverse phone lookup site for finding the registered owner of a phone number. Besides presenting the caller’s name, the site also gives the caller’s exact address, lets you see available photos, among other decent features. SpyDailer only works for US-based phone numbers.
- CocoFinder
CocoFinder is primarily a people lookup website, where you can perform a name-based search on persons of interest. Besides this service, CocoFinder lets interested persons perform a reverse phone lookup to get the identity of unknown callers. You will also get information on the person’s address, alternate phone number, and social media accounts.
- ZoSearch
Like CocoFinder, ZoSearch is also a free people lookup site that extends its services to free reverse phone search. You can use the website to find a caller’s name, address, alternate phone numbers, and associated social media profiles. Note that ZoSearch only works for US phone numbers at this time.
- National Cellular Directory
Unlike the aforementioned reverse phone search websites, which are free, the National Cellular Directory is a subscription-based site. However, the website has a happy hour search, when for one hour every day, you can find a caller’s identity for free. Your free report will also contain everything you would find in a paid report. The only downside is that free searches are limited to two phone numbers per happy hour. Of course, the aim is to register an account and encourage you to subscribe after seeing how great the reverse phone search is.
The Bottom-line
You can find a caller’s identity for free using several services, from app-based to web-based services. These services differ in the additional features available to users, but there is a common feature—a reverse phone search will provide the name and address of the person registered to a phone number.