How to Reverse Search Phone Numbers

Sometimes it’s handy to reverse search a phone number, which means to find information associated with that number, such as a name or address. You can reverse search a number through reverse telephone directories (also called cross-cross directories) as well as online through various search engines and online databases.  Let’s look at a few free searches: reverse directories and some cool databases.

Look-up the Number in a Reverse/Criss-Cross Directory: You can find these at your local library. Instead of listing numbers by surnames, these books list information by categories, such as the number’s prefixes, street addresses, sometimes professions, and more.  If you’re unsure where reverse directories are maintained at the library, ask a reference librarian for help.

Run a reverse phone number in Google. Google’s our first, quick search for just about anything because it’s the most comprehensive, public search engine currently available.  Just type the number into the browser, press the “Google Search” button, and view the results.  Everywhere Google finds that number will display (for example, in websites, online resumes, social networking sites, and so on).

Check phone number via SPYdialer: SPYdialer is a free phone number lookup that searches both landlines and cell phones, providing the registered user’s first or last name and general region in its results. You can also request a photo lookup based on the phone number & SPYdialer will search for that person’s photo on social media — if a facial photo isn’t found, SPYdialer posts a generic photo of the region from which the phone number originates (be sure to read the fine print as SPY dialer explains why a photo was selected if it couldn’t assign a facial image to the number).

Have a great week, Writing PIs