Everyone knows how a regular phone book works. Users will look for a residential or business phone number using the contacts’s name or address. With a reverse phone lookup service, the user will search using the contact’s phone number, the results giving him information related to that number. On the other hand, by using a reverse email service, you use an email address as your starting point.
These kind of directories are often used by law enforcement and emergency services (such as 911 or police stations) to determine the location of a phone call. Because these include public and non-listed numbers, they are restricted to internal use.
Reverse phone lookup services first started in the Nineties, when telecommunication companies started offering the service for a small price. By the Noughties, this assistance had been made available for all online, raising some questions about the privacy of it.
To calm the customers apprehensions, landline subscribers were given the option to have their number removed from the directory, minding a small fee between eighty cents and a dollar fifty. However, this only applies to land based lines. Cellular phones have different carrier, making it impossible for those numbers to be unlisted.
Some companies such as telemarketers or fundraisers use these services to conduct their business by phone. While consumers were getting angry for receiving phone call after phone call, they formed web based communities, discussing which company comes with the phone number that popped up on their caller ID. That way, they can avoid answering when they recognize the number.
The reverse phone lookup service can be really useful if you have the phone number but not the name that comes with it. All you need to use those directories is to find on the web the provider for your local area. This kind of service is now available online without costs and available for all to enjoy.
Read our customer reviews on 2 of the best reverse email lookup services. Everything you need to know about finding email addresses.