Reverse phone lookups have become a buzzword in recent times, with many websites popping up offering their services. And if you haven’t used them yet, here’s everything you need to know about reverse phone lookup sites so that you can determine how to benefit from them.

What is a reverse phone lookup?

First of all, let’s look at what it really means and the reasons behind its growing popularity. In simple terms, it refers to a background search performed using a phone number.

While a few decades back this may have seemed like an elusive privilege available only to secret service agents, rapid advances in technology today have made it possible for even ordinary individuals. In fact, reverse phone lookups are used by millions of people across the world now for various practical verification and safety purposes.

For instance, if you are struggling to remember a phone call listed on your monthly telephone bill, you can look up the number to jog your memory on whom you have called. If you need to make a delivery to someone and only have their name and contact number, you can perform a reverse phone lookup to locate their address without disturbing them. Or if you are looking for a long-lost relative with only a phone number in hand, a reverse lookup can help you trace much more useful information.

But not only that, the benefits of a reverse search can extend to ensuring the safety of you and your family. For instance, if you are getting harassed by anonymous nuisance calls in the middle of the night, you can reverse search the number to uncover the culprit.

And voice phishing or vishing attacks are also on the rise. According to one study, 70% of fraud cases reported to the Federal Trade Commission were initiated by a telephone call. That is all the more reason why you would want to verify any calls claiming to be your bank or the IRS. And with nearly half of phone calls in 2019 estimated to be spam, robocalls are another menace you might want to avoid using a reverse lookup.

So, there are numerous instances when a reverse phone lookup could become useful in your day-to-day life. And this would explain all the hype around it.

What can they uncover for you?

The amount of information these sites can unearth for you will largely depend on which websites you select. Most sites can provide you with basic information such as name, address, age, and social profiles. However, larger and reputed sites can get you access to an incredible amount of data using a simple phone number. This is because they have access to a much larger network of data sources to extract information, which is then organized and profiled using automated systems. Nuwber, for instance, can provide you with details of relatives and friends, asset ownerships, criminal offences, financial status and much more details that are often difficult to access for an ordinary individual. And the more information you can acquire, the better-informed decisions you can make whether you are worried about your safety or trying to pre-screen a new tenant.

Moreover, the larger reverse search sites will have bigger databases capturing millions of phone numbers. They could, therefore, provide you with a better chance of making a match.

And once a phone number is captured in the databases of these reverse search sites, their automated systems will get into work to pull up related records from numerous sources such as news reports, subscription databases, social media profiles and public records like property registries and marriage licenses. They then create comprehensive profiles, which you can retrieve within a matter of seconds. And most large-scale websites regularly update these profiles with newly retrieved data.

Are there alternatives?

If you simply want to identify a name behind a telephone number, there are several other options such as caller ID or the Yellow Pages. A reverse phone lookup could also be done using a search engine like Google or on social media platforms such as Facebook. However, these have their own limitations. For instance, search engines are limited to publicly available online data that can be accessed free of charge, and therefore, could miss out on valuable offline data or information that can only be accessed with a payment. And success with social media could largely depend on the relevant person’s privacy settings.

On the contrary, reverse search sites collate information from numerous free and paid sources and, therefore, are able to build much more comprehensive profiles with in-depth details. However, you do have the option to access some of these records on your own, for example, by browsing property registries or social profiles, although this can become quite a time-consuming exercise and might not be practical for many people.

While most of these reverse search sites would charge a fee to give you access to the more detailed reports, they provide a reliable and convenient solution if you are struggling to find the time to do your own sleuthing. That being said, first analyze your exact requirements and what information is realistically needed for your specific situation before determining the best option for a reverse phone lookup. If done with a proper understanding, they can become an invaluable tool for your day-to-day activities.