Best Free Reverse Phone Lookup Tools: Our Expert Guide
Cindy Ellis - November 29, 2022
Finding information about someone with only a phone number is important for several reasons. However, the biggest factors are scam calls and calls from private numbers. Unfortunately, millions of scam calls are made each day with spoofed, blocked, or otherwise altered phone numbers. Therefore, knowing how to find someone with only a phone number will help you remain safe.
When someone calls you from an unknown number or a phone number you’ve never seen, you can find out who’s calling without answering if you have access to the right tools. Plus, you can find the caller’s alternate contact methods to prevent more unwanted phone calls.
Read on to learn about the best free reverse phone lookup tools below.
What Is a Reverse Phone Lookup?
A reverse phone lookup is the process of searching for more information about a phone number. Reverse phone lookups happen in many ways and can be done with something as simple as a Google search.
That said, there are also more complex reverse phone lookups that are done by dedicated background check companies or dedicated people search engines, like Information.com.
Are Reverse Phone Lookup Tools Free?
Reverse Phone lookup tools are sometimes free. Whether a reverse phone lookup tool is free depends on several factors. First and foremost, background check companies won’t perform a reverse phone lookup for free, but some people search engines will. Additionally, social media searches and Google searches are also free but less effective.
Depending on the people search tool, there may be a fee to open the full report. The good news is that the fee is typically less than the cost of having a professional perform the reverse phone lookup.
What’s the Best Reverse Phone Lookup Tool?
The best reverse phone lookup tool is Information.com. Information.com’s reverse phone lookup tool is the best because it has the most accurate results and the simplest user interface. Plus, Information.com helps you find information about someone with a phone number in just a few minutes. Overall, Information.com is challenging to beat, even when compared to industry leaders.
Plus, in addition to the standard public records lookup that Information.com performs, it’ll also show you every social media account and dating profile connected to a phone number. Even better, it’ll find additional numbers owned by the same person and show you all the accounts and profiles connected to those as well.
Are Reverse Phone Lookups Legal?
Yes, reverse phone lookups are legal. Reverse phone lookups don’t break any laws. According to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), it’s legal for anyone to do a reverse phone lookup on someone because the information found is public record.
Still, some situations make reverse phone lookups illegal. For example, you can’t perform a reverse phone lookup on domestic help or on someone who requested you don’t do one. It’s also illegal to run one of these checks on an employee who doesn’t consent to a background check.
Who Needs a Reverse Phone Lookup Tool?
Reverse phone lookup tools continue to be an important part of life for many people. Whether you’re a large company running a background check or someone who wants to block a spam caller, finding someone with a phone number is important. We’ll take you through several reasons to keep a reverse phone lookup in mind below.
Verification
One of the most common reasons to perform a reverse phone lookup is for verification purposes. Verifying someone’s identity helps you determine whether or not someone is a scam caller. It’s also possible to prevent spam calls or scam calls when you know who the caller is.
Reverse phone lookup tools are one of the few ways to know who’s calling you. Even blocked numbers can be uncovered when you perform a reverse phone lookup properly. Verification is also important for people who want to verify the number of a love interest, coworker, family member, or friend.
Blocking Numbers
Blocking Numbers is another reason to perform a reverse phone lookup. There’s nothing worse than phone numbers that don’t stop calling you. This becomes even worse when the callers are calling you from hidden numbers. These private numbers are hard to block because you don’t initially know who’s calling.
To block a number with a reverse phone lookup tool, you’ll first need to use the *69 dial code or look for the caller in your phone records. To gain access to your phone records, contact your phone provider.
From there, you can run the number through Information.com’s search tool to find all other associated numbers and contact details. Having access to this information helps you prevent scammers from contacting you.
Finding More Information About Someone
The most common reason to perform a reverse phone number lookup is to find more information about someone. It’s important to use these tools when learning about neighbors, spouses, and more. You can also use reverse phone lookup tools to verify information about people on social media or dating apps. Ultimately, it allows you to confirm who you’re speaking with and get to know them better without having to ask.
Many companies will use reverse phone lookup tools to help with the background check process as well. Depending on their needs, the type of background check reverse phone lookup may vary.
The Best Reverse Phone Lookup Tools
There are a ton of methods you can try to look up someone’s phone number for free. While there are dozens of great options, that doesn’t mean you should waste your time trying them all. Fortunately, we’ve researched and narrowed down the options for you.
Below we list the five best free reverse phone lookup tools.
1). Information.com
The best reverse phone number lookup tool is Information.com. When compared to other reverse phone lookup tools or methods, the competition doesn’t compare. What makes Information.com unique is how the website makes finding information about someone with only a phone simpler than everyone else.
With Information.com, all you need is someone’s phone number and a few minutes of your time. You simply have to enter their phone number directly into Information.com’s people search tool. When you do so, you can open a full report about the phone number, and it only takes a few minutes to process.
With an Information.com reverse phone lookup you’ll find the following information about someone:
- Their date of birth
- Spouses
- Marriage records
- Divorce records
- Court records
- Criminal records
- Sex offender status
- Dating profiles
- Social media profiles
- Additional phone numbers
- Email addresses
- Primary and secondary addresses
- Full name
- Traffic violations
These are only some of the things you’ll find about someone when you use Information.com. Depending on who you search for, you might find more or less information.
2). Google Search
Google searches are another great way to do a reverse phone search on someone. Google is the world’s largest search engine and focuses on providing people with information rapidly. Google searches work for searching almost anything, even someone’s phone number.
When you enter someone’s phone number into Google’s search bar and click search, you’ll see all of the results. If someone is famous or has a large online presence, there’s a good chance that their name or social media profiles will show up. Also, people calling from company phone numbers will show up in Google search results when you do a reverse phone lookup.
That said, Google is more limited than specific people search engines like Information.com. What makes Google more limited is that the search engine contains almost too much information. Therefore, finding someone with only a phone number on Google is almost impossible if they don’t have a big online presence.
3). Social Media
Social media is another great asset that will help you do a reverse phone lookup. What makes social media useful is that many people connect their phone numbers to their social media accounts. When someone connects their phone number, they will appear in the search results. Therefore, it’s easy to use social media to search for someone.
However, this only works on some platforms, and some people don’t connect their phone numbers. People who don’t connect their phone numbers are difficult to find, and there’s a good chance you won’t find them at all. That said, it’s still possible and worth a shot.
When it comes to reverse phone lookups, social media is more helpful when you know who you’re searching for. For this reason, we recommend starting with a reverse phone lookup tool like Information.com. Once you learn more about someone, you can then search for them on social media to get the bigger picture.
4). Calling the Number Back
Calling a number back will also help you learn more about the caller. To call someone back, simply enter their phone number into your phone’s dial pad. It’s also possible to send them a text message. Calling or contacting a number is the best method to find more information about someone if the person answers your call.
On the other hand, if someone doesn’t answer your call and the voicemail doesn’t identify the person you’re calling, you’ll have to find a different method. In these cases, we recommend using a people search tool like Information.com. It will help you learn everything you need to know about someone with only a phone number.
5). Dial Codes
Dial codes are the last resort when it comes to reverse phone searches. Using dial codes will help you identify callers who call you from private numbers. It’s more challenging to perform a reverse phone lookup on a private number because you won’t have access to the phone number. Therefore, you need to use a dial code to identify the number.
In the United States, the dialing code to call back a private number is *69. When the person answers, you can ask who they are. Or you can listen to the voicemail message to gain clues. It’s also possible to look through the phone records to identify the phone number. Depending on your methods and the caller dial codes are effective.
Find Someone With Only a Phone Number Today!
It’s never been easier to find information about someone with only a phone number. Modern reverse phone lookup tools put the Yellow Pages to shame and come up with results almost immediately. For example, people search engine tools like Information.com will provide you with a full report about someone with only a phone number in a few minutes.
There are also tons of methods to find someone. Feel free to try calling the person back, searching for the number on Google, or even using social media. Still, Information.com is always the best place to start a reverse phone number lookup process.
