Who Is This Number Registered To? Tracking Down Mystery Callers
Cindy Ellis - October 24, 2023

Receiving calls and messages from unknown numbers isn’t necessarily an uncommon experience. Regardless, you may wish to identify those who are contacting you before engaging with them.
There are various ways you can potentially do so. If you’re searching “Who is this number registered to?” consider using the following methods to identify a mystery caller or texter.
How to Identify Anonymous Callers
No method for determining the identity of an anonymous caller or texter is guaranteed to deliver results. However, methods that may prove effective include:
Using a Phone Lookup Tool or Service
Again, receiving phone calls from parties one might not know isn’t a particularly rare experience. This may be particularly true in the digital age, when much of our contact information may be available online for others to track down.
Thus, services and tools now exist that allow users to generate reports on parties contacting them simply by supplying their phone numbers. The information in these reports may come from a variety of sources.
It’s technically possible to gather all this information on your own via the internet. However, doing so can take quite a lot of time. You can save time and theoretically boost your odds of receiving accurate results by using a quality reverse phone lookup tool instead. Check here for more information.
Conducting a Google Search
Don’t overlook the obvious strategies when asking yourself who a number is registered to. Before attempting anything more complex, simply Google the number that you received a mystery call or text from.
It’s possible a Google search will immediately provide you with accurate information about the identity of the caller. Even if it doesn’t, it may provide you with clues that could potentially help you narrow down your search.
Checking Your Chat Logs
This is another simple tip that’s so obvious it may be easy to overlook for some. Remember, just because you don’t recognize the number contacting you, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ve never met the person the number is associated with.
Maybe someone whose number you never put in your phone is calling you. Perhaps you never saved their number, but have chatted or texted with them through that number sometime in the past.
Check your chat and text logs for any numbers you receive anonymous calls from. It’s possible you’ve chatted or texted with an anonymous caller in the past and simply forgot about it. If so, this is an incredibly simple and convenient way to determine the identity of someone who has called from an unrecognized number.
Calling Back
It’s unwise to engage with mystery callers until you’re confident you know their identity and that you can trust them.
If you plan on calling an anonymous caller back, only do so if you’re certain you won’t make any mistakes. Examples include providing them with sensitive information, offering them additional ways to contact you, or otherwise trusting them before you have confirmed they are trustworthy.
That said, if you’re sure you can call someone who anonymously reached out to you without running the risk of accidentally sharing sensitive info with them, you may consider doing so. Simply calling someone back and asking them to identify themselves is still sometimes a productive way to find out who’s calling you.
Trying Social Media
Consider searching for a mystery caller’s numbers on social media if a Google search doesn’t turn up any useful results. Some social media users post their phone numbers in their general account information. If the person contacting you has done so, searching for their number on social media may be a relatively easy way to track them down.
Who Is This Number Registered To? Tips for Looking Up Mystery Callers
The above methods represent some of the most reliable ways to find out who is contacting you when you receive calls and messages from unknown numbers. Ways to potentially improve the thoroughness and accuracy of the information you uncover when looking into a mystery caller’s identity include:
Gather as Much Information as You Can
It’s especially smart to consider this tip when using a reverse phone lookup tool or similar service. Often, these tools allow users to provide more information than just a phone number when looking someone up.
A phone number may be all the information you have in relation to an individual or party who’s been contacting you anonymously. It’s entirely fine if this is the case. A reverse phone number lookup tool may nevertheless still be able to provide you with useful information based solely off of the number you’ve received calls from.
That said, it’s possible you might have other pieces of information about someone who has been getting in touch with you. Said information could include:
- At least part of their name
- A possible address
- Possible age and/or birthdate
- Relatives and friends
Gather as much information about the party you’re looking up as you can before using a tool or service to determine the identity of a mystery caller. The more information you can provide, the better the odds the service will generate a full report.
Use Phone Number Lookup Tools Legally
A reliable service offering background checks and other such information on mystery callers will often provide customers with instructions on how to use the service legally and ethically. Read these instructions through before looking up someone’s identity.
It’s unlikely you’ll break the law or commit any sort of ethics violation if you’re simply trying to determine who contacted you from an unrecognized number. That said, depending on any other uses you may have for a reverse phone lookup tool, you might benefit from confirming you understand the potential legal ramifications of searching for someone’s identity online.

Don’t Provide Information Until You Know Who You’re Speaking To
Although earlier sections of this guide touched on this topic, it’s so important that it bears repeating. Don’t share any potentially sensitive information with anyone who contacts you unless you are completely and absolutely certain you know you can trust them.
The types of sensitive information that scammers might try to get from you includes (but isn’t necessarily limited to) the following:
- Bank account information
- Social Security number
- Passwords for any of your accounts
- Information about where you live, work, etc.
It’s also smart to be wary of someone who claims to be a representative of a trustworthy company, organization, or institution when you call them back to ask why they contacted you. Phishers and other such online scammers often try to gain the trust of their targets by claiming to be something they’re not.
Perhaps you’ve received a call from an unknown number. Maybe you call the number back. When you ask the person who answers why they called you, they might claim to represent your bank, asking you to provide important account information.
They could very easily be lying. You may have a particularly good reason to be suspicious of them if they appear to be pressuring you into providing the information, making it seem as though you may face some adverse penalty if you don’t comply quickly.
Don’t let these tactics scare you into sharing information with a party that may be untrustworthy. In this scenario, you should hang up and call your bank directly to confirm the caller is who they say they are.
That’s just one example. A scammer could also claim to be a representative of the IRS, a former employer, a potential future employer, and more. It’s always important to call these parties directly in these circumstances to ensure you’re not the target of a scam.
Contact Police if You’re Being Harassed
Most calls from unknown numbers are fairly harmless. You may simply want to identify an unknown caller for natural reasons. Perhaps you want to confirm the person contacting you isn’t doing so because of an urgent matter that genuinely requires your attention.
However, some parties who contact you anonymously may reach a point where they are engaging in harassment.
If at any point you feel unsafe or uncomfortable as a result of receiving numbers from an unknown caller, alert law enforcement. It’s always better to err on the side of caution when receiving harassing calls or messages from someone who won’t identify themselves.
Don’t Commit Harassment
Depending on the nature of the scenario, the identity of a mystery caller could be any number of individuals or parties. Some mystery callers may simply be people dialing the wrong number. Others may be scammers trying to rip you off. Yet others might be people from your past trying to re-establish contact.
Upon discovering who has been calling you anonymously, you may have reason to be upset with them. Maybe you find out the identity of a mystery caller is an ex or old enemy who you would have preferred not to hear from.
Don’t exacerbate the problem by using the information you find through a background check or reverse phone lookup to harass them. If you’re upset that someone you didn’t want to hear from contacted you, reiterate that they are not to call you again. Coordinate with law enforcement if they ignore your requests.
Read Reports Thoroughly
If you use a reverse phone lookup tool, the service may generate a somewhat thorough report providing you with more information than you might initially think you need.
Still, it’s best to carefully read every section of the report. You don’t want to miss any details that could prove relevant.
How to Find Out Who Is This Number Registered To?
There is no shortage of reasons you might receive calls or messages from numbers you don’t recognize. Sometimes, these calls are simple mistakes. In other instances, they may be more significant.
Fortunately, just as there are many reasons you might receive a call from an unknown number, there are also several potentially effective ways to find out who is contacting you. The suggestions here represent some of the most reliable.