Unlike searching a cell or landline number, it may take some effort to look up a Google Voice phone number. The good news is that it’s not impossible. In this post, we’ll introduce the tricks to quickly find out who’s calling or texting you from a Google Voice phone number.
In this post:
How Google Voice works 
Google Voice is a VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) phone service that allows you to sign up for a virtual number for free. With Google Voice, you can call or text from all supported countries as long as you have an Internet connection.
Google Voice synchronizes your Google/Gmail contacts and you can also add contacts from your phone. Non-contacts will only see your number displayed as your caller ID, while contacts can also see your name.
Technically, it’s almost untraceable for the general public. Users can choose any available area code and customize their number, so using Google Voice won’t reveal their physical address. Also, a Google Voice number links to an online account instead of a SIM card from the service provider. For a mobile or landline number, you could find the owner’s information more easily, usually by searching for the name. But for a VoIP number, it is not.
Therefore, it shares the same level of security as the Google/Gmail account used to sign up for the Google Voice service. That’s why there are cases where scammers can exploit Google Voice to send messages while it’s difficult for victims to trace the phony phone numbers1.
In short, if one has never publicly posted a Google Voice number online or used it to sign up for any services/websites/business, then only Google would know who owns the number. That also said, if a Google Voice number is linked to any social media account or has been posted on the Internet, then it can become traceable.
Search the GV number on Google
As long as the Google Voice number has appeared online, you may find it by search engines like Google, Bing, and Yandex. However, the results may be numerous and unrelated, so you’ll need to be patient and spend time digging deep.
There are exceptions though, if the owner lists the number as a business contact or someone posted scam warnings about the number, you may find it right away.
No matter how, you can still attempt this approach when you receive constant unknown GV calls and, like many other users, want to verify if the phone number has been previously used by individuals or entities2.
Use a professional reverse phone lookup tool
If you can’t find anything on Google, or just want a faster and more accurate result, you can use a professional reverse phone lookup engine. But why pay for this service when basic info is free?
While basic data may be free, these paid services can:
They also offer additional details that justify their subscription plans or per-search charges. So in short, you tend to get more complete and efficient people search results when using a paid professional service.
1. BeenVerified
BeenVerified is a leading all-rounder in the field of people search. It specializes in phone lookup and tracking digital footprint. With a large database containing millions of phone records, you can search for the profile of a Google Voice number owner on BeenVerified.
Use this search box and search for the owner by the Google Voice number.
If you have any additional information to add to the search, such as a name, email address, or rough address, you can perform the search on BeenVerified.com. It’ll take a while for BeenVerified to pull the data and generate a detailed report for you.
2. Spokeo
People search engines obtain their data from public records and databases, but they can differ in how they process the data and yield different results. If BeenVerified didn’t give you luck, you can try Spokeo. By running a reverse phone lookup with Spokeo, you may find the person’s name, email address, and more.
- Go to the Spokeo reverse phone lookup page and search for the Google Voice number you want to look up.
- Spokeo will search in its database, find the available information, and generate a report for you. You’ll need to pay a one-time fee of $0.95 to view the full report which also comes with a membership trial. Within the period of trial, you can run multiple searches.
3. Social Catfish
Social Catfish is an online dating investigation service that specializes in finding social media accounts. It’s a great tool to protect yourself from online romance scams and catfish.
Just enter the phone number and hit search, and you’ll find the social media account linked to the exact Google Voice number. If the number you’re looking up is from your online date, you can also try to search by username or name. With Social Catfish, you can even run a reverse image lookup.
Summary
While searching for a Google Voice phone number can be challenging, you can begin by conducting a Google search or utilizing professional people search tools like BeenVerified.
However, VoIP scams or serious harassment can cause problems in your life, such as receiving continuous messages from scammers using GV phone numbers, as some users have shared online3. If you experience this, it is advisable to involve law enforcement and seek their assistance.
FAQ
If someone chooses to port an existing phone number to Google Voice instead of creating a new virtual one, their name may still display as your caller ID. This information may be retrieved from old data of cell providers.
Tracing a Google Voice number is typically legal, since available through public records. However, illegally using data found to harass, stalk, or impersonate the owner violates privacy laws. Passive searching itself is fine, but malicious actions directed at the number holder breach ethical and legal boundaries. Respect and restraint must be used with any personal details acquired through a search.
- r/hacking [raptillicus]. (2023, October 26). Can anyone tell me how to reverse lookup a number that just sent me a rather creepy text? [Online forum post]. Reddit. https://www.reddit.com/r/hacking/comments/17gfyba/can_anyone_tell_me_how_to_reverse_lookup_a_number/ ↩︎
- Personal Consumer Issues [paulsiu]. (2013, Dec 28). Strange calls to Google voice [Online forum post]. Bogleheads.org. https://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1899984 ↩︎
- Criminal Law [Customer]. (2013, Dec 28). Can you find out who owns a google voice number, the person that was scamming me is still leaving me messages [Online Q&A post]. JustAnswer. https://www.justanswer.com/criminal-law/emzem-find-owns-google-voice-number-person.html ↩︎
Credits: featured photo by freestocks on Unsplash
There’s no guarantee you’ll find the information you’re looking for with the tools discussed in this article. They all source their information from publicly available data sources, such as county, state and federal courts, government departments, and police records, and those sources may contain incorrect or incomplete data. It’s illegal to use these tools to make decisions about employment, admission, consumer credit, insurance, tenant screening, or any other purpose that would require FCRA compliance. Read the Fair Credit Reporting Act to learn more....About this article
24 Revisions
Reviewed by BeenVerified
About this article
24 Revisions
Reviewed by BeenVerified
