You might be getting harassing calls from an unknown phone number, or you’re trying to find someone through an available phone number. Then this post is the right guide for you! Here we introduce you to 4 simple and effective ways of searching a phone number online.

How to Search Different Types of Numbers?

There’re many free online directories where you could find the records on traditional landline and cellular numbers. But some new types like VoIP, toll-free, prepaid and call center numbers don’t necessarily use the same set of telecommunication networks and may lack personal information registration.

Therefore, it’s better to look for the digital footprints left by the phone number owners, as we use all types of phone numbers to register apps, verify accounts, and post speeches and works. The 4 methods we’ve selected are effective at searching for these records.

1. Reverse Phone Lookup

The easiest way to search a phone number online for its owner’s details is to reverse look up the phone number. And here we recommend 4 reverse phone search tools that we’ve tested and trust. Each of them has its own strengths in providing the available public records and the online traces of a phone number owner.

Option 1 – BeenVerified

When it comes to reverse phone lookup, you can’t miss trying the versatile service BeenVerified. Its engine searches in millions of public records and 50+ social media platforms, bringing you the details about a phone number’s potential owner in just minutes. The in-depth report shows you not only their name, but also possibly their address, photos, work and finance as well as their social media accounts.

1) Go to BeenVerified phone search page.

2) Enter the phone number and click Search.

3) Wait as BeenVerified searches through the databases. Enter your email address for receiving the report, and click Continue to view it.

4) The report will show the basic information around the phone number, like the carrier, the number type, and the alert if it’s used for scam calls. Click the background report of the potential owner and you may check the details about the phone number owner.

Option 2 – PeopleLooker

Apart from the basic records on a phone number owner (like their name, address, work history, etc.), if you’re also interested in their online social life and their dating records, PeopleLooker with its access to 55+ social media networks can be one of your best choices. You may be able to find the phone number owner’s photos, videos and social and dating profiles as well as their available public records.

1) Visit PeopleLooker phone number lookup page.

2) Enter the phone number and click Search.

3) Wait for PeopleLooker to generate the report. Enter your email address for receiving the copy, and click Continue to open the report.

4) In the report you may use the navigation bar to dive into details about the phone number and the caller, including their public records and their online footprints.

Option 3 – Intelius

Intelius is well renowned for background checks. It searches data from millions of public records of government and public agencies and 50+ social media sites. Enter a phone number and you may find the owner’s name, address history, photos, history of work and education, and possible online profiles.

1) Navigate to Intelius phone number search page.

2) Enter the phone number and click SEARCH NOW.

3) Wait for Intelius to locate the potential owner and load the report. Enter your email address and name for receiving the report. Click Continue. And you may see the basic info about the phone number already: carrier, line type and last location.

4) Click GET FULL PHONE REPORT to explore the available details about the phone number and its possible owner. Click VIEW BACKGROUND REPORT to view the personal report of the possible owner. You’ll need to purchase a plan to access the report.

The above image is from a sample Intelius report. Actual Intelius reports may contain more or less information.

2. Google Search the Phone Number

Google is a free search engine most people use, and probably also the first one that jumps into your head when you want to search a phone number online. But as it’s not specified for people search, the results it gives can be sundry and even outdated.

So there’re some guiding points when using Google for a reverse phone lookup:

1) Enter the phone number in the search bar and press Enter on your keyboard.

2) Scan the search results for info like address, social media posts and profiles, related photos and alerts for scam calls.

3) Add other info you already know about the phone number (eg. carrier, line type) and the caller (eg. location) into the search key terms to review the results.

4) If the results are too few, chances are the phone number is newly registered or not so actively used.

3. Check a CNAM Directory

A CNAM (caller name) directory is a database collecting publicly available phone numbers and their associated registration name. These sources are usually free to use and you can find many of them on Google. For instance the FreeCallerLookup.com is a clean and neat one. Type in the phone number and if it lies in the database, you can reveal the owner’s name.

But that’s it. If you want to explore more into the person, you still need to do a deep search with Google or with a people search tool like BeenVerified. But now you can use the name search feature as well.

4. Sync Contacts on Social Media

Nowadays, there’s no better way than browsing a person’s social media profiles to look deeper into their life. So if you’re tracking down a person, you may go straight to the mainstream social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn, etc. to try your luck.

Most social media sites allow people to find the users through phone numbers. And the function to realize it is the contacts syncing. Take Instagram for example:

1) Save the phone number you’re searching in your directory.

2) Open Instagram. tap on the three lines icon at the top right of your profile and click Settings.

3) Select Account – Contacts syncing and switch on the button.

4) Now in Discover People you can try to find if a strange username appears, it might be the owner of the phone number you’re checking.

That’s all about the 4 methods to trace a phone number. The most rewarding and simple one is to use a reverse phone lookup tool like BeenVerified and Intelius. But if you’re to search for the contact info of a certain person, try the name search instead .

The people search report images are from samples. Actual reports may contain more or less information. All product names, logos, brands, trademarks and registered trademarks are property of their respective owners.