What happened to the free reverse phone lookup?

[Rich Engelhardt]

I got three calls on my cell phone & went to look them up on a reverse lookup.

I don't do this very often and I didn't bookmark the website I used.

I can't for the life of me find the free site.

Everything says free, but, they all want $39.95 or so to sign up for a service.

Isn't there a free service that gives the address for a phone number anymore?

[Brian Tymchak]

Rich, I've used Whitepages (http://www.whitepages.com/reverse_phone)a couple of times. I usually get a name and an address if it's a landline. If it's a mobile number or unlisted, then they try to charge you.

[George Bokros]

I use switchboard.com

George

[Jessica Pierce-LaRose]

It won't find all the details of a reverse phone lookup, but often times punching the phone number into Google will tell you enough to know whether it's something to ignore or look into, or whether it's a shady telemarketer or what.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Ok - I think I figured out what's what.

All three numbers I have must be either unlisted or cell numbers.

I punched our listed landline into all three and they gave me the correct info.

[phil harold]

years ago you used to be able to search social security numbers for free,
but now that does not happen now


cellphone numbers are difficult to look up...
who actually keeps a land line these days?

[David G Baker]

I use ReversePhoneLookUp.com. I used it the other day and it is still free.

[Brian Elfert]

who actually keeps a land line these days?

More people than you think still have a land line. My parents both have cell phones, but they have a land line. I work with a Boy Scout troop and a good number of the families still have land lines even though I'm pretty certain 100% of them have one or more cell phones in the house. One of my co-workers held on to his land line unless his last kid got a cell phone and then they ditched the land line. I still have a land line because my cell phone is work supplied and I need to limit personal calls during the week. I couldn't buy my own cell phone for the $4 I pay for my land line. (I have OOMA VOIP.)

[Lee Schierer]

I usually punch unknown numbers into google first and see if there are comments regarding spam calls. For others I use White pages.

I usually don't give out my cell phone number to internet places or businesses. It is reserved for family and friends.

[Jeff Erbele]

cellphone numbers are difficult to look up...


How do you look up any of them?



who actually keeps a land line these days?

Remember the AOL free CD of the week?
It was quite successful; 2 million subscribers still use AOL dial-up internet access.

Give me a land line any day, simple, reliable, quality every time.
I can't recall how many top of the line cell phones I've owned since the late 90's and I disliked or hated most of them. The one I like the best I tossed in Verizon's recycle bin when I upgraded to a newer gee whiz communicator. I think it was a Motorola; I know it was a tri-mode; something that became obsolete.

[Rich Engelhardt]

I think it was a Motorola; I know it was a tri-mode; something that became obsolete.I had one of those.
Mine would get blistering hot after using it a couple of min.
It finally died one day and I took it to Verizon to have it replaced under the extended warranty I'd been paying for like 5 years.
The guy says, "Sure, I can replace it with a free phone. All you need to do is sign this two year contract".

We argued back and forth over it and finally he tells me it has to be an accident that caused the damage to have it covered - - so - - my phone accidently got thrown down hard on the floor.
That didn't work - but - it made me feel better :D

[claudio pepe]

All sites are subject to charges. Few are free. I use 411, whitepage (https://www.whitepages.com/reverse-phone) reverse or whocall (https://www.whocall.biz/list_zip/kentucky) for my state Kentucky.
Do you know other free sites?

[Jim Becker]

You may be wasting your time bothering to look them up...a large percentage of the calls that come in at this point from unknown numbers are not even coming from the listed numbers. The caller ID is spoofed (faked) and the calls are coming from an automatic dialer that just generates a random number, often in the same area code and exchange where you live or in the same your wireless phone number block as your mobile phone to make it look like it's local. If it's important, the caller will leave a voice mail. I don't answer any of these calls at this point...

[Alan Rutherford]

You may be wasting your time bothering to look them up...a large percentage of the calls that come in at this point from unknown numbers are not even coming from the listed numbers. The caller ID is spoofed (faked) and the calls are coming from an automatic dialer that just generates a random number, often in the same area code and exchange where you live or in the same your wireless phone number block as your mobile phone to make it look like it's local. If it's important, the caller will leave a voice mail. I don't answer any of these calls at this point... Yes. Don't waste your time. But if you insist on doing it anyway, just putting the number in the search box on Google should tell you all you need to know. We check very few of them any more but in the last year there might have been one that wasn't junk. Maybe.
...who actually keeps a land line these days? Some of us need it because that's where we get our miserable 5 mbs DSL internet access. We don't have cable. Seriously re-thinking that, though.

[Jim Becker]

who actually keeps a land line these days?
Aside from actual "need", such as alarm systems and elderly relatives like my mother who just cannot mentally change from calling a long-time number to a new one because of their memory, poor cell service at a home location making for a risky E911 situation, etc., many folks have them because it's more expensive to turn them off than to keep them because of the way services are bundled with providers these days. I'll spend the money for an IP interface for the alarm system someday (cell doesn't work for it here because of a dead spot) after my mother passes away.

[Scott Donley]

This one is the best free one I have found, even picks up some, not all, cell phones.
https://www.usphonebook.com/monitor-children

[Mark Bolton]

The bigger question that I think of with all these telemarketer masked calls is how many numbers in the US are now rendered useless because they are on a blocked list for so many users? We are in business and the amount of telemarketing calls we get daily is unreal. Its to the extent we dont even bother to answer calls unless someone leaves a voicemail. The telemarketers will mask calls as local numbers (people who have recently moved away and shut off their phone) they will mask calls from the area codes and past exchanges you have lived (I for instance will get telemarketing calls from the area code and exchange I was born)... it goes on and on.

The default for most I speak to is that the instant they recieve one of these calls that number is blocked. Which means it rendered useless to the next person its issued to. So if that number is issued to a potential future customer of mine? I will never receive their call because they are blocked.

This practice is likely rendering millions of numbers annually useless.

If the current administration wants to do something worthwhile for the business economy the FTC or the FEDs could drop the hammer on this stuff in a fart. Wont happen.

[Derek Meyer]

I dropped my land line about 12 years ago, but was too lazy to actually disconnect the phone/answering machine from the wall plug, so it sat there for years. About 5 years later, I was sitting at home when the phone rang. I let it ring, and someone left a voice mail for a family that was not mine. I called the phone company to ask what was going on, and after checking into it they determined that someone had cross-connected my residence with someone else's number by mistake. They remedied that immediately.

Interestingly enough, when I commented that I didn't know why I still had a phone hooked up when I haven't had service in years, the phone company lady told me that they are required by law to provide emergency 911 service to all residences, regardless of whether or not they have service. So, even if you don't pay for a land line, you can plug in a phone and dial 911. I was told this around 2011 or so.

[Brian Henderson]

Yes, they do have to provide 911, no matter who calls. But we don't even have a place to plug phones in anymore. The previous owners of the house removed everything, there's no outlets for phones at all. We don't mind, we haven't had landlines for at least a decade now.

[Keith Outten]

What happened to the Free.....

If you want to block advertising on your browser you will soon find that a major number of services will disappear or start charging for their services.
Wait For It....................:)

[Brian Henderson]

What happened to the Free.....

If you want to block advertising on your browser you will soon find that a major number of services will disappear or start charging for their services.
Wait For It....................:)

Fine with me. Then people can choose which businesses they want to support and which ones they do not. Businesses will have to actively cater to customers instead of spying on them. Works for me.

[Simon MacGowen]

. I couldn't buy my own cell phone for the $4 I pay for my land line. (I have OOMA VOIP.)

In 2004, about 90% households had a landline; today under 50%, and the % is going lower.

My landline rate has been reduced to $5 since I called to cut it. But 90% of calls received (2 to 3 calls a day) are spams or junk or surveys. As soon as my monitoring service is no longer used, the landline will be a history in my household.

Simon

[Steve Rozmiarek]

I upgraded phones when the old one did a belly flop off a scaffold. The new one has a better version of google caller ID. I'll get a name attached to 90% of numbers, even cell #'s. The ones that don't work are always cloned #'s, so just don't answer them.