top of page
ndil.png

Reverse Phone Lookup USA- Find Out Who Called You

To perform a reverse phone lookup in the USA, an Investigator will have to utilize social media, American contact information databases, and Google as an investigative tool. This is how someone can find out who a phone number belongs to.

map of america

Unfortunately, paid phone lookup services will offer only some help.


This can make a reverse phone lookup in American seem like a daunting task. There are many online phone research services on the web that promise results for a small fee.

  • However, many of these reverse phone lookup services are simply clickbait scams or are just trying to extract a small fee from the user.

The services will not be able to provide the phone number information the user is looking for. Furthermore, many countries protect the cellular phone data for their citizens, so a service that claims to offer reverse phone lookups in these countries are almost always untruthful and unhelpful. A DIY reverse lookup will almost always be the best option.

American people

Cyber Phone Lookup USA

So, is a reverse lookup even possible? Yes, but it will require an OSINT effort. OSINT, or open-source intelligence, is the use of public information to gain intelligence or “information.”


Public American Phone Numbers

Thankfully, many phone numbers in the modern age are available publicly, they are just surrounded by a lot of other data/ info which makes the task of a reverse number lookup a little difficult.

By available publicly, we mean they are available on the web. So, how does one begin to perform a correct reverse phone lookup? By free reverse phone lookup methods. This is done by utilizing Google, on-line USA directories, and social media. These are just a few of the ways to perform a quality and "no cost" reverse phone lookup.


USA Reverse Phone Search Summary

  1. Use the Google Search Operator: "Exact Phrase Match." This is used in our Free Google Reverse Phone Lookup Tool!

  2. Insert the number in American directories, such as reverse 411.

  3. Do a number lookup by searching the number in social media platforms.


Google Reverse Phone Lookup USA

Google is typically where one should start when beginning a reverse phone lookup. This is a great way to start a phone number research task when it is combined with "Google Search Operators."


This also answers the common question:

  • "how do I do a reverse phone lookup for free on Google?"

The answer is using Google Search Operators. Search Operators are special text characters and commands that greatly extend the capabilities of a regular Google search.


The one specific Google Search Operators that works well with a phone number lookup is quotes (""). This Operator searches Google for 100% the exact phrase that is being searched within the quotes.


If a phone number is searched inside quotes, only results containing that number will appear. This will get rid of a near infinite amount of unwanted similar phone numbers that will not help in the phone number search.

reverse phone lookup

USA Phone Number Directories

Phone numbers, including cell numbers, can also be found in on-line directories. This means that the telephone number information is sometimes located on the "Dark Web."

  • The Dark Web is not as notorious as the media makes it out to be

Rather, The Dark Web is just the part of the internet that is not able to be accessed by search engines and many on-line directories have information that requires access to their database.


Many of these databases cannot be indexed by Google/ other search engines. So, this means that researching a number through directories will require a lot of work. The phone number will have to be searched in the search-box of each directory that has a database that is not indexed. These directories can be phone lookup services such as Whitepages or reverse 411.

Whitepages

America Phone Lookup Via Social Media

As with on-line directories, social media accounts will sometimes have cellular phone information that is not accessible by search engines.


Many social media users will have their phone information available with a quick search in the social media's search box. Similar to directories, the phone number will need to be searched individually in each of the social media platforms.

phone search

It should be obvious now why paid phone lookup services cannot be used. These services are almost always disingenuous and if they can get information on a phone number, it will be fragmented information that has been aggregated from Google. This holds true even for services that claim to be the best free reverse phone lookup service. These free services are usually just trying to acquire and sell personal data. Thankfully, a basic reverse phone lookup can be done simply and without a paid or free service. All one has to do is utilize Google, databases, and social media. After these three basic steps, a phone search will yield the most accurate information available.

USA Phone Number Area Code List


United States of America Overseas Territories Phone Number Area Code List

  • American Samoa: 684

  • Guam: 671

  • Northern Mariana Islands: 670

  • Puerto Rico: 787 939

  • Virgin Islands: 340

 

About the Author

searching cell number

Peter Sandru is an Instructor & Co-Founder of NDIL with over 15 years as a Professional Investigator. Peter has spent more than a decade conducting investigations throughout the world, primarily for corporations, law firms, and government agencies. Peter has assisted in the creation of many investigative training programs in various capacities. Peter has helped many Americans on their journey to learning to utilize search engines to their full potential.


bottom of page