Free Reverse Cell Phone Lookup - Could It Exist? | The Communication Blog

Thursday, March 28, 2013

Free Reverse Cell Phone Lookup - Could It Exist?

By Anthony Z. Swamy


Just a couple days ago I was responding to questions on a well known answers site. At times when I'm relaxing with a cup of tea I venture onto one or any other of the answers websites to ascertain if I can help somebody with their own computer issues.

On top of the list of latest questions was someone asking why they'd to pay to reverse look up a cell phone number. It was a sensible question because you wouldn't expect to pay to look up the owner of a landline number. You'd go to the white pages website and there is a lookup box right there on the front page.

Why isn't there a comparable facility for looking up a mobile phone number? That set me thinking. Why is not there such a thing as a free cell phone lookup?

If you own a landline there are some things that allow the phone businesses to gather a listing of who owns which number and what your address is. Firstly, a landline is fixed. The phone firm know where the phone line plus they know the address it is fitted to. Secondly you might be, effectively, under contract to the mobile phone supplier. You have to pay your bills frequently. This means that the phone company knows who you are because the number is listed within the bill payer's name. These two things make it easy for the phone firms to supply a listing of the owner of which number.

If you consider it, you'll recognize that it isn't so easy for cell phones. You can purchase a prepaid cell phone over the internet. You can buy a prepaid mobile phone in the supermarket with your groceries. No one at the check-out asks who you are - they simply scan the box and then sell you the mobile phone. You might be anyone from anywhere. It isn't even necessary to sign-up the number and also top-up using a credit card, although you can do this if you would like. You can buy top up cards in many shops and merely enter the card number. It is all private.

That's why countless scammers use cell phones. Anyone can buy one, anyone can use one, you may use it anywhere and also everyone can top it up.

I think you can begin to see exactly how hard it is to compile a real list of who owns which cell phone number and also to give a sensible lookup services. Yet these types of services are available. So - how do they manage to give a lookup service and also why do you have to pay for it.

Reverse lookup services need to gather the data on their own. This means getting in huge listings of cell numbers and collating them to offer significant information. No easy job. These kinds of listings are frequently compiled from web sites or forms that ask folks for their own cell numbers. If you don't particularly ask that your data is not handed down (generally by checking or perhaps unchecking a box) then this data may get added to one of many lists that is then sold to the reverse look up companies.

The white pages data is provided as an extra since their customers are by now paying for the provision of their own landlines. The reverse number providers are generally businesses that exist exclusively to offer this particular service and have to generate money to pay their own employees, maintain their web sites and buy in those important lists of information.




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