How to Find Who This Phone Number Registered To? (3 Practical Solutions)

How often do you look down at a ringing or buzzing mobile phone only to see a number you don’t recognize? For most of us, this is a pretty common experience, but not all of those are robocalls or spam phone calls.

Unfortunately, many people receive calls from unknown numbers and don’t know how to do a phone number lookup to find out who called. While there is no single, universally applicable solution that will always get the right answer, there are a few approaches you can try. 

So how do you find out who called without having to wade through answering dozens of scam or spam phone calls? 

The first thing you should do is look up the phone number on the internet. Many people and businesses post their phone numbers on the internet, and by conducting a quick Google search, you may be able to figure out who the number is registered to.

At the very least, this is an obvious first step to see if any further investigation will be needed to track down who owns the number in question. 

The use of a reverse phone lookup service is another great option. There are many reverse number lookup tools online where you just enter a phone number and get information back on who is calling you.

This blog post aims to discuss various methods that you can use to determine the identity of the person who is calling you. Several of these methods are discussed below.

Easy Solution – Call A Number Back And Ask

The easiest method of determining who is calling you from an unknown number is to simply call the number back and ask the person who has called you. 

While this is a simple way to try to get that information, there are good reasons not to do this. There are robocalls and spam calls where you actually can’t connect with a person calling back that number.

You also don’t want to open yourself up to potential scams where they might be recording your voice or trying to get “verification information” that can be used to hack your accounts.

However, if the number is legit you should be able to get some type of a response and find out quickly who that number belongs to.

If a number is calling repeatedly with harassing calls or messages, you should contact law enforcement who may have tools to find information about calls from an unknown number and track down who is causing that harassment.

How to Find Out Who a Phone Number Belongs To

There are multiple strategies, tools, phone directories, reverse phone search tools, and other ways to track down a phone number without having to call the person back.

Start with Google Search and Other Search Engines

The best way to find out who a phone number belongs to is to use a search engine like Google. In the search bar, type in the phone number and press enter. If the number has been registered as either a landline number or mobile number online with someone’s name, that information will appear directly in the search results. 

This isn’t as common as it used to be as privacy concerns have become much more common in the past few years, but it still works a surprising amount of the time.

If a name comes up and you don’t know the person’s name, try searching for more information via Google or on social media websites like Facebook or Twitter. 

Many people include their contact information on their social media profiles, so you may be able to find the owner that way. 

Try Googling the phone number both with and without quotes to get the most results which will give you the best chance to find out who owns that specific number, and then follow up to find specific information about the owner.

Use Reverse Phone Lookup Services

On the internet, you can find a variety of reverse phone lookup services. All you need is the unknown phone number and the service will provide you with all of the information associated with that number. 

Depending on how much information is online a reverse lookup service can provide a surprising amount of information, and almost any of these tools you use to find someone’s phone number will include the phone number owner’s full name, address, and other contact information. 

The best part is that the vast majority of these services are completely free to use. You simply type in the number you want to look up and press the “Search” button. You’ll have all of the information you require at your fingertips in a matter of seconds. 

BeenVerified

BeenVerified is an online service that allows you to look up the owner of a phone number. This is one of the best-known and most used services online. To search for the phone number owner, simply enter the number into the search bar on BeenVerified’s website and click “search.” 

If the number is not registered in the United States, BeenVerified will provide you with information about where the call originated. 

BeenVerified is more than just a reverse phone number lookup tool but also provides a lot of information that makes it more of a background check tool.

BeenVerified also offers a mobile app for iPhone and Android users.

People Finders

Another way to find someone’s contact information is by using People Finders. This website will allow you to search for someone by name, phone number, or address. 

They will also provide you with additional information such as age, relatives, email addresses, and social media profiles. 

A cool thing about People Finders is that they often offer a free trial so you can test out the service before you decide to sign up. This gives you a limited time to find out who owns a phone number for free.

Like BeenVerified, People Finders are a great option if you have limited information about the person you’re trying to find.

Spokeo

Spokeo is another website that is used to find out information about people. You can use this great online tool to find out the name of the person who owns a phone number, as well as their address and other contact information. 

To use Spokeo, you will need to enter the phone number in the search bar on the homepage. Once you have entered the number all you need to do is click “Search.” 

Spokeo will then show you all of the information about the person who owns that phone number. If you want to find out the person’s name who owns a phone number, this tool is your best option. 

Spokeo is a great tool for finding who a phone number is registered to and once you know who the owner of the number is you can search online for more information.

It is easy to use and has lots of information about people. You can also purchase a subscription to get more detailed information about someone.

Search on Social Media

Social media can be a great place to start when finding out the identity of a number registered to someone. 

Most people will have some kind of social media presence, so by doing a quick search on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, you may be able to find who the number belongs to.

A few things to keep in mind, however:

• Not everyone uses their real name on social media
• Some people use pseudonyms or nicknames
• People may have more than one account on different platforms
• Many social media platforms don’t publicly show phone numbers – or have options where users can set them to private
• Some spammers “spoof” other people’s phone numbers – leading to a false answer

If you’re still struggling to find the identity of the number’s owner, there are a few other methods you can try, such as Been Verified.

Search for an Unknown Number on LinkedIn

LinkedIn deserves its own section because this is the one place where you may commonly find the real owner of a phone number on social media because it is the one platform where people do want to be recruited by strangers (recruiters, connections, job offers, etc).

Just put the phone number into the search bar and see if anyone on LinkedIn is associated with it. This can tell you if the unknown number is potentially a recruiter or HR person from another company.

Don’t forget LinkedIn when you’re searching for a phone number’s owner!

Find a Phone Number Using WhitePages

WhitePages is still a strong resource for finding the owner of the phone number calling you. This is paid only now, but if you have a list of numbers it can be worth buying a one-month subscription to match the phone numbers and their owners in the WhitePages database.

WhitePages has information on both landline and cellular numbers, so it’s a resource that can work for both.

What To Do If You Can’t Find The Owner? 

If all the phone number lookup tools you’ve used to answer the question of “Who called me from this phone?” have failed, you still have some actions you can take to try to find an answer or at least stop any harassment taking place.

Block the Number That’s Calling You

If you can’t find the number registered to the caller, you can always block the number calling you. This is a great way to stop any future calls from this specific number. You can either block the number through your phone carrier or use an app like TrueCaller. 

If you have some information about who owns the number, you can report it to your carrier. They may be able to help track down the owner and give them a warning for harassing behavior.

In extreme circumstances, if it’s someone you know and have had issues with, it might be a police matter. If this is the case and you feel unsafe or threatened by the caller, contact your local police department.

They will be able to help protect you from any harassment and investigate who is behind the calls.

Reverse Phone Search Services: Final Thoughts

While we have covered several ways to find out the identity of a phone number caller, it is important to keep in mind that not all methods are foolproof. 

Some spammers spoof other people’s numbers, telemarketers who recycle phone numbers, and more. However, if the call is from a legitimate source then these methods and tools will go a long way to help you find the owner’s name, phone number and hopefully give you an idea of why they are calling you.

If you’re trying to find the owner of a cell phone number, one way to do it is by using a reverse phone lookup service.

There are a number of these services online, and most of them offer a free trial so you can test them out before committing with some of them even being free reverse phone search services.