Reverse Phone Lookup

What is Reverse
Phone Lookup?

Do you get a lot of spam calls or unknown callers on your cell phone? Should you answer it or let it roll over to voicemail? It's hard to know what to do if you don't know who’s calling. Fortunately, there are tools to help you find out and determine what to do next.

BeenVerified's Reverse Phone Lookup gives you the power to search billions of phone data points to try to find out who's behind those unknown calls. You might even uncover useful information about your caller, such as their address, age, email and social media profiles so you can decide whether to call the number back.

A reverse phone search works with all types of numbers, including cell phones and landlines, and with unpublished or unlisted numbers. Want to take the mystery out of your mystery caller? Our Reverse Phone Lookup can give you answers.

How our Reverse Phone Lookup works

BeenVerified's Reverse Phone Lookup searches phone numbers and public records for information associated with the number. You might learn things about your unknown caller such as:

The first and last name of the person, and any aliases used by them

Current address, residence history and previously associated locations

Email addresses

Social media profiles

Other associated phone numbers

Possible relatives

You can use a reverse phone search on both personal and business numbers to try to find details about who may be calling or texting you.

Reasons to use a Reverse Phone Search

A reverse phone search report does more than just try to tell you the name of the person calling. BeenVerified has run more than 32 million reports for our customers for a variety of reasons, including the following scenarios:

• You're meeting someone from an online dating site. People aren't always honest in their dating profiles, but if you have a phone number, using a reverse phone lookup service could help confirm key details about the person's identity.
• You want to reconnect with an old friend. Maybe you've lost contact with them, but you still have a phone number. Searching a phone directory might uncover their current contact information so you can get in touch.
• You're an online buyer or seller and want to protect yourself from scams and fraud. Use a phone number lookup to search for information about a prospective buyer or seller before you make an online transaction.
• You think you've found the perfect vacation buddy or travel companion, but you want to be sure they’re who they say they are. Before you commit to traveling and staying in close quarters with someone you may not know too well, conduct a phone search to give you helpful insights.
• You see a suspicious phone number on your partner's phone. Is it a legitimate call or text? Why was it sent during odd hours from an unrecognized number? Use a reverse number search to try and find out who’s calling.

As you can see, there are a lot of reasons to look up a phone number. Reverse number search tools can help protect you from scams as well.

Reverse Phone Lookup and telemarketing scams

A reverse phone search is a powerful tool that can help arm you against telemarketers, robocalls and phone scams.

A Congressional Research Service report showed that robocalls, most of which are illegal, reached a record 4.1 billion in May 2018, a 41% increase from August 2017. That means each person in the US may receive an average of 13 robocalls per month. Some people are targeted even more frequently.

Fast forward to May 2023, and the number of robocalls is up to 5.1 billion! That means the average person in the US receives over 13 calls per month.

Source: YouMail Robocall Index

Remember, you should never give your personal information, account details or other sensitive intel to anyone who calls you. For example, if you get a call from your bank saying there’s a problem with your card or account, tell them you will call them back. Then dial the direct customer service number found on the back of your credit card or on the bank’s official website.

Popular robocall scams to avoid

With robocalls and scams on the rise, there are always new ones to be on the lookout for. These usually involve you confirming personal details or giving the caller information to receive something of value. Others ask you to provide personal information to avoid getting into legal trouble.

Only give out your information to verified parties or organizations that you contact first (meaning you calling them). Never the other way around (them calling you).

Here are a few of the most common scam trends:

0% interest rates on loans or credit cards
Problems with your credit card or bank account
Student loan forgiveness
Pressing criminal charges or criminal complaints (non-warrant related)
Reported large purchases on Amazon which require you to confirm your account info to cancel
IRS issues with your tax return or refund
Free travel awards, unexpected free trips or sweepstakes
A preapproved loan that requires additional information
Other calls that require you to provide personal information over the phone

How to protect yourself from phone scams with Reverse Phone Lookup

Protecting your personal information starts with you. Unless you’re certain you know who you're talking to, keep your personal information private over the phone. Apply safe information practices. Let BeenVerified do the rest by helping you try to sniff out potential phone scammers.

How do I perform a reverse phone search?

BeenVerified searches through public records to try to help you identify a caller’s name and phone number. Get started with the following steps to run a reverse phone search:

1. Enter a phone number with the area code in the search box.
2. Wait while we assess the potential owner’s name, location and related background information.

What information will a reverse phone number search give me?

Running a reverse phone number search can provide you with information about the person or business that’s calling. BeenVerified’s Reverse Phone Lookup uses public records which can reveal things like the first and last name of the person calling, along with age, location, jobs, background, social media accounts and photos. Keep in mind that newly registered numbers are not always available.

How long does it take to use Reverse Phone Lookup?

Searching for phone number information usually takes a few minutes. BeenVerified’s Reverse Phone Lookup scans and analyzes billions of records and phone number matches for the associated landline or cell number.

What are the limitations of a reverse phone number search?

There are limitations to reverse phone number searches. For example, you won’t be able to see call logs, text messages, phone bills or other details about the phone used. All of this is restricted to the phone carrier (like AT&T or Verizon) and is not publicly available information.

Why do numbers show up as “unknown caller”?

There are a number of reasons why an incoming call may be displayed as “unknown.” These include situations where the number is unlisted or made through a VoIP service or app. When a number is unlisted, it means the person, company or organization is trying to keep their information private by intentionally removing it from directories like Whitepages and Yellow Pages. With VoIP services, callers can request phone numbers through services like Google Voice which can display as “unknown caller” if there is no profile name on the digital voice account. Reverse phone searches can still be used to track down information about these numbers.