Reverse Phone Number Look Up

[+ ArVaGuy]

I’ve been getting a larger than usual amount of telemarketing and unrecognized phone calls lately. I seldom answer an unrecognized call and rarely do these callers leave a message. These are immediately blocked. I’ve tried using some of the online number look up sites but most of them just suck. They want fees and whatnot to provide basic information on these calls.

 

Does anyone have suggestions for reverse number look up sites that actually provide real information for free on a not too outrageous fee?

 

Thanks

[+ sync]

I have not found any free reverse number look-up sites either. If I'm really curious, I just type the number into Google and the results usually reveal if the number is a scam or not.

[+ FrankR]

I’ve been getting a larger than usual amount of telemarketing and unrecognized phone calls lately. I seldom answer an unrecognized call and rarely do these callers leave a message. These are immediately blocked. I’ve tried using some of the online number look up sites but most of them just suck. They want fees and whatnot to provide basic information on these calls.

 

Does anyone have suggestions for reverse number look up sites that actually provide real information for free on a not too outrageous fee?

 

Thanks

It has definitely gotten worse. They completely ignore the “do not call” list. Have yet to find a free and reliable source. It is also cumbersome to report them to the Federal Trade Commision.

[maninsoma]

Usually a reverse number search finds nothing, but occasionally I will find reports that the number is a "suspected spammer." I think the bigger problem is number spoofing. In other words, the number displayed on your phone isn't the number that's actually originating the call anyway so blocking the number has little effect. Spoofing is why so many spam calls appear to originate from within your own area code and prefix.

[Act25]

US PhoneBook has been free in the past and has provided a lot of information.

 

FWIW I found about it in this forum.

 

www.usphonebook.com

[jtwalker]

If I don't know the number, I don't answer. If they don't leave a message or text, I guess we didn't need to talk. If they keep it up, I block them.

[Daverwr]

I get a ton of unsolicited calls from my cell phone’s area code. I guess they think I’ll pick up thinking it’s someone near me. Little do they know is this is a very old area code for me and I no longer know anyone from there. When I try to look up the numbers nothing comes up.

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

YouMail. Been using it for over a decade.

 

Great third-party app that handles calls, spam and voicemail

[OCClient]

I've been getting more and more text messages concerning one scheme or another.

 

I get a few cold calls selling whatnot. Sometimes they leave a recording, whether it was a live person or a robocall. But usually not.

 

I block pretty much all the numbers.

 

Sometimes I'll do an internet search which ends up confirming my decision to block.

[+ newatthis]

I've been using nomorobo with a great deal of success. Free for landlines. I didn't upgrade to their fee-based service for cell phones because the combination of T-Mobile and google (I have a pixel) weeds out most spam calls and texts.

 

The one disadvantage to nomorobo is that your phone gives one ring with each intercepted spam call.

[+ RJD]

I’ve used www.800notes.com in the past for looking up documented spam/scam numbers after they’ve called with pretty good success.

 

I finally installed Nomorobo which does a good job identifying spam calls. Some, which aren’t in their database yet, get through.

 

My issue now, since I’m working from home during the pandemic, is my office number is forwarded to my cell, so I need to be selective about not answering. There are the obvious calls, like those originating from my own area code and prefix, which go unanswered. Others are spam/scam which I hang up on immediately.

 

I don’t even bother blocking numbers anymore. That works if you have someone you know calling from the same number. These scammers just spoof different numbers after you block the prior number.

 

As I finished writing this post I received a call from a guy wanting me to consider investing in his newly formed investment services firm. I laughed and hung up.

[urbanfetish]

I have been getting people calling my number because my number was used to disguise the real number/make it look like a local number. Evidently, some people are curious enough to see who is calling them when they miss the call the first time. Anyway, my point is that a reverse number lookup won't really help much these days since the number on your caller ID is probably fake. The scammers like to use the same area code and exchange as your number to make it look local.

[Lchnsf]

I have also been getting an extodinary number of possible scam calls and texts. I do try to report them to my phone service - AT&T - but doubt it does any good. I have thought of changing my number but have heard it won’t make a difference as you just get someone else’s old number.

 

I try my best to keep my phone number off the web so it is not visible, at least as a phone number. This has helped but not stopped the problem.

[+ DynamicUno]

Most robocalling spammers fake their caller ID, so reverse lookups are useless for them. That's especially true if they're 'neighbor spoofing' (faking the number with the same Area code/prefix as your number, since that increases positive contacts). It's an annoying practice because my personal line will occasionally be the one used for spoofing because it ends with a sequential string, so I've had angry callbacks from time to time. Legit telemarketers will tend to use an actual number because they want callbacks.

 

This will hopefully begin to change as the telecoms implement the STIR/SHAKEN protocols more widely (I think the deadline is in mid-2021).