Today we're going to tell you about a method to discover who any phone number belongs to. This tool can help you find out a lot of information about someone from their phone number alone. This information includes address, name and perhaps other details as well.

Cell phones and unpublished numbers are a problem though. Not in the public domain and by definition, unlisted - it can be very hard to find out who belongs to these numbers. No phone book can help you here, but don't despair. It can be done.

There are firms who are in the business of compiling lists of every phone number. Out of these lists, directories are built which hold every phone number that they can find. These companies pay for access to this information, which can then be searched to find out information on the owners of certain numbers.

These searches can be performed over the web on these directories. Known as "reverse phone directories" since they allow for lookup by number rather than by name, one just enters the number and allows the directory's search engine to handle the rest. The results, hopefully information on the number holder, will be displayed.

Immediately following this article is a link which will allow you to do a sample search for free; try it for yourself.

There is generally a cost to use these services, but don't fret. It's quite reasonable, and some sites charge a one time fee for unlimited usage of their database. If you think you may need this sort of service often, this will be the best idea for you - no need to pay a fee each and every time you need to look up a number in the directory.

There are a lot of different applications for these searches. For example, if you are receiving prank calls from a number repeatedly, this is a good way to investigate. Suspicious spouses also use these searches to see who has been calling. Really though, any time you need to check someone out armed only with their phone number.

Before going ahead and paying for a reverse directory search, there is a way to check for free. And what way is that? Google, of course. Just do a search on the number in case it is listed on a web page.

All you have to do is go to Google and punch in the phone number into the search box. You will want to use the following format: "555-555-5555" and make sure you use the quotation marks. Hit the search button and then take a look at the search results that appear.

If this phone number is online on some webpage, then Google will bring it up for you. Phone numbers will make their way on the internet for a few different reasons (classified ads, profile pages etc) so there's a chance the number you are "investigating" might just be on the web.

If you get a "hit" from Google, have a look at the webpage and see what information you can find out. If you don't, you know you can always use the regular paid service.

I'm always impressed with how much information you can find out about someone when all you have is their phone number. By using a reverse phone directory you get to feel like a detective right from your own home!