How to Find the Owner of a Phone Number

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Easy methods to see who's calling you
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Want to find information about a phone number, including the owner's name, location, or service provider? There are several free online tools you can use to trace a phone number , whether it belongs to a cell phone or landline. This wikiHow article will teach you how to search for a phone number's owner using simple tools on the web.

Ways to Trace a Number

  • Google the number, or use WolframAlpha to find the city in which the number originates.
  • Use WhoCallsMe to identify suspected spam callers.
  • Get more specific information using SpyDialer .
Method 1
Method 1 of 3:

Using General Methods

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  1. You can generally approximate the location and/or type of phone that the person is using, but in order to pull up an accurate, up-to-date version of their number, you'll need to use a paid service. There are a couple of other downsides to tracing a phone number:
    • If the person whose phone number you want to trace has requested that their phone number be removed from services such as WhitePages, you most likely won't be able to look up their number.
    • If the phone number has recently been deactivated or transferred to another user, the search may not be accurate.
  2. Try Googling the phone number. Much of the information that paid services have comes from Google and other search engines, so running a Google check to see if you can find the phone number's owner should be your first step:
    • Go to https://www.google.com/ in your computer's web browser.
    • Type your number in (123) 456-7890 format into the Google search bar.
      • You might also type owner or user after the phone number.
    • Press ↵ Enter
    • Review the results.
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  3. WolframAlpha is a free computational website which can give you some basic information about the phone number and its location:
    • Go to http://www.wolframalpha.com/ in your computer's browser.
    • Type your number in (123) 456-7890 format into the search bar.
    • Press ↵ Enter
    • Review the results (in many cases, you'll only see the city to which the number belongs).
  4. If you're receiving calls from a suspected telemarketer or spam service, you can check the number against WhoCallsMe's database of known spam:
    • Go to https://whocallsme.com/ in your computer's web browser.
    • Type a 10-digit phone number into the text box.
    • Click Search
    • Review the results.
  5. You can try to search social media for the phone number. While this won't often yield a result, searching a social media service is free and fast.
    • Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are all good choices for informal searches.
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Method 2
Method 2 of 3:

Using Spy Dialer

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  1. Spy Dialer is a free service which searches old phone records and available online information. While Spy Dialer is free, it is also relatively out-of-date; this means that you may find the old owner of the phone rather than the current one. [1]
    • As with any phone number, you won't find any information about the person if they've requested that their number be removed from common databases.
  2. Go to https://www.spydialer.com/ in your computer's web browser.
  3. It's in the middle of the page. [2]
  4. Type in the 10-digit phone number that you want to look up.
  5. It's a blue button below the search bar. Doing so will prompt Spy Dialer to begin processing the phone number.
  6. This blue button will appear in the middle of the page once Spy Dialer finishes displaying an ad.
    • If you use an ad blocker, you won't see the ad; instead, you'll just wait for a few seconds.
  7. If the owner hasn't requested that their phone number be removed, you should see a name and an approximate location (e.g., "near San Jose, CA").
    • Again, the name that you see here may be incorrect. You can try to get the correct name by running the same search a few more times.
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Method 3
Method 3 of 3:

Using WhitePages

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  1. While you can use WhitePages to look up a phone number to see its general location and determine that the information about it is up-to-date, you'll need to pay for a Premium subscription if you want to see the phone number's owner. [3]
    • The positive side to using WhitePages is that they keep a relatively up-to-date record, meaning that you're much more likely to see accurate information about your phone number.
    • WhitePages charges $4.99 for a one-month, 20-search period. Since this is cheaper than paying a one-time fee for the information, you'll most likely want to sign up for the membership and then cancel it as soon as you've gotten what you need.
  2. Go to https://www.whitepages.com/ in your computer's web browser.
  3. You'll find this option near the top of the WhitePages page.
  4. Click the search bar in the middle of the page, then type in a 10-digit phone number. [4]
  5. It's to the right of the search bar. Doing so will search WhitePages for your phone number.
  6. Depending on the number, you may see the first letter of the person's first and last name, their current city, and/or their carrier. This information may be enough for you to identify the number (or convince you to sign up for Premium).
  7. If you determine that the amount of information on the free page is sufficient to warrant paying $4.99 to unlock, do the following: [5]
    • Click SIGN IN in the upper-right corner of the page.
    • Click Get Started under the "NOT A PREMIUM MEMBER" section.
    • Click SELECT PLAN under the MEMBERSHIP heading.
    • Enter your email address, create a password, and enter your payment information.
    • Scroll down and click SUBMIT ORDER
  8. With a Premium membership, you'll be able to see the number's owner, address, carrier, and more.
  9. When you're done viewing your Premium information, you can prevent your subscription from automatically billing you again by doing the following: [6]
    • Go to the page and sign in.
    • Click ACCOUNT SETTINGS on the left side of the page.
    • Click CANCEL AUTORENEW
    • Select a reason.
    • Click CONFIRM CANCELLATION
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Community Q&A

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  • Question
    If I have the contact number of a man who stole money from me, how do I track him down?
    Community Answer
    Most people would go to the police and ask them for help. You can use any of the tips in the article as well.
    Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
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  • Question
    What do I do if I have the number of a person swearing at my husband?
    Community Answer
    Probably nothing. Swearing at someone is not a crime and most people don't make a big issue out of it. It may have been rude of them to do, but you should just move on and forget about that person.
    Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
    Thank you for your feedback.
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  • Question
    I only have a contact number of the man that stole my money. How will I get his address?
    Itz Centric
    Community Answer
    Well, you can do a reverse of his number or name, and then, his address may pop up. This only if it is public number. If not, you can always hire somebody to find it. You could also call the authorities.
    Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
    Thank you for your feedback.
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      Tips

      • You may be surprised to see how much information sites such as Spy Dial or WhitePages have about a phone number, but all of the information is legally (and freely) obtained from search engines, online forms, and social media profiles.
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      Warnings

      • Avoid paying more than a few of dollars for a phone number report, as the information might not be accurate.
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      References

      1. ↑ https://spydialer.com/howitworks.aspx
      2. ↑ https://spydialer.com/faq.aspx
      3. ↑ https://www.whitepages.com/reverse-phone
      4. ↑ https://www.whitepages.com/reverse-phone
      5. ↑ https://support.whitepages.com/hc/en-us/articles/360006288073-How-do-I-change-my-membership-plan
      6. ↑ https://support.whitepages.com/hc/en-us/articles/115012942748-How-do-I-cancel-my-membership-

      About This Article

      Article Summary X

      To trace the owner of a phone number, try Googling it and review any results. Alternatively, try a free computational website, like WolframAlpha, which can give you some basic information about the number and its location. If you suspect the number is from a telemarketer or spam service, check it against the WhoCallsMe database. While you can use the WhitePages to look up a phone number to see its general location, you’ll need to pay for a Premium subscription if you want to see the number’s owner. To learn how to use Spy Dialer to find a phone number’s owner, keep reading!

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