The increasing convenience and popularity of mobile phones has been phenomenal. It seems like pretty much everyone has a cell phone these days. And as a result, one of the by-products of this trend is that you may receive calls from numbers that you cannot easily identify or determine the details of the caller.

Cell phone numbers do not normally appear in publicly available online and offline directories such as the conventional phone book or WhitePages.com.

However, there are certain methods and technologies available for a person to look up an otherwise unlisted cell phone number. The following three methods are free and easy to use phone number lookup methods:

1. Search engines: Search engines such as Google, Yahoo! and MSN have one of the world’s most indexed web pages. These include commercial website pages, business websites, personal websites, classified ads, promotional materials, social media websites, etc.

This opens up a wide range of possibilities. Search engines can find more information about the number for you, as long as it is searched in quotes (this helps to get exact results) in the correct format; The possible formats can be:

“111-111-1111”

111 “111-1111”

“111-1111”

111 “1111111”

Etc.

2. Popular networks: Popular networks include social networks, websites, forums, etc. They have a large member base. Examples include MySpace.com with over 180 million users, Orkut.com with over 49 million users, and Facebook.com with over 30 million users.

Other possible sources may be BoardTracker.com, Kijiji.com, Craigslist.com, USFreeAds.com, etc. These sites often contain listings, profiles, and member information that can be accessed simply by searching for them with their on-site search features.

3. Call the number: To proceed with this alternative, be sure to consult an attorney or qualified legal advisor who can advise on the legality of privacy/law before initiating such a step.

In this scenario, you call the number and pretend you’ve dialed the wrong number by asking for a random name, such as “Dave.” They will most likely respond by saying, “Sorry, you dialed the wrong number.”

At this point, you’ll want to say something like, “Really? He said his number was 555-1234. Who do I call?”

In many cases, the person on the other end of the line will simply say their name or location without a second thought.

As you follow these steps, make sure that the number you use to call is not your home number or your cell number; you can use a public phone for this purpose.

Or, to further simplify the process, and depending on your exact circumstances and what you want to find out, you can simply call the number and ask them who they are directly, stating that you saw their number on the call screen and that you are curious.

Again, I must re-emphasize the importance of determining your legal rights when making any type of “pretext” call for information. Consult a lawyer before attempting these methods, which are listed here for educational content only.

That concludes the free methods to perform a reverse cell phone lookup.

The fourth method below will cost a bit of money, but if you want to remain discreet or find out more about the caller than just their name, then it may be your best option (not to mention legal)…

4. Cell Phone Number Records Databases – There are a few companies on the web that offer a membership or a service where you can perform a “self-service” reverse record lookup on most cell phone numbers or unlisted numbers from a premium records database, which is typically a combination of public records, corresponding phone book listings, user-added information, indexed web content, and proprietary search methods.

The important thing to look for in this case is a guarantee. Not all cell phone numbers will have details, so check their policies to see what happens if you can’t find anything in their database.

Also, some of the better companies offer a (free) “trial lookup,” which displays limited records of numbers that exist in their database, so you can know for sure if more information is available before you request the service.

This is how to perform an effective reverse cell phone lookup on the internet.