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If you’re getting prank calls or if you find a number on you caller identification that you don’t recognize, you probably want to find out who is behind that number. The good news is that finding the owner of a phone number is easier than you might think.

As long as you have the area code and the seven digit number, you should be able to locate any number’s owner, if you know where to look.

There are a number of free reverse phone number websites on the Internet. This should be your first stop. Enter in the area code and the seven digit number in the space provided. Then hit the search button. If the phone number is published you should get the name and address of the person you are looking for.

If you don’t get the results you are looking for, you will need to try a different approach. This will happen more often than not.

If the phone number is an unlisted or published phone number, or is a cell phone number you are out of luck. There is no central data base for cell phone numbers. The free reverse phone directories can’t get you the information.

Another problem is that the information you receive from doing a search by phone number will only provide you with very basic details about the owner of the phone number. You’ll learn their name and address, but probably not much else. While that may be all you need at the time, you may find other information about the person’s background useful to have.

Finally, most free search by phone number services don’t update their information regularly. That means the information you do receive could no longer be accurate - and you’ll have reached a dead end in your search.

Even though there are several reverse phone number directories, it won’t do you any good to try other ones. Most of them get their information from the same data base.