If you have a missed call from an unknown phone number, you may want to identify the phone number of the person who tried to reach you before you dial that number. Chances are you’re hooking up with a telemarketer. Eventually some random person simply dialed the wrong number. Or it’s your long lost best friend who finally found you. You never know.

There are several free online tools to reverse lookup and identify a North American phone number. However, with cell phone numbers it’s almost impossible to find out the identity of the person behind the phone number. Unless you are willing to pay.

Sadly, most seemingly free services will redirect you to a paid option, even if it’s possible to find the information for free elsewhere. To avoid these pitfalls, I have compiled a list with services for reverse phone number search and how to use them.

1. WhoCallsMe? (Worldwide)

If you suspect that a telemarketer called you, this is the service you should try. Enter the number in the search field and hit “Get Details“. If the number is not listed, no one has had complaints about it yet.

The database at WhoCallsMe? is supplied by its users. So if you have been receiving unsolicited calls from telemarketers, surveyors, charities or other organizations, help others avoid these people by entering their phone number and details into WhoCallsMe?’s database.

A similar page is Who Called Us.

2. Google PhoneBook (North America)

For North American landline numbers, Google is an excellent choice to identify a phone number. For listed US numbers, Google may return a phonebook result that looks like this:

It reveals the name and address of the person who owns the respective number. Using the convenient GoogleMaps link you can look up in what neighborhood they live.

For other numbers, Google may return links to local online phone books.

Now you could directly go to one of your local online phone books. Which one you choose of course depends on where you are. Unfortunately, I can’t list one for each country. Besides, reverse phone number search is restricted in and unavailable for several countries, including Australia and the UK.

The following four sites are for Canada and Germany. They basically all work the same – you find the reverse lookup option, enter the number, and hit search. So without further comments, here it goes…

3. 411 (Canada)

4. Canpages (Canada)

5. Das Telefonbuch (Germany)

6. Das Örtliche (Germany)

These were your options for landlines.

But what if you’re trying to identify a cell phone number? Honestly, I could not find a free tool for identifying the owner of a given number.

However, due to the nature of North American cell phone numbers, the prefix reveals the location of the caller. The most you can find out for free on top of that, is the name of the provider and when the number was registered.

7. Cell Phone Tracer (North America)

This website will find you the the phone carrier and the location of the given phone number. If you choose to continue to receive the entire available information, you will be asked to pay.

8. Cellphone Registry (North America)

The Cellphone Registry may be able to tell you when the phone number in question was registered. Unlike the previous website, it was not able to find the phone carrier. And all further information is available for cash only.

Did we miss an online phonebook for your country with reverse lookup option? Please feel free to request a link or provide us with the resource in the comments!

Image Credit: iprole

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OneLook calls itself – the search engine for words. According to the web service, it indexes more than 5 million words in more than 900 online dictionaries along with encyclopedias and other reference sites. Although, OneLook offers the entire range of a dictionary service, it is the Reverse Dictionary we are interested in.

The Look”¦

Strictly utilitarian. OneLook Beta Version (1.1) looks like it has been put together by a newbie web designer, but as in the case of Google itself ““ looks are deceptive. The minimalistic interface with just a search box and how-to-do explanations are all about simplicity with speed.

The Concept”¦

Straightforwardly easy. You don’t remember the word but just what the word stands for. OneLook calls it the “˜concept’. Enter the concept in the search box in a few words, a sentence, a question, or even as a related single word. Hit Find Words to get a list of results with the best matches usually at the forefront of the results.

The site says it works by “˜using a motley assortment of statistical language processing hacks’. (D-uh, I just might reverse look it up.)

The Uses

The site explains it best as shown in the screenshot below.

How to Use it

OneLook’s Reverse Lookup takes me from the “˜word is on the tip of my tongue’ to a revelatory “˜eureka’ moment. But to get the best results in the shortest time”¦

• Keep the word or phrase short.
• The accurate matches will be usually at the beginning of the results list.
• Click on the word to verify its dictionary definition.
• The dictionary definitions are arranged according to categories of – General, Art, Business, Computing, Medicine, Miscellaneous, Religion, Science, Slang, Sports, Tech and Phrases. Phrases and slangs sometimes give interesting variations for use in writing.
• Use wildcard patterns if the meaning or word is fuzzy. And also to filter the mass of results.
• The asterisk (*) equals any number of characters. For instance, type love* to get all words and phrases like love-bird that begin with “˜love’.
• The question mark (?) equals exactly one character. For instance, type l?v? to get all words and many acronyms too.
• The number-sign (#) is a single placeholder for any English consonant.
• Similarly, the asterisk (@) is a single placeholder for any English vowel.
• Do a relatedness search by combining two wildcards. For instance, typing t*:salesman will give words and phrases starting with “˜t’ and related to salesman.
• Some searches will also let you limit the results by Common words and phrases only or Common words only.
• Get the full complement of acronyms by using the expand shorthand. For instance, expand:USA.

  

Look into these wildcard tips in the Help section of the website.

Access it as an add-on from the browser search box.

OneLook can be added to the Firefox and IE search toolbar as an add-on. In other browsers it can be added to the Links folder. Thus, giving easy access.

Customize your experience

The Customize page of the site lets you tweak the way you view the results, background colors and banner display settings.

As the web service crosses over from the beta stage, we can expect even more value additions. Even now, as a reverse lookup dictionary its byword is results at a click of Find Words.  I guess, I will now be able to crack the Times Crossword in “˜a blink of an eye’. In a heartbeat, as OneLook Reverse Lookup says.

Try it and let us know with your worded comments.