Don't you just wish there was a way to look up information about people if all you knew about them was their phone number? If you've never heard of a reverse phone directory you can picture it as an online version of the white pages, only a lot more powerful and user friendly.
Cell phone numbers, however, are not easily obtainable and the directories that are produced for all the cell phone numbers that exist are huge, time consuming to assemble and costly to produce. If you think about all you can find online, you may get overwhelmed, and you may never want to leave the house without your computer. If you would like to use the reverse address feature, you are required to enter the street address, as well as the city or zip code/postal code.
If you were to get a call from an unknown number in the past, you could not do much other than call your phone company to see if they can give you more information. On the other hand, these are also used frequently in the research portion of the jobs of journalists and paralegals. The problem is that the life span of a cell phone number is too short, and privacy laws too strict, to allow for someone to provide the public with a free reverse cell phone directory.
Users can also use the system to get listings of phone numbers posted in white pages or yellow pages. Some may use text or SMS messaging or send things to your email rather than go through the postal service. The truth is it can be done, and has been done, but it requires plenty of effort, since the information has to be compiled manually from millions of different records.
Always be responsible and safe. Don't be afraid to take advantage of what is out there.
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