Why A Free Mobile Phone Number Search is a Scam

Can you really get a free mobile phone number search or are those claims just a scam? In researching materials for this article, I conducted an investigation into these claims to see if I could prove once and for all what free resources were available for reverse cell phone look ups.  The results were quite surprising.

I started my investigation with Google, the dominating force behind internet search engines. Using their tools to narrow search criteria, I looked for the number of website results for the words “free reverse cell phone”. I did not use quotes in the search as that would have resulted in getting only the sites that used those words in that order and I wanted all sites that used those words in any combination.

Google returned 1.7 million results. Keep that figure in mind as I share how many of those sites really offer a free mobile phone number search.

Considering that this is how most folks searching for a free mobile phone number would start, I began going down the list of results – one by one through the first 50 websites returned by Google. Using an Excel file to track the outcome of each listing, I also made note of each websites URL, whether or not the title appeared to Promise, Question or Deny the existence of a free mobile phone number search, and whether the end result of chasing links through each website resulted in a free or fee based program.

Two hours and one computer crash later, I completed the look up of each of the 50 websites. The results were as follows:

• 33 sites promised through their verbiage to lead to a free mobile phone number search or reverse cell phone look up

• 13 sites posed the question about whether or not these sites existed

• 4 sites denied the existence of a free mobile phone number search

Thirty-three sites appearing to offer a free cell phone or mobile phone reverse look up seemed promising, until I further dissected those results:

• 73% of the sites that promised a free reverse cell phone look up led to a fee based service. True, the service would provide free information about the general city in which the cell phone number was assigned but anything more than that required a fee.

• 18% of the sites that promised a free reverse cell phone look up led to a server error, a membership site, or unrated freeware I was not comfortable downloading.

Only a mere 9% offered any real method of completing a free mobile phone number search and the tool of choice in every one of those cases? They suggested internet search engines like Google.

I know exactly why you can’t get a free mobile phone number search.  Mobile phone numbers are not listed publicly, not available in any white pages and not free to the directories that offer them.  They have to buy the information and so do you.

Google does have a wealth of free information trapped in its giant paws but it only holds what someone has entered into the web in some fashion. If the mobile phone number you are trying to look up was entered by the owner on his resume that he posted online in an open, publicly available website using searchable text, then you might luck into finding the information you want about the name behind that mobile phone number. The odds are slim, at best. Many consumers still want their cell phone numbers to be private and do not often expose them widely on the web.

Because searching on the internet is free, I encourage you to try that first, though. It costs nothing and will take only a few minutes. Type the mobile phone number into your favorite search engine, or a number of search engines, and see if anything useful comes up. If not, your only chance at finding out the name and address of the mobile phone number owner is to use a paid reverse cell phone directory.

Is it worth it to you to pay for the information tied to a mobile phone number? It depends heavily on the reason you want the information. If having that information would reconnect you with a friend or family member, would mean a new job or commission, or if you believe it would protect you from harm or uncover a cheating spouse, then the few bucks you might shell out for that information is well worth the expense.

With a free mobile phone number search out of the question, if you decide to use a paid service, find one that offers a money back guarantee and has been in business long enough to have established a positive reputation.