You may have heard that there are free ways to search cell phone numbers using the Internet. It's true. You can find many websites that claim to let you do a free search for the name and address of the owner of a cell phone number. But things are not always what they seem. Here's some advice on how to search cell phone numbers safely.

Most people start a search by entering a phrase like "search cell phone number free" into their favorite search engine to see what pops up. The result is many pages of "free" sites where you can enter a cell phone number and get back whatever information the site has about that number. Elsewhere on this site we talked about some of the drawbacks to using free search sites, things like outdated or incomplete information. But here I want to talk about some of the dubious practices that you'll find at some of the sites.

Trading Your Information for Theirs

On some sites, you enter the cell phone number you want to search for and click the search button normally. But instead of getting back information about the number you're looking for, you get a screen demanding that you enter your own cell phone number. Before the site gives you the information it has on the number you're researching, you're required to register with them by entering your own cell phone number.

That in itself seems weird, until you notice the fine print at the bottom of the screen. That tells you that when you register, you are automatically agreeing to allow them to add information about you to their site. In other words, in exchange for doing a search on their database, you have to allow them to add your information to their database. That leaves me wondering how comprehensive their list is in the first place, and uncomfortable about the whole process. I advise against using this kind of free site.

Bait and Switch

Other free sites avoid the kind of shenanigans we just talked about, but have a different ploy. They let you do a free search, but only give you vague information about the owner of the cell number. To get the full story, you have to pay them a relatively large fee. It's a misleading way to do business, and leaves me unconfortable about trusting the information they would provide.

What to Do

Now that you know a few of the sneaky things that can happen at 'free' sites, you have a better idea how to search cell phone numbers. If you're willing to put in the time needed to try out a bunch of sites, and careful to avoid the pitfalls of using this type of site, you may well be able to find the information you need free of charge.

But if you're in a hurry, or want the best possible results, or just don't want the hassles of doing the research by hand, you can get fast, reliable results using a service like Reverse Phone Detective, which avoids all these pitfalls.

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