Usually All Reverse Phone Directory Websites Are Cleaned Against Do-Not-Call

If you ever have a strange phone number come across your caller ID, one thing you can do is try reverse phone directory to see who it is. There are several ways you can do this, but the one I usually try first is a straight Google search of the phone number to see what pops up. You’ll be surprised – even if it’s a cell number, a lot of times you’ll see the owner of that number, maybe not in the first page or two of the search results, but definitely by the third or fourth page. It might come through on business information or another sort of website, but it will come up, more often than not, if it’s associated with a real person. A lot of times, I forget my friends’ numbers, and if I’ve gotten a new phone and haven’t moved my contacts over to the new device, I’ll end up looking their numbers up this way and finding them again. That should be your first step.

A lot of times, especially if the number is from a telemarketer or bill collector, when you use this sort of phone lookup, you’ll get links to a forum where people have gathered to ask about strange phone numbers that have called them. Go to the page, and then search under “Find on this page” (if you’re using Internet Explorer) to find where that specific phone number appears on the page.

Then, you can see the comments that pop up. If you scroll down far enough, and that phone number has been calling enough people, you’ll see where it comes up again. If it’s a telemarketer, you can call them and ask them to add to you a “Do Not Call” list – they have to do it, or their company will face a hefty fine. They would rather not pay the fine, so if you ask them to put you on that list, generally you will not get any more calls from them. If you do, you can report them to the Federal Communication Commission.

If it’s a bill collector, they do have the right to contact you, but there are some other strategies you can use in this situation. Instead of just avoiding call after call, answer the phone and tell the person that you are not the person they are trying to reach and to stop calling you. This will take you off the list. It will also harm your credit rating, particularly if you don’t pay the bill off over time, but you should still be able to borrow money for important things like a car or a house.’

The important thing to remember, though, is that you don’t have anything to fear from a strange number appearing on your phone. You may just want to ignore it, but it is possible to look it up if you want to see who’s calling you. After all, if the calls keep coming, it may be a nuisance that you just want to eliminate from your life.