The world is more connected than it has ever been. And that’s not always a good thing. At least, it’s not always convenient. Having more of our details stored in more places online means that companies and individuals can buy or otherwise access those details for nefarious purposes.
Marketers may attempt to sell to us – at best, it will be something they are pretty sure we will like. But they may also hit us as part of an indiscriminate broad sweep. Or personal details may be bought or accessed by fraudsters interested only in separating us from our money illegally.
Many companies ask to confirm that they are speaking to the correct person, but how can we be sure that we are talking to a genuine company? When callers’ numbers are hidden, it poses a potential problem for the public.
Fortunately, there are various ways to uncover hidden or otherwise unknown numbers. By following these tips, you will be able to identify who has been calling you and/or verify that they are who they say they are. This will help keep you safe by highlighting potential scams and phishing attempts, as well as keeping your life free of unwanted sales calls.
- Use Trapcall
The Trapcall system offers some great technology to help you find out who is calling you and take appropriate action if this is an unwanted contact attempt.
If your phone rings and you see that the number comes up as unknown, you can decline the call. TrapCall redirects the caller to their system, before contacting you with a notification about their phone number, plus some other information.
You can use this information to glean the whereabouts and identity of the caller. You can block the call or answer it. Either way, having the number unmasked puts you back in control.
- Use Nuwber
Nuwber is a people search system that draws details from a massive database of US citizens.
It can help you learn more about the identity of the caller. If you’ve tried other services and you’re not satisfied with the level of information they provide you, give Nuwber a try. This resource can give you a person’s location, profession, and other details that will help you make decisions about them and help keep you safe.
- Try Whitepages
Simple to use, you can enter a phone number into the search field and Whitepages will allow you to do a reverse phone lookup. It’s a tried and tested company, established in 1997, which might be reassuring if you’re in the potentially unsettling process of dealing with an unsolicited contact from one or more unknown callers. The premium service offers you additional information, such as mobile phone numbers and a full address history.
- Use PhoneHistory
For business or personal use, PhoneHistory offers a comprehensive service to help you identify unknown callers and texters. It features an impressive directory of mobile and landline numbers, both for companies and individuals. By impressive, we mean more than 500 million US cell and landline numbers.
A successful search will reward you with useful information, including the caller’s name, address, phone history, and more.
- Try Truecaller
Truecaller is another good app that you can use to reveal the hidden details behind an unknown number. It gives you warnings regarding the potential for calls to be spam, which is useful and may save you even having to answer the phone. In addition, if you see the large red warning, you can go ahead and block spam numbers.
Other features that make Truecaller worth trying include its ability to find missing details about your existing contacts. Suppose you have a listing for a new work colleague. Truecaller could fill in a missing email address or number so that your contact listing is complete. It may even add social media contact details.
- There’s Always Google
If the other options for identifying an unknown number and digging deeper haven’t worked, there remains the mighty Google. Once you have managed to acquire a phone number, entering the number into Google can help tell you who the line belongs to.
If the number is that of a legitimate business, the chances are good that you will find the name of the business or business owner, their location, and other necessary details. If the number is linked to known, fraudulent activity, Google is particularly good at connecting its users to posts where people talk about their experiences related to a phone number. Through such posts, you may be able to find out whether the number does indeed belong to a scammer or whether it is associated with a legitimate company.
- Phone the Phone Company
If you get in touch with your phone company, you may be able to activate the *57 service. This will enable you to discover previously hidden phone numbers by dialling *57 immediately after the call. If you decide to take this option, it will be very helpful to be able to tell them the exact time and date of the call. They should have the data. If they are willing to help you, make it easy for them to pinpoint the exact call you are concerned about.
Your phone company has records that tell them everyone you called and everyone that phoned you, so this is a good place to help you discover the identity of an unknown caller. Not all carriers provide this service, however. And when they do, they may charge you every time you use it.
If you’re worried about being contacted by scammers, you’ve had enough of marketing calls, or you just want to make smart decisions about when and why you answer your phone, the tips above will help.
It’s time to take control. You can make the most of today’s technology to uncover hidden phone numbers and even dig deeper into the identity, location, and other details of the caller. Doing so is likely to make your life less complicated by weeding out the fraudsters, scammers, and aggressive marketers.