How to Find Someone’s Phone Number by Name

Finding somebody’s phone number by their name can be a complicated experience however if equipped with the correct tools and knowledge there are plenty of ways to find this out. Everything these days starts from social media, search engines, and even apps that help us search for different types of details about people with whom we communicate, date, or even do business with. In fact, it’s crucial to contact people to ask questions or send messages, but when you don’t have their numbers, you need to start with the Internet first.

Best ways to find phone numbers

These are the recommended options for finding people numbers when you need to contact them. It’s up to you to choose any of these options, but always remember that people can create fake accounts online, and so, you need to verify the information before you call people. If you get a cell number, for example, type it into the Google search and see if it’s linked to someone’s details or not. People can change numbers, and by verifying that, you’ll avoid contacting someone else.

1. Online phone directories

You can search people’s phone numbers by looking for their names through an address in the directory books. The yellow pages and white papers are easy ways to find a person’s phone number, especially their landline number as these are often automatically input into directories.

If you’re in the US, that’s not hard to do, many websites allow users to create accounts or even search for people for free by typing their first name and the state. However, in other countries, a hat can be stressful especially when you don’t have access to trusted search engines. That said, you still have sites in the UK such as:

• UKPhoneBook
• 192.com
• ancestry

In North America, the Canada411 works well for finding business snubbers from the name of the company or the representatives. But first, try to type the name correctly as that may make the search not accurate as expected with Google.

For Australia, you have other sites such as the White pages, but be aware that most apps don’t work. They just show ads here and there, then, search for numbers through Google that you can do yourself.

2. LinkedIn

Lots of people list their contact details on the internet on their professional networking websites so that they can be contacted by prospective employers. LinkedIn is a great way to find people’s contact information as it is readily available for people to contact them.

3. Other social media sites

On people’s social media profiles, they often sign up through their mobile phone number and so you can search through people’s “about me” section or information section on their profile as phone numbers are usually posted publicly on there automatically.

For instance, Snapchat, Twitter, or Facebook are good places to find mobile numbers if users add them under their personal information tab. Surely that can work, but unfortunately, not everyone is willing to share his or her personal number across Facebook and Instagram. For that reason, it’s worth it to check out the other options below once you see that that pen has no number on social media sites.

4. Free trial sites

There are a lot of websites on the internet that provide the service of allowing you to find people’s phone numbers by just their name. Whilst you may have several options you can simply call all of the options until you find the person that you are looking for. These websites often offer a free trial to last for up to 7 days which can be canceled before you are charged anything. This is a great way to utilize the tools that are available to you without actually being charged for them.

Some apps claim to offer free phone number search without the need for a credit card or any sort of payment. But later, you’ll see that everything they say is just a scam. So, if you see any free trial phone search tools, double-check their offer explanation before you type any payment details. Otherwise, paying for a premium service that helps is better than wasting time and money with useless trial services.

5. Private investigator

If you are having no use otherwise finding people’s phone numbers then you can hire a private investigator. A private investigator can find out a lot of information about a person as they have tools and contacts that the average person does not have access to. You can instruct a private investigator to do as much or as little research as you want and all of the prices can be arranged before you commission them to work for you.

Private investigators can find out information that is not in the public domain. This can prove helpful when looking for somebody’s personal information that might not otherwise be readily available to you.

6. Employment

If you know where a person is employed then you can ring up their workplace and ask them for their phone number. This is far easier than searching all through the internet and means that you can go directly to them. That being said, remember that you don’t repetitively ring their workplace to the point where it becomes harassment. But you can call them up and leave a message with your phone number asking them to call you back.

If that person is important and you should contact him right away, ask the company’s customer service or sales if you can call that specific person. Of course, you’ll need a solid argument to justify your need. But if that’s not as simple as it looks, request a call and leave your mobile phone number, so they can reach you later.

To find a company’s contact number, use Google, next type the name of that company and add words like a phone number or related details.

7. Find the number directly

The easiest way to find out a person’s phone number is to go directly to them and ask them themselves. This way you can receive a direct answer from someone and know that they will either give you their phone number or explain why not.

That said, this may look simple in theory but not easy in reality especially if you can’t justify the reason for why you need that person’s number. So, always start by introducing yourself, then show them your interest and ask for their number in a polite way.

8. Background search sites

Some websites such as Instant Checkmate sell the personal information of people and this includes phone numbers. The tool used advanced search algorithms to collect data from search engines, social media sites, private databases and even more. Thus you may find out if someone’s name is real or a fake one by searching for their details including any known phone number, email or address.

Here a search report example:

Whilst it may not be the most ethical means of acquiring a phone number it is a very effective way to search for people’s information. Some websites will charge you money but some allow you to have free access to a person’s personal information, from their home address to their phone number.

When looking for accurate background check sites, make sure it shows details about the number in your state or country. That’s because many sites specialize in local directories and they just allow search for limited areas.

There are a lot of smart tools that are on the internet that allow you to search for people’s phone numbers. This is based on telesales and other phone companies uploading the information that they have on individuals which provides people with the tools they need to find phone numbers of people using solely their name.

9. Lead411

Lead411 is a person-based platform that has a high success rate in matching you up with an email address. However, it is currently improving the infrastructure to allow for a more user-friendly interface. Consequently, that allows people to find the mobile phone numbers that they are looking for faster. Lead 411 is a sales platform where the user is offered a free trial for 7 days and then a reasonably priced plan for use after this time period.

10. Get the number with mutuals

A great way to find out people’s phone numbers knowing just their names is to find out their social media accounts and then find out their mutual friends. After that, you can slowly begin a trail to track down their phone number. If you can find the friends of the person that you are looking for, then you can easily ask them for more information about the person. Or directly ask them for the person’s phone number. But expect many to reject the requests as a sit may look suspicious. 

That’s why you need to look for the right friend and tell them why you requested that specific person’s number from a friend and not directly.

Respect other people’s privacy

Keep in mind that whilst you are trying to find a person’s phone number, you respect their levels of privacy that they are after and don’t delve too deep into their personal information. It can be easy to fall down a wormhole when it comes to finding out information about people. However, it is important that you always remember to not cross the line when it comes to appropriate and inappropriate behavior when it comes to people’s personal choices of their privacy levels.

When trying to find out people’s information, it is important to consider the fact that they might not want to be found in the first place. Some people are elusive and intentionally do not want to be found. And this wish must be respected and not ignored.

Searching for a person’s personal information on the internet can quickly cross into the waters of cyberstalking. So it is very important that you respect the wishes that others have and do not cross the line when it comes to people’s privacy levels.

Some people don’t want to be found online. Instead, they want to live a more exclusive lifestyle where they don’t have their personal information routinely shared. This must be respected and taken notice of when you are investigating a person’s details.