Just a few days ago I was responding to questions in a well known answers website. At times when I am relaxing having a cup of tea I venture onto one or other of the answers websites to ascertain if I can help somebody with their own computer issues.
On top of the list of recent questions was someone asking why they had to pay to reverse look up a mobile phone number. It was a sensible question because you would not expect to pay to look up the owner of a landline number. You'd go to the white pages website and there is a lookup box right there on the front page.
Why isn't there a similar facility for looking up a cell phone number? That set me thinking. Why is not there such a thing as a free mobile phone lookup?
If you own a landline there are some things that make it easy for the phone businesses to gather a listing of the owner of which number and just what your own address is. Firstly, a landline is fixed. The telephone company know where the phone line and they are aware of the address it is actually suited to. Next you are, effectively, under contract to the phone company. You have to pay your debts frequently. This only means that the telephone company knows who you are because the number is listed within the bill payer's name. Both of these things make it easy for the telephone firms to supply a listing of who owns which number.
If you consider it, you will realize that it's not so easy for cell phones. You can buy a prepaid cell phone on the internet. You can purchase a prepaid cell phone in the supermarket together with your groceries. Nobody at the check-out asks who you are - they simply scan the box and sell you the phone. You might be anyone from anywhere. It's not even essential to register the number and also top-up using a credit card, though you can perform this if you would like. You can buy top up cards in many shops and merely enter in the card number. It's all private.
That is why so many scammers use cell phones. Everyone can purchase one, anyone can use one, you could use it everywhere and everyone can top it up.
I think you can start to see exactly how difficult it is to gather a real listing of the owner of which cell number and to give a sensible reverse lookup services. However these types of services do exist. So - how do they manage to provide a reverse lookup service and also why do you have to pay for it.
Reverse lookup services have to compile the data on their own. This implies buying in huge lists of cell phone numbers as well as collating them to provide meaningful data. Not an easy task. These lists are frequently compiled from web sites or perhaps forms that ask folks for their cell numbers. If you don't specifically ask that the data is not handed down (usually by checking or perhaps unchecking a box) then this information might get added to one of the lists that is then sold to the reverse lookup providers.
The white pages information is provided as an extra because their customers are already paying for the availability of their landlines. Reverse number providers are companies that exist solely to provide this particular service and also have to earn money to pay their employees, keep their websites and buy in those all important lists of information.
On top of the list of recent questions was someone asking why they had to pay to reverse look up a mobile phone number. It was a sensible question because you would not expect to pay to look up the owner of a landline number. You'd go to the white pages website and there is a lookup box right there on the front page.
Why isn't there a similar facility for looking up a cell phone number? That set me thinking. Why is not there such a thing as a free mobile phone lookup?
If you own a landline there are some things that make it easy for the phone businesses to gather a listing of the owner of which number and just what your own address is. Firstly, a landline is fixed. The telephone company know where the phone line and they are aware of the address it is actually suited to. Next you are, effectively, under contract to the phone company. You have to pay your debts frequently. This only means that the telephone company knows who you are because the number is listed within the bill payer's name. Both of these things make it easy for the telephone firms to supply a listing of who owns which number.
If you consider it, you will realize that it's not so easy for cell phones. You can buy a prepaid cell phone on the internet. You can purchase a prepaid cell phone in the supermarket together with your groceries. Nobody at the check-out asks who you are - they simply scan the box and sell you the phone. You might be anyone from anywhere. It's not even essential to register the number and also top-up using a credit card, though you can perform this if you would like. You can buy top up cards in many shops and merely enter in the card number. It's all private.
That is why so many scammers use cell phones. Everyone can purchase one, anyone can use one, you could use it everywhere and everyone can top it up.
I think you can start to see exactly how difficult it is to gather a real listing of the owner of which cell number and to give a sensible reverse lookup services. However these types of services do exist. So - how do they manage to provide a reverse lookup service and also why do you have to pay for it.
Reverse lookup services have to compile the data on their own. This implies buying in huge lists of cell phone numbers as well as collating them to provide meaningful data. Not an easy task. These lists are frequently compiled from web sites or perhaps forms that ask folks for their cell numbers. If you don't specifically ask that the data is not handed down (usually by checking or perhaps unchecking a box) then this information might get added to one of the lists that is then sold to the reverse lookup providers.
The white pages information is provided as an extra because their customers are already paying for the availability of their landlines. Reverse number providers are companies that exist solely to provide this particular service and also have to earn money to pay their employees, keep their websites and buy in those all important lists of information.
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