Until just a few years ago there was no reverse phone number lookup directories so the only way regular people had to trace the phone number to its owner was to hire a private detective. Private detectives were then able to either bribe a phone company employee to get information needed or used to call in favors from friends and acquaintances working there.
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Police naturally, always had complete access to this sort of information. However, these days searching for information about even the regular land line phones has become quite difficult as more and more people have their phone number kept private and out of phone number directories.
But the real challenge is tracing cell phones. Obtaining information about cell phone numbers is particularly difficult because cell phone number databases are controlled and closely guarded by service providers. However thanks to the services like reverse phone number lookup it is no longer impossible to find information about cell phone numbers, even unlisted pre-paid ones.
For a small fee, you can have access to the whole year of unlimited access to huge reverse phone number lookup databases along with unlimited searches, and with the best directories it will also include criminal records search, employment information and a ton of other info that you simply can not find anywhere else.
So why do we need technology like reverse phone number lookup?
There are simply millions of reasons why we need it, for example, a lot of people are harassed each day with prank calls. By using reverse phone number lookup stopping these calls is a walk in the park. Some of these calls can be nothing more then a couple of bored teenagers having a bit of fun, but prank calls can also be a sign of something much more sinister.