| You may see what are called reverse phone lookups | | | | directories for landlines have been around for a long |
| (also known by some as 'grey pages') all over the | | | | time, and searching in reverse has not been a |
| Internet. These can come in handy when you want | | | | problem through these public means. However, you |
| to know the origin of a caller that refuses to say | | | | can not use this for cell numbers, as they are |
| who they are or what they want. These are like the | | | | protected, at the moment, from public listing and |
| forward search in which you would enter a name to | | | | disclosure through the traditional white pages. |
| get a number, but you use the number to get a | | | | The legality of cell and unlisted number searches |
| name. They are legal in some places, but it does | | | | depends on where the information is coming from. If |
| depend upon where you live. | | | | someone were to buy a listing of cell numbers from |
| In Australia, the reverse phone lookup is essentially | | | | an unscrupulous employee of a cell service provider, |
| illegal. The large phone company Telstra took steps | | | | those would technically be illegal to have and |
| to ensure consumer privacy by going up against web | | | | distribute. However, many of these reverse cell |
| sites and software companies that attempted to | | | | searches have gotten their numbers from public |
| offer reverse lookup to citizens of Australia. Those | | | | sources. That means they have searched and found |
| that operate within Australia have been shut down, | | | | them where others do not have the time to look, |
| but some operate from a different country. They | | | | but could find on their own if they tried hard enough. |
| are still illegal, however. The United Kingdom also has | | | | If you live where the reverse lookup is legal, go |
| no reverse directories available. | | | | ahead and use one if you are having a problem with |
| In the United States, things are a bit different. A | | | | a number. You may find that more and more calls are |
| reverse phone lookup for listed landline numbers is | | | | left anonymous, and a reverse phone lookup may be |
| available on the Internet. There you can use the | | | | the only way to get someone to stop harassing you. |
| search for a name or for a phone number. Public | | | | |