How to Lookup Who Owns a Phone Number: What You Need to Know

Lily Evans - April 16, 2025

Knowing who owns a phone number can be the difference between speaking with a close friend or being on the wrong end of a scam call. In fact, millions of spam and scam calls are made each year in the United States alone.

While those numbers seem alarming on their own, it gets worse. Not only do you have to be on the lookout for scammers or spam calls, but you also have to be careful with robocalls and telemarketers, because they won’t stop calling until you answer the phone. 

The good news is that you don’t have to be at the mercy of your caller ID anymore. With tools like CheckPeople.com and the internet, you can find the owner of just about any phone number. Read on to learn more about how to look up who owns a phone number.

Is the Owner of a Phone Number a Public Record?

The owner of a phone number isn’t a public record. However, some tools can show you who the owner of a phone number is, and it’s completely legal to use them. Additionally, phone numbers owned and managed by businesses might be publicly available or available in catalogs that list phone numbers, such as Yellow Pages. 

It’s also important to note that government phone numbers tend to be public. Therefore, if you need to find the phone number of a government office or agency, you shouldn’t have any problems.

Why You Should Lookup Who Owns a Phone Number 

You need to look up who owns a phone number for a handful of reasons. The most obvious reason is to have a better idea of who’s on the other line. However, that’s only the tip of the iceberg. In fact, knowing who owns a phone number can prevent you from falling victim to scams, spam phone calls, and even robocalls.

Some other reasons to look for the owner of a phone number include:

• Learning more about callers 
• Verifying someone’s identity 
• Make sure someone isn’t catfishing you 
• Stopping telemarketers from calling you 
• Helps you block the right phone numbers
• Ensures that you don’t waste your time calling the wrong person 
• Prevents you from speaking to the wrong people, including scammers 
• Helps you learn more about businesses calling you 

These are only a few examples of why you should know who’s on the other line. While it’s nice to know who someone is, we always recommend verifying someone’s identity before providing sensitive information like your Social Security number (SSN) or banking information.

4 Ways to Lookup Who Owns a Phone Number 

When you want to find out who owns a phone number, you have a few options at your disposal. You can try Google, contact your service provider, or even hire a private investigator. While there are all great methods, we always recommend starting with a reverse phone lookup tool, like the one we offer at CheckPeople.com. 

That said, there is a time and a place for every method, so learn more about four ways to look up who owns a phone number below.

1. CheckPeople.com Phone Number Lookup Tool 

The best way to find out who owns a phone number is to use CheckPeople.com. At CheckPeople.com, we offer a convenient phone number lookup tool you can use to find out who owns a phone number. It’s a simple tool that’s easy to use, and all you have to do to get started is enter the phone number into our search tool. 

Once you enter the phone number, your job ends, and ours begins. We’ll run the phone number through millions of public records databases until we find a match, and once we do, we’ll compile a full report for you. Inside the full report, you’ll find everything you need to know about a phone number. This includes the carrier, who owns the phone number, and much more.

In fact, we can even help you verify a caller’s identity or ensure that you’re speaking with someone who has good intentions. This is because our phone lookup tool can reveal the following:

• When someone is born 
• Full name 
• Relatives 
• Criminal records 
• Sex offender status 
• Court records 
• Social media profiles
• Family members 
• Alternative phone numbers
• Addresses 

Depending on the phone number, you may find some or all of this information when you run a search with CheckPeople.com.

2. Google Search 

Google is a great tool, and you can use it to find out who owns a phone number. We like using Google to find phone numbers because you can enter the number right into the search bar and see what Google comes up with. If you prefer a different search engine, don’t worry; you can use your preferred search engine. For example, you can use Bing, Firefox, or any other search engine you prefer.

This method tends to work the best if you’re searching for information about businesses – businesses are more likely to post their phone number online, so it is likely to be the first search result. 

Still, you can get lucky if you’re looking for an individual as well. However, you may need to take more action on your end to find a person. Essentially, you need to run an advanced Google search and add more information to the query to narrow the search engine’s results. If you have some type of caller ID from the phone number, you can add their location, name, or other details to the search bar to find the owner of a phone number.

3. Social Media 

Social media is a great tool you can leverage to find the owner of a phone number. This is more hit-or-miss based on the platform, so make sure you keep this in mind before you start checking. That said, some social media platforms allow you to connect with people by syncing your contacts or searching for their phone numbers. You’ll have the most luck on Snapchat, Facebook, and LinkedIn compared to other social media websites.

While checking social media is effective, it doesn’t always work, especially if someone doesn’t have their phone number attached to their account. In these cases, you’re better off using a reverse phone lookup tool or checking out other social methods like Google Search.

You can also try to search for them on social media based on evidence you get from the phone call. For example, you can try and search for them if they leave a name or company in a voice message. You can also run the caller ID you see through a social media platform’s search tool to find what you’re looking for. This doesn’t work every time, but it can be worth it to try.

4. Private Investigator 

When you’re starting to run low on options, you can bring a private investigator (PI) into the mix. A private investigator is a great choice because they tend to have access to more resources than most people due to their previous employment with law enforcement agencies.

Working with a private investigator is also easier than searching for this information alone. This is because you can give them the phone number and have them learn more about it for you. While it may cost you $50 to $100 per hour, private investigators tend to be more efficient than running Google searches or trying to get ahold of their phone provider.

We also recommend going this route if you’re trying to catch a cheating spouse because they might know more about how to connect that phone number to your spouse, friends, or any other potential suspects.

Can You Find Out Who Owns an Unknown Phone Number?

Yes, you can absolutely find out who owns a private number. You may have to add an extra step or use a slightly different method, but it’s possible. To find out who owns a private number, follow the steps below.

1. Contact your phone provider, or the authorities, or use a vertical service code to obtain the phone number.
2. Enter the phone number into our reverse phone lookup tool 
3. Open the full report to identify the owner and additional details about the caller 

If you can’t seem to find their number this way, you can work with authorities (if you believe you’re in danger) or do your best to trace an unknown phone number, which we can also help you with.

Find the Owner of a Phone Number Today 

Finding out who owns a phone number is important. Not only can it help you identify a caller, but it can also keep you safe from dealing with scammers, spammers, and other malicious actors. 

The good news is that you don’t have to rely solely on caller ID anymore. Today, you can use any number of tools to find out the owner of a phone number. We always recommend starting with our phone lookup tool, Google, social media, and even hiring a PI, which are all viable options you can use to find someone’s phone number.

If you’re ever dealing with an unknown phone number or someone who’s purposely hiding that caller ID, however, you might have to contact your phone provider or the authorities to discover the phone number.