Do you need to find someone’s phone number but don’t have it? You can try tracking down the number online and also find the person behind it. Here’s how.
Find people’s phone numbers
The traditional paper phone directory has been missing for years. People are more often reachable only by mobile phone and may be less willing to share their number. Finding someone’s phone number is increasingly difficult, and you have to look for it online. In this Android tip, you can read where to find phone numbers online and also how to retrieve (anonymous) numbers.
Online Telephone Directory
The disappearance of the physical paper telephone directory has not stopped the directory itself. At the website Telefoongids.nl, you can still find telephone numbers throughout the Netherlands. You can visit the website and fill out the name and city of the person whose number you want. Then a list of results will appear.
Click on the yellow button with the handset to show the telephone number. You can then call this number directly and the address will also be included. This is handy if you want to send a gift package or are visiting.
View the Facebook profile
Many people link their telephone number when creating a social media profile, for example on Facebook. Some users post this number publicly on their profiles. Therefore, surf to Facebook, log in to your account and go to the profile of the person you want to call.
Here you will see, provided the person has enabled this, the heading ‘Intro’, with the personal details. If the person has his or her number publicly available, you will find it here.
If these methods do not work, then you will have to find the number via a mutual contact, for example, send a WhatsApp message to a mutual friend. In any case, you will not easily find the number online.
Find out who owns an (anonymous) telephone number
Maybe you have a caller’s phone number, but you don’t know who it is from. For example, if you receive a call from a number that you have not saved, or if the number is private. You can use the internet to find out who is calling you by following these steps.
Add to WhatsApp
The easiest way to find out who is calling you is to add the number to your contacts and then open WhatsApp. The profile linked to this number will then appear in the app. Suddenly, in addition to just a number, you also have the profile photo, status, and perhaps even a name at your disposal.
If this method does not bring clarity, then you can do a search on Google. Find the number you’re looking for in quotes and view the results. You may see on websites that the number bothers people more often or it turns out to be someone you know.
Report it to your provider
If you are consistently receiving calls from an anonymous number, report this to your provider. They can see who called you and when, even with anonymous numbers. If an anonymous number calls you more than ten times, the provider can then contact this caller or block his or her number. Read our extensive tip article to find out how to register with which providers.