With the proper resources, you can determine the place or location of a phone number based on the country code or area code of that particular phone number. Sometimes you can repeatedly receive phone calls from an unfamiliar number or location; whereas at other times, you may simply be curious about the origin of a phone number. To find a place based on its phone number, you can perform a search for it on the Internet, refer to a country code and area code map to determine a number's origin, or you can perform a reverse lookup search online or from your mobile device.

Steps

  1. 1
    Refer to a country code or area code map. These maps will provide a list of country codes and area codes for phone numbers in every country and region in the world.
    • Visit the Wikipedia link provided in the Sources section of this article to review a complete list of country codes.
    • Review the list to find the country code for the phone number you are researching. If you are researching a United States phone number, click on the link for "List of North American Numbering Plan area codes" within the "Zone 1" section to access a complete list of area codes within the United States.
    • Click directly on the link for the country code once you have located it to view more details about the phone numbers in that region; such as the name of the region, area codes within that region, and the number of digits for all phone numbers in that region.
    • If you do not have Internet access, visit a local library or bookstore in your area to locate a reference book that contains a country code or area code phone number map.
  2. 2
    Perform an Internet search for the phone number.
    • Go to any Internet search engine and perform a search just for the phone number you are researching. For example, if you are researching a phone number located in the United States, enter the number using a format similar to "555-555-5555."
    • Review the search results displayed to determine the origin or location of the phone number. For example, if the phone number you entered is a business, the name of the business may appear numerous times in the search results; especially if the business has submitted their information to various online phone number directories.
    • If your phone number does not readily appear in search results, try searching for various formats of the phone number to widen your search results. For example, eliminate dashes that separate the area code and prefix in the phone number.
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  3. 3
    Use a reverse lookup tool. A reverse lookup tool will prompt you for the telephone number, then provide you information about the place, business, or person the telephone number is registered to.
    • Visit any Internet search engine and type in keywords such as "phone number reverse lookup" to view a list of websites that provide reverse lookup services.
    • Locate the link or section on the website from which to access the reverse lookup tool. For example, you can visit the Yellow book website provided in the Sources section of this article and click on "Reverse Lookup" at the top of the session to begin using the tool.
    • Enter the phone number of the place you are trying to find, then review your search results.
    • If you have a mobile device or smartphone, visit your device's application marketplace and perform a search for "reverse lookup" apps that you can download to your device. Some apps may have an advanced caller ID service built into the app that allows you to see the place of the phone number calling you.
    • Some websites or mobile phone applications may charge you a fee to use their reverse lookup service.
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Community Q&A

  • Question
    How do I find the location with only a mobile number?
    Community Answer
    Community Answer
    Typically, the first 3 numbers of a telephone number tell you which state the person lives in. This will not hold true, however, if the person moved from one state to another and retained his original mobile number.
  • Question
    How can I locate the area code 407?
    Community Answer
    Community Answer
    Use Google. It's Orlando, Florida.
  • Question
    How do I find out where a person lives by his/her phone number?
    Community Answer
    Community Answer
    The best way is probably to Google the area code (first three numbers, often in parentheses). You'll rarely narrow it down closer than within a few counties, though, and it might just be that they got their phone in a different place than they live now.
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About This Article

wikiHow is a “wiki,” similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. To create this article, 11 people, some anonymous, worked to edit and improve it over time. This article has been viewed 53,934 times.
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Co-authors: 11
Updated: May 6, 2021
Views: 53,934
Categories: Telephone Numbers
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