What's the easiest way today to shop, read, watch movies, find out what's happening in another corner of the world, find answers to questions or problems or do anything at all? Yup, the internet.

And just like everything else that the internet can help you with, if you need to lookup an unknown mobile number, you can now have it traced online, in a matter of minutes.

It's like having a private detective do all the digging for you - the difference being that a detective would cost you a lot of $$ and time.

Why trace a cell number?

For many reasons. There are about 40-50 thousand people looking to trace telephone numbers, everyday, in the US alone. Why?

* When they suspect a loved one of being unfaithful and wish to find out who he/she is talking to
* To catch pesky crank callers
* Other reasons: To identify unknown numbers on the caller ID, to check who children are talking to, employers checking on employees etc.

How to pick the best service? - You'll find quite a number of online databases that would offer to lookup cellular numbers for you, but it's important to pick one with caution as you never know if the info you're being provided with is new or ancient. To get more accurate results,

* Pick a database with at least 215 million numbers - that's about 90% of mobile phones in the US and less chances of you not being able to trace that number
* Make sure the directory is one that's frequently updated - outdated data is inaccurate, that's the last thing you want to worry about

However, NOT all reverse cell phone directories are equally Accurate and Reliable. Some databases are just too small while some are outdated and therefore inaccurate. You must avoid such databases at any cost

The following website reviews the Top Two Online Databases as of July 2009 and lists the features that you should pay attention to when selecting a reliable and accurate reverse phone directory.