Tens of thousands of searches are performed every month by individuals who want to trace cell phone numbers. They do so for a variety of reasons and some of them could be outlined as follows.

* Mostly to check on a cheating spouse.
* To track a friend or a family member one has lost contact with.
* To keep an eye on who the kids are calling and bonding with etc

There are mainly 3 options a person would attempt to uncover a mystery caller. But like in any other case not all these methods are practical nor advisable. These 3 methods and their aftermath are given below.

Hiring a Private Investigator:

1. Cost up to $200 or more and they charge for every hour they work for you!
2. Take days or even weeks to trace a single number.
3. They're human beings and you're sharing personal info

The Public Domain e.g. The White Pages

1. They only consist of Land phone numbers.
2. Wireless numbers are unlisted thus not available through such public directories.
3. There are Privacy Acts protecting wireless phone subscriber information

Reverse Cellphone Lookup Directories:

1. These are private databases available online for any individual to access.
2. Information gathered by various means are fed into these databases and are constantly updated.
3. Searches provide highly accurate results within seconds.
4. These can be accessed from the comforts of your home using your PC and Internet.
5. It protects your privacy since YOU do all the tracing.
6. Gives you a wide range of information on the subscriber including his/her Average income, family details and home value.
7. In short this is the BEST method available to trace a cellular number!

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 Some databases are just too small while some are outdated and therefore inaccurate.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. If you are looking to do a reverse cell phone lookup.