Checking the connection: how to find out who is calling from an unknown number — Internet to help

Experts note that there are several ways on the Internet to find out who is calling from an unfamiliar number. Here are the main methods:

Search through search engines:

• Sometimes a phone number may be linked to advertisements, social media profiles, or mentioned in reviews, which can help identify who is calling.

Online services for checking numbers:

There are many sites where users leave reviews about phone numbers. Some of the popular services:

• Sptk.info (Russia) — allows you to view information about numbers that called other users.
• WhoCallsMe.com is an international site where users share information about numbers.
• Tellows.ru is a database of numbers with comments about calls from spammers, scammers and advertising companies.

Smartphone applications:

• There are mobile apps that automatically identify the caller’s number on your phone screen based on number databases.

Social media:

• Sometimes users link their numbers to profiles, and this can help identify the caller.

Telecom operators:

• If the call seems suspicious, you can contact your mobile operator to check. Some operators provide anti-spam services and can tell you if the number is suspicious.

Fraudulent databases:

If you suspect that the call is fraudulent, you can check the number through specialized sites that collect data about numbers used in fraud:

• Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) — they have a database of numbers associated with illegal advertising and fraud.

These methods allow you to quickly and conveniently obtain information about an unknown number and avoid potential threats or spam.

Any phones — “in the palm of your hand” or…

Using the above methods helps to find out information only about those numbers that have already been previously registered in databases, discussed on forums or appeared in public sources (for example, advertisements, social networks, reviews of scammers). However, there are important limitations:

Public and private numbers:

• public numbers (companies, advertising services, spam calls, scam numbers) can be easily found through search engines or applications. They often end up in databases due to user complaints.
• private numbers (personal phones that do not participate in public services) are usually not displayed in such databases unless their owners have registered the number in public services, participated in social networks or published it on the Internet.

Applications:

• these applications can show how the number is saved in other contacts, but this only works for those users who themselves use these applications and have given access to their contacts. This does not guarantee that any number can be found, especially if it belongs to a person who is not included in the general databases.

Privacy and Laws:

• Legislation in different countries protects the confidentiality of personal data. In some regions, accessing information about a number’s owner without their consent may violate the law.
• Using illegal methods (such as accessing private databases or using hacking tools) is illegal and can lead to serious legal consequences.

Paid services and operators:

• There are paid services that offer information about phone numbers, but they work legally only with public data. They also do not have full access to personal data (owner’s name, address), unless there are official grounds for the request (for example, from law enforcement agencies).

Thus, “punching through” is completely any the phone will not work, especially if its owner cares about his privacy. Open methods provide information only about numbers that have already appeared in some way in public databases or applications.

Relevance of information:

• Data from hotel review databases may be out of date. For example, the same number can pass to a new owner, but information on the Internet will remain about the previous one.
• In call recognition apps, data can be more up-to-date because it is updated as users add numbers to their contacts.

Probability of errors:

• numbers may be incorrectly entered into databases as spammers or scammers. In reviews on websites, users can leave subjective comments that are not always reliable.
• Applications may misidentify a number or show incorrect information if it is stored under the wrong name by a large number of users.

Approximate probabilities of obtaining reliable information:

• corporate numbers: 80-90% (high probability of obtaining accurate data).
• numbers of spammers and scammers: 60-80% (lots of data available, but there is a chance for errors).
• private numbers: 20-40% (unlikely to get specific information about the owner).

In other words, the probability of obtaining reliable information through such methods is higher for public numbers, but for private numbers it is noticeably lower.