2024-09-15 12:56:33
Unknown caller
How to find out the owner of a cell phone number
Updated on 15.09.2024 – 14:18Reading time: 4 min.
A missed call from an unknown number? Use these tricks to find out who called you without having to call back.
When an unknown number appears on your smartphone, you’re usually very curious. Was it the nice acquaintance you met at the last party – or a less exciting contact?
Find cell phone numbers with reverse phone search
This can sometimes be found out using the so-called reverse search, for example using the reverse search at DasTelefonbuch.de. Here you can enter cell phone numbers and landline numbers to find out the name of the owner. However, this only works if the connection owner has agreed to the entry in the reverse search.
Alternatively, you can also perform a reverse search using an app. The free app from “Das Örtliche Telefonbuch” is ideal for this. The application is available for iOS and Android.
- Download the app and install it on your smartphone.
- When you open the app, the input field “Who or what are you looking for?” appears on the home screen.
- If you tap on it, the standard search will open. In the field to the right you will find the “Reverse search” tab.
- Here you simply enter the mobile or landline number whose owner you want to find out. If the number is stored, the owner will now be displayed.
However, the chances of success when doing a reverse cell phone number search are rather slim, as only a few are listed in the phone book. If you haven’t had any luck this way, you might be able to use Google to find the answer.
Find out the owner of a mobile number with Google
There are a few things to keep in mind when searching via Google.
- Enter the landline or mobile number into Google.
- Make sure you put the number in quotation marks – for example, “0170 123456789”. This way, Google will only search for this specific sequence of numbers.
- With a bit of luck, the search engine will spit out a company to which you can assign the number.
Alternatively, you can search for the number on portals such as “Tellows”. In these databases, in which numerous numbers are stored, you can, for example, check whether other users have already complained about advertising calls.
The mailbox can also help you find out who owns the cell phone. You can listen to the cell phone owner’s message if you dial directly to their mailbox. To do this, you have to insert two specific digits between the area code and the phone number, depending on your provider.
Remember that the person you are calling will see your call even if you don’t leave a message on the voicemail. You may therefore want to suppress your phone number for this call. Read here how to do this on your smartphone.
| Provider | Phone prefix | Code |
|---|---|---|
| Deutsche Telekom | 01511, 01512, 01514, 01515, 01516, 01517, 0151, 0160, 0170, 0171, 0175 | -13- |
| Vodafone | 01520, 01522, 01523, 01525, 01526, 01529, 0162, 0172, 0173, 0174 | -50- |
| O2 | 01573, 01575, 01577, 01578, 01579, 01590, 0163, 0176, 0177, 0178, 0179 | -33- |
- For example, if the displayed phone number is “0170-123456789”, the area code 0170 shows that the phone number was assigned by Deutsche Telekom.
- Their mailbox code is 13, so you have to insert 13 between the area code 0170 and the number 123456789 – so you dial “0170-13-123456789”.
- The codes remain valid even if you change provider.
By the way: If the area code of your own phone number belongs to a different mobile operator than that shown in the table, this may be due to a previous number portability. If a customer takes their phone number to another provider, they will of course also keep the area code.
Hide phone number
With a practical key combination, you can suppress your own phone number for a call on any smartphone. Open the dial pad/number pad on your smartphone. Enter the key combination #31# and add the phone number you want to dial. Your call will be shown as unknown on the called party’s display.
A search via the messenger service WhatsApp can also be very promising.
- To do this, you must save the unknown number in the address book of your smartphone.
- Then open WhatsApp and tap the icon to compose a new message.
- In the address book that opens, select the unknown number. The chat window then opens.
- In this window you can then read a matching name for the number if the person is logged in to WhatsApp and has given a name there.
This trick doesn’t just work with WhatsApp. Users also enter their phone number on other messengers or social networks like Facebook, Twitter or TikTok to verify their account.
For example, if you have provided a number for your TikTok account, you should remember that other users can of course also find you. If you do not want this, you can deactivate a corresponding option in the privacy settings.
- Use the reverse phone book search on the Internet or via app.
- Try to find phone numbers via Google or portals like “Tellows”.
- Call the caller’s mailbox directly to listen to their voicemail message and find out their name. To do this, add the following digits to the phone number after the area code: 13 for Deutsche Telekom, 50 for Vodafone and 33 for O2.
- Use the WhatsApp trick: Save the unknown number in your address book and view the contact information for the number in WhatsApp.
If a repeated call is stalking, harassment or even a threat, you should definitely contact the police and ask them to find the caller for you as quickly as possible in order to finally put a stop to the harassment.