Scientist say that 66 million years ago, a killer asteroid smashed into the Earth and gouged a crater hundreds of feet deep and more than 115 miles wide. The event set off a chain of global catastrophes. Seas boiled, mountains were flattened. And alas, 80 percent of all life on Earth went extinct—including the landline.

Actually, 50 percent of all Americans still own a landline. And so do many companies. The fact is that a landline can lead to a cell phone.  If you find their business info, often you’ll see a cell phone number beneath it.

So landlines are not to be scoffed at! But I ain’t skipping cell phones. So put on your big boy pants and let’s get started!

1. Free Phone Directories (Landlines Only)
Free phone directories are great for reaching retired people. So if you’re selling snake oil, reverse mortgages or hearing aids, you’re in luck! But the free phone directories won’t list cell phones.

To find younger people, use these as a means to an end. Be sure to Google every piece of info you get. Even old info. Googling an old address or phone number could pull up where they work, a cell # or their current address.

2. Age Relative Lookups Plus Phone #s (Sometimes Cell Phones but mostly Landlines)
The Age Lookup sites list anyone 18 and over. You can use them to get their landlines and their addresses. Sometimes wireless or cell phone numbers are also included. Critical is that you can also find out where they’ve worked or went to school. From there, Google them with their school or company name, or do a search for them on the company website. This could lead to their private cell phone #s.

3. Googling Everything (For Both Cell Phones & Landlines)
In the course of your search you’ll often get their middle initial, full middle name, prior addresses and educational history. Google everything.

Here are some examples of how to Search:

Tiffany Jones “United Lex”  (Company)
“Tiffany R Jones” (Middle initial)
Tiffany Jones “United Lex” Atlanta  (Company & City)
Tiffany Jones 678-587-9228 (old landline)
“Tiffany Jones” “1 glenlake parkway” (address with phrases in “”)

See also how to Google for an exact phrase using quotes and also how to Google Phone Numbers and Addresses for even more leads.

See also How To Google To Find Phone #s (Lifewire)

4. Reverse Lookup Everything! (For Both Cell Phones & Landlines)
Photos, emails, websites, addresses, user names and even old phone numbers. Any of these can dig up a current work or cell phone number. Put it all into the reverse search engines and see what comes up!

5. Verify Everything!
So you found a few phone numbers for your college ex boyfriend. Great! But are they still his? And can you text him? If it’s a landline or VoIP line, don’t even try! So what to you do now?

The obvious answer is to CALL HIM. But maybe you’re shy. Or there’s a valid business reason not to tip your hand so fast. For example: say you’re a lawyer and just want to know you’ve got the right number. If you call him now, you could spook him. Not everyone wants a lawyer on their tail!

That’s where OKcaller and  Spydialer come in. Both allow you to see who owns a landline or a cell phone number. OK Caller is best for this, but use both to play it safe.

Then use Spydialer to hear their voicemail without them knowing who called. Spydialer will also reveal if it’s a landline or VoIP.  If the Hear Voicemail button is grayed out and unusable, it’s not a cell phone. So don’t bother texting them! See also Reverse Phone # Lookups.

6. Phone #s Through Your LinkedIn Contacts (Includes Cell #s)
Yes! Did you know that often you can get the phone numbers of people in your immediate contact list? Just click on your contact. Then click on See Contact Info to the right. And wallah! Out pops their email address and often a phone #! Didn’t get  find their phone #? Then do a reverse lookup on their email, address or web address. Or, search the company website. See below for Phone #s From Where They Work.

7. Phone #s Through Their Occupation, License Or Certification
If they’re a lawyer, doctor, teacher or insurance agent, it’s usually easy to find their updated home or work phone number. To search the contact information for lawyers, doctors, bankers, pilots, CPAs, teachers and more, see Their Profession/License Or Certifications. 

Sometimes these professionals have their own practice. If they own a small company, all the better. Companies often have websites. And those that don’t have at least reserved a domain name. See below how this too can be used to get phone numbers!

8. Phone #s Through Their Domain Names & Websites
What if you could push a button and get their phone number from from all the websites they own? And what if you could do it with just their first and last name? Or the name of their company? You wouldn’t even have to know their web address! Well stop dreaming. Your prince has come!

Every respectable blog will tell you about doing a WhoIs domain lookup. All you have to do is enter their website address into the WhoIs search engine. (For example, you’d look up consumer-sos.com but without the http or www). At that point, you can see their contact information, including their phone number. The exception is if they paid to keep it private.

But there’s a catch. Normally people won’t tell you, “Hi, I’m Bill Jones and did you know I have domain names at www….” So often you’ll have no clue if they have a website or not.

But there’s a new kid on the block. It’s a Reverse WhoIs that pulls up other people’s URLs. This includes active websites and domain names they’ve reserved but never used.

And it does so with just their first and last name! Actually, you don’t even need a full name! It works with rare first names, or their full name, or an email address, or just by the name of the company they own. So you don’t have to know much. Any one of these will do.  And once you learn their domain names, it’s off to WhoIs for their phone number!

Why Should I Care About Their Websites?
Several reasons. You want their phone number right? And you’re not picky how you get it. So when you find a live website, look for their phone number on the homepage. Often you’ll see it at “Contact Us” “Contact” or “About.” Also, a real live website is more apt to have a current contact number.

Of course, not everyone has a website. Still, there are plenty of people who reserve a domain name, even if they never use it.

As mentioned earlier, you can do a WhoIs lookup on any of the active domains you find. Be sure to Google the expired domains as these won’t be in WhoIs. Google is like flypaper. It holds on to an everything, including the phone numbers of long dead domain names.

9. Phone #s From Where They Work
OK. Suppose you know that Jim Mcdonough works at Heninger Garrison Davis. The first stop is to go to the firm’s homepage and see if they list his contact info.

But what if it isn’t there? And suppose the firm doesn’t have a search engine where you could look for him? In that case, use Google to search for the phone number within the company’s website. And don’t forget to put in key words likely to return contact info.

For instance: You could Google within site for his first and last name along with the word Contact. For example: jim mcdonough contact site:hgdlawfirm.com. When you list the website you must leave out the http or www.

Some websites will block Google search within site. But don’t you fret. Try the same search without a search within site. For example you could simply Google Jim Mcdonough Heninger Garrison Davis. Often the number will be in news articles, marketing posts or on other pages floating around in cyberspace.

How To Find Where They Work
The easiest ways to search are on Google, LinkedIn, Facebook or the Age/Employment lookup sites. The latter grabs the data from Linkedin, and you don’t need a LinkedIn account to see it.

You could also look up the company they own. And from there do a reverse WhoIs for their domain names. At that point, just plug these domain names back into a regular WhoIs for any phone numbers you can find.

Note that many professionals must list their firm and phone number with their licensing board. So you may be able to find their personal or business number through their Profession/License Or Certifications.

10. Phone #s Through Companies They Own (Reserved Business Names)
You’d be surprised how many people “own” their own company. Own could mean a real company with a real product or service. But more often it means they simply paid $100 to reserve a  business name.  Yes it’s technically an INC or LLC, but it doesn’t do anything. Not that you care. You just want to look up their registration information or use it to find their phone number elsewhere.

So check the secretary of states offices where they could be an officer, agent or owner of a company. Do a separate search for each if allowed. It may be they’re just an agent.

Not sure what state to look in? Then search nationally for companies they may own, and then go back to the state of incorporation to hunt for phone numbers. A phone number could be listed in the articles of incorporation or in other corporate filings.

Can’t find one? Then plug the company name back into a reverse WhoIs for a cell phone # that’s buried within their domain name records. Perhaps now you can see why the reverse WhosIs is so useful!

For more on companies, see below.

Private Corporations (Consumer-SOS)
Search by individual or their company. You can search within a state or nationwide to find company and then look up contact info where the company is located.

11. Phone #s Through Their Trademarks (TM Owner Lookup)
If you find a trademark owner, you can often get their phone # as well. The USPTO Trademark Database allows you to search for their trademark or the name of the trademark owner.

Choose a “basic search” and in the “Search Term” box, enter the person’s name or their trademark. In the “Field” box, be sure to use the drop down to select “Combined Word Mark” or “Owner Name & Address.”

When you’re on the page of their trademark, click on the TSDR button which is on the top left. At that point you’ll see owner and attorney contact information.

Although I filed my trademark without an attorney, my phone number was still found on the link to “Attorney/Correspondence Information“.  But to be safe, you’ll also want to check “Current Owner(s) Information.”

12. Phone #s Through Social Media
I’m told this works. Rumor has it that some people still list phone numbers on Facebook. You can also do a name search on sites that get their data from social media. For example, some name, age lookups collects data which may include age, addresses, education, profession and phone numbers. You can also use it for reverse lookups based on username, email or phone #s.

See also FIND THEIR CELL PHONE NUMBER