A phone number isn’t always tied to a physical SIM card. Many calls and text messages come from Internet-based VoIP services or temporary burner phone numbers. Businesses often use VoIP numbers to handle calls over the internet. Burner numbers are temporary phone numbers used for privacy, online marketplaces, dating apps, and other situations where someone doesn’t want to share their primary contact information.
Although these numbers have many legitimate uses, they can also make it difficult to identify unknown callers. If you’re trying to find out who’s behind a suspicious call or text message, several lookup tools can give you some information. In this guide, we’ll review some of the best tools to trace VoIP and burner numbers for personal use.
Things to Know Before Trying to Trace Secret Phone Numbers
Tracing a VoIP or burner number is more challenging than identifying a traditional mobile number. Many virtual numbers are created through online services, and some burner numbers are designed to be used temporarily before being discarded.
This doesn’t mean they are impossible to investigate, though. Depending on the service behind the number and the information associated with it, a phone lookup tool can reveal some details: carrier, location, number type, social media profiles, public records, and other data that’s publicly available.
Before trying any too, it’s important to keep your expectations realistic. No lookup service will ever guarantee to give you the identity of every caller, especially if a burner number was anonymously created and used for a short period of time. The best tools can help you by gathering information from multiple sources and presenting it in a report.
Best Tools to Trace VoIP and Burner Phone Numbers
1. Findsio
When you’re dealing with an unfamiliar phone number, the first step is to find out if there’s any publicly available information associated with it. Findsio is a trusted service for reverse number lookup. You can enter the phone number, and the tool will help you find all publicly available databases for it. If there are any names or linked online profiles, you’ll see them.
Findsio has pretty cool features helpful for personal phone number lookups:
- Reverse phone number searches
- Identification of available information linked to a number
- Support for investigating unknown callers
- Simple search process designed for everyday users
A weekly trial costs $1, and you can get the Premium plan for $14.90/week after that. The trial period is very useful if you’re trying to learn more about an occasional unfamiliar caller, a potential marketplace buyer, or a secret phone number that keeps showing up on your device.
2. Truecaller
Truecaller relies on its large user community to identify callers and flag suspicious activity. It’s best for caller identification and spam detection. This is an app you install on your phone, and it acts as a comprehensive Caller ID and spam blocker. It’s very helpful when you get calls from VoIP numbers that have already been reported by other users. It won’t always give you detailed background information, but it helps you determine if a number is associated with telemarketing or spam.
These are its main features:
- Real-time caller identification
- Warnings for spam and scam calls
- Community-powered reporting system
You can try Truecaller for free, but if you want to get rid of the ads, the Premium plan costs $9.99/month.
3. BeenVerified
This tool has a broader functionality than simple phone lookup. You can look for information that may be connected with the phone number through publicly available records and online sources. If a simple caller ID result isn’t enough, this is the tool to use. It can reveal if the secret phone number is connected to a real individual or verify information provided by a new contact.
These are its main features:
- Reverse phone lookup
- Access to public records
- People search functionality
- Mobile app
The monthly membership of BeenVerified costs $36.89, which may be a bit too much if you’re trying to research a single caller.
4. Spokeo
This is another popular people-search platform, which lets you search for information connected to phone numbers, names, email addresses, and physical addresses. Its database combines information from several publicly available sources. Spokeo works well for cross-referencing phone numbers with online profiles. In some cases, it may uncover online profiles associated with a number, making it easier to see if the caller is legit. For users who investigate burner phone numbers, this context can show details that wouldn’t appear in a basic caller ID app.
This is what the Spoke subscription gets you:
- Reverse phone number searches
- People, email, and address lookups
- Aggregation of publicly available information
A 7-day trial costs $0.95, and the subscription plans start from $19.95/month.
5. Burner Premium Number Lookup
Burner is known as a service that provides temporary phone numbers for privacy-conscious users. Its Premium Number Lookup feature lets you gather information about unknown callers, so you can decide whether to answer, ignore, or block an unknown caller.
These are the main features you get with a premium subscription:
- Number lookup
- Caller screening tools
- Integration with Burner’s temporary phone number service
Burner Premium costs from $3.99 to $14.99 per month. The tool is relevant for users who frequently interact with virtual and temporary phone numbers. It’s not a traditional people-search platform, but it can give you some info about unfamiliar callers and reduce the risk of responding to spam.
Make Sense of VoIP and Burner Numbers
Tracing these unknown numbers isn’t always easy, especially if they were created for temporary users. There’s no such tool that can identify every caller. However, the tools in this guide can help you get available information, screen unknown callers, and make an informed decision about who you’re communicating with. If you want to prevent scammers from calling, your best chance is to follow the Federal Trade Commission’s guidance on unwanted calls.
