Track Down the Origin of Any 800 Number

You may have received a call from an 800 number you don't recognize, or maybe you wrote down an 800 number, and now you don't remember where it came from so you want to find out who that 800 number belongs to. The web can help you do that with several different search methods you can try.

Go to Google.com and type in the 800 number with hyphens in the search field. For example, if you type in the number 800-872-2657, the first search result tells you it's a number for U.S. Bank. This is the fastest way to find out who owns an 800 number, but they aren't all listed there.

There are plenty of 800 number directories out there. Here are a couple of the most useful directories:

• 800 Notes: This 800 number directory is a free reverse phone number lookup database that is built by users just like you who get calls from 800 numbers and then log comments about those particular numbers.
• TollFreeNumber.org: Paste the 800 number you are looking for in the field on this Online Toll-Free Number Directory. The site is a little slow to load, but if you are patient, you'll see results.
• Pipl: Pipl is the world's largest people search engine. If you have a number, Pipl can likely find the person who owns it.

Try a social networking search engine such as Social Searcher or Google Social Search, either of which performs searches on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and other social media sites. Many businesses publish their 800 numbers on their social networking profiles. Social networking search engines that search across several different sites can track down this information for you easily if the owner has listed it anywhere.