There are millions of amazing things about modern technology, but there are also lots of frustrating things. For every way that technology improves our lives, it seems to make it more difficult, awkward or annoying. One of the most frustrating things to deal with is to do with telephones. When you receive a call from an unknown number, and they don’t leave a message, you’re left wondering who it was. Is it important, and if so why didn’t they record a voicemail or call you back? Should you call back, or will it end up being a scam that you should have ignored? It can be especially annoying when the number is from a cell phone because you can’t look it up in the phonebook. Next time you receive a missed call from an unknown number, use these techniques to find out who it was.

Just Call Back

One way to find out who was calling is to dial the number. However, you might not want to risk this. Some calls come from expensive premium networks, and you could end up with your phone company charging you so that you can find out why cold callers was trying to contact you. If you do decide to ring the number, you can just explain that you’ve received calls from them and ask them who they are and what they want.

Use a Search Engine

If someone has posted the number on a website, you can find it by using a search engine, such as Google. You may discover that it’s on a business site, on someone’s contact information page. Alternatively, your search might bring up results from sites where people can post about scam calls. You can read people’s entries if they have received calls from the same number and can tell you who it is.

Search Through Records

You can also search through public records of phone numbers, but only if the call didn’t come from a mobile. If someone called you from their landline, or perhaps a public phone, you can try to trace it. If you didn’t identify the exact identity of the called from the White Pages or a similar service, you might find the area code. This code can help you narrow down where the person is calling from, and narrow down who it might be. For example, area code 713 phone numbers are from Houston, Texas and some surrounding places.

Use Paid Services

If your investigations don’t turn up any results, you could use a paid service to find out the number. However, you may only want to do this if you think that finding out is imperative. You can use a company that seeks information for you, but you should be very careful that you don’t use anyone that could scam you out of your money. Look for positive reviews of the company before using them, to ensure that they’re safe.