A phone number lookup or reverse phone search refers to the act of retrieving the registrant’s details for a number that called you. These details include the name of the registrant, their home or office address, and other pertinent details. Subscribers are required to provide these details when registering new numbers, and reverse phone lookups provide access to search and retrieve such information.
What are Colorado Phone Numbers?
Colorado phone numbers are the sequence of digits that identify telephone services in the state. Telephony services, driven by user preferences, have undergone massive changes over the last two decades. In 1996, landlines were used in 96% of households in the US, but by 2011 the rate of landline use among households had dropped to 71%. A 2018 CDC survey estimated only 3% of the homes in Colorado still used landlines alone for communication. 11.6% of households were using both landline and wireless phone services, while 61.4% were fully dependent on wireless services.
As of 2020, the four major phone carriers in the U.S., and Colorado, have the following market share percentages:
- AT&T: 39.9%
- Verizon: 29.2%
- T-Mobile: 16.4%
- Sprint: 13.3%
Another factor that prompted the drop in the use of traditional landlines was the rise in popularity of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services. Introduced in 1995, it took a while to gain traction, but by 2000, VoIP users contributed to at least 3% of America’s voice traffic. However, this number grew exponentially over the next two decades. By 2010, 34.2 million American individuals and businesses were using VoIP services, and by 2018, this number had risen to 118 million.
Can I Search a Phone Number and Find Out Who it Is?
Yes, you can. All individuals applying for telephone numbers must provide their names, residential or office addresses, and other contact details. This makes answering the question “who called me” simple, provided you know the phone number and have access to reverse phone lookup services. Retrieving the number that called you is straightforward if you have a Caller ID. With the number, you will be able to learn the name of the caller or their address. If you are looking to find a person’s phone number but only have their name, you can also perform a phone number lookup by name.
However, scammers have found ways to escape detection by reverse cell phone lookup applications. They cloak their numbers so that Caller ID cannot identify them or spoof their numbers, so Caller ID displays false numbers. Doing this makes it impossible to find details about them.
What are Phone Lookup Services?
Phone lookup services are means by which persons can find information about the owners of unfamiliar numbers. There are many reasons a person might need to perform a phone number search. You might have missed a call from an unfamiliar area code and want to find out who the caller is. You might find a piece of paper with an unfamiliar address scrawled on it, leading you to perform a phone number lookup by address. You can also use it to confirm the details of a suspicious caller, reducing the chances of getting caught in a scam.
However, scammers have figured out ways to remain hidden from phone lookup services. One way they do this is by spoofing their phone numbers using Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services. Because of this, you have to be even more cautious when answering calls from unfamiliar numbers and learn how to identify scam calls.
What Information Can You Get from a Colorado Phone Number Lookup Search?
All reverse phone lookup searches turn up the full names of individuals linked to the phone numbers submitted unless those numbers are unlisted or unassigned. Besides providing the name of the subject of a phone lookup search, you can also expect to find the following details:
- Address
- Age
- Gender
If the owner of the unknown number searched is an organization, the lookup search will return its full name and business address as well as contact information such as office phone number, fax number, website, or email address. Using reverse phone number search to look up businesses, charities, and even government agencies is useful for unmasking callers trying to impersonate these organizations.
While most phone lookup free services can provide the names, addresses, and other biodata of individuals linked to the numbers searched by users, paid services can provide additional information. Additional details available when using a paid phone lookup service include records gathered from a search subject’s social media account as well as public records. These details are useful for getting a clearer picture of a strange caller trying to contact you. You can see them to further investigate phone stalkers and callers suspected to be impersonating others and running phone scams.
What is a VoIP Number?
VoIP numbers are telephone numbers that are assigned to users but not attached to fixed phone lines or devices. They are used to facilitate internet telephony services. Before the advent of wireless technology, owning a telephone meant having a phone number that was assigned to fixed telephone equipment. With the rise of wireless technology and VoIP services, people and businesses now have access to VoIP numbers.
Because VoIP calls are transmitted over the internet, they have certain advantages over traditional phone calls, which are transmitted via copper wires and radio waves. These include improved portability, lower overall costs, higher efficiency rates, and increased control of the user experience. Once assigned a VoIP number, the owner can make or receive phone calls anywhere in the world with that same number. All that is required is a stable internet connection.
The downside of this is that phone scammers also have access to these benefits of VoIP calls and regularly use them for nefarious purposes. They are able to make scam calls using American phone numbers, regardless of where they are in the world. Phone number lookup services are not as efficient as VoIP numbers, as a single number can be linked to multiple user devices.
What is a Colorado Phone Number Area Code?
The Bell System, a coalition of telephone companies led by the Bell Phone Company, introduced the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) in 1947. The NANP facilitated the unified area code system, which enabled people in different regions to be able to make seamless calls to one another. It also accounted for the growing demand for new phone lines to accommodate a rapidly increasing population. Before then, telephones around the country ran by their own local numbering systems.
Today, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulates the activities of NANPA but allows each state to decide when new area codes are required. The NANP Administrator is in charge of allocation and numbering resources when and where required. Each area code defines a particular region in a state and facilitates the routing of calls to and from the region.
The Colorado Public Utilities Commission liaises with NANPA to ensure that existing area codes are sufficient for the demands of the people in each district. They also inform members of the public about any area code-related changes as they occur and are responsible for creating new Colorado area codes.
What is a Colorado Phone Number Prefix Code?
In the US, a phone number typically contains 10 digits. The first three digits make up the area code, while the next three digits are called the prefix code. The prefix code is followed by the line number - the last four digits in the phone number.
For example, looking at the phone number (720) 564-6441:
- 720 is the area code
- 564 is the prefix code
An American number can be extended by up to 3 digits if it is placing or receiving an international call. Those extra digits are called the international code. For instance, with the number +1(720) 564-6441
- 1 is the country code for the United States
- 720 is the area code
- 564 is the prefix code
Is There a Way to Lookup a Phone Number for Free in Colorado?
There are online services that permit users to perform phone number lookups free of charge. However, these free services provide limited results, and you can only retrieve complete information on a subject for a fee. It is possible to use multiple websites to gather information, but you will not be able to get all the details in one place for free. To get all the details, you will have to employ a paid reverse phone lookup service.
If you need to look up someone's number because you receive a lot of calls from them, you can block the number using call-blocking features offered by carriers or built into smartphones. If the number is linked to a telemarketer, consider adding your number to the national Do Not Call Registry and Colorado's Do Not Call List.
Is Reverse Phone Lookup Legal in Colorado?
Yes. Colorado residents can use reverse phone lookup in Colorado to research unknown callers. While there are no state laws discussing the legality of phone lookup services, Colorado recognizes the usefulness of these tools for residents and law enforcement trying to identify and locate strangers calling with unknown numbers. Colorado does not regulate reverse phone lookup search providers but expects them to operate within the limits of state and federal laws.
One of these expectations involves respecting the privacy of Colorado residents by not revealing confidential information without consent. Generally, reverse phone lookup services only produce search results containing records in the public domain. Therefore, they obey state and federal privacy laws. Individuals using phone number lookup searches to identify strangers must also do so without attempting to defraud or cause harm to those identified with this tool.
