Most people who have tried it would agree that conducting an international phone number look up is a very difficult and time consuming process. Many countries have different laws and regulations about reverse phone directories and who can access and use them. These directories are what you use to look up phone numbers and find out who they belong to. In fact, in some countries reverse phone directories are illegal. Here are some pointers to help you get started.

1. Start by doing basic searches on search engines online.

Search using the local search engines for the country that the number you want to look up is registered in. Popular search engines such as Google, Yahoo, and MSN have local versions in many countries. You can also just search from the main search engine home page such as Google.com, Yahoo.com or MSN.com. If the international phone number you're looking for is available or posted on some website, then you'll be able to find the associated details that you're looking for. Some countries have some free phone lookup sites so use that if available.

2. Use an International phone number lookup company

There are a few of these companies online so if you look on any search engine you should be able to find one. The only disadvantage to using these services is that they are very expensive. Expect to pay upwards of $150 per search. Some of the companies don't even guarantee that they'll get you a result.

3. Private investigator

You can also hire a private investigator to do the phone number search for. They often have access to a lot of resources that you couldn't have access to if you decided to look on your own. Just look in your phone directory or your local business directory and you'll find a private investigator that may be able to conduct an international phone number lookup for you.

4. Use a Reverse Phone Directory for that country if available.

You can look up owners of phone numbers in most countries using a reverse phone number lookup directory. For most countries such as the US and Canada, there are many websites that offer services that you can use. This is probably the quickest and cheapest way to look up an international phone number. When choosing a reverse phone lookup directory look for a directory that is membership based. These are much cheaper than the ones that charge you for each search you conduct.

As you can see from the methods outlined above, there are different ways you can use to perform an international phone number lookup. Using a reverse phone directory where available is the fastest and quickest method to do it.