Do the Free Reverse Phone Look ups?

I'm looking for a free online reverse search portal. Where should I go?

You should consider places such as the free internet phone books (yellow pages and 411 directories). Simply go to Google and search for keywords such as 411 look up.

How reliable are those directories in terms of the information that they provide?

If you are looking for a simple land line telephone number then you should be able to find it inside a free reverse phone search directory, but if you're looking for cell phone numbers and unlisted numbers you probably will not find it there. The service is free so in terms of quality there is not much that we can ask for and should be grateful for what we can salvage.

Why is it so easy to find land lines?

Landlines are provided by the main telephone registrar who lets pretty much anyone gain access to their database. Lately its becoming stricter, but in broader terms, it is still pretty much the same deal.

Why are cell phone and un-listed numbers so hard to trace?

The main reason for that is the level of effort that it takes to assemble the telephone numbers that are not found in the main registrar (namely the cellular and the unlisted numbers). The main registrar doesnt have the cell phones for several one or more reasons listed below.

Telemarketing issues

If a group of telemarketers gets a hold of your number you might end up paying for the unnecessary talk time that they put you through. This is why many phone carriers try to keep the cell phone numbers away from the public view. If you one day discover that it's your phone carrier that's been giving away your number to peddlers you might end up confronting them about it and it's not in their interest.

Unsolicited SMS messages

Unfortunately spam is not only bound to your inbox. In Asian countries for example SMS spam is a growing concern. If your plan requires you to pay for every incoming SMS, spammers might cause you some substantial financial problems.

Are there any good places that allow you to perform reverse cellular look ups online?

There are a number of different places that offer these services. Their web-sites should specifically indicate that they have access to the information that you need and have a preview search function that will tell you if the given phone number can be located in the database.