The reverse lookup is a simple service that requires very little effort on your part. The first thing you want to do is find the person who is calling you from an unrecognized cell phone number.
You will not find information on these when you use reverse white pages, as these listings are for landline numbers only. A reverse cell phone directory makes it easier to search for a name using just the number, which could be a landline, cell phone and even an unlisted number. This is only if a number is provided to you from the phone owner and it is included in to the reverse database.
Although your first defense for this kind of problem is to report the calls to the authorities, knowing who the caller is, will help you report more information about the caller. After running a free preliminary search to make sure they have the records, you can choose either a one time lookup, or a membership that gives you unlimited searches. All of the different cell service providers would contribute their numbers, and the numbers would be made available.
I hope I've shown that online residential phone number search programs will be easier to use than the normal paper phone directory, that they are just as trustworthy and might even provide more information than the local directory. The whole process of signing up with paid services is simple and the search is effortless.