An Internet Protocol address, usually called an IP address, is a unique numerical label given by a network provider that helps you connect to the internet.
It enables the network provider to identify your computer, mobile devices, and other devices used when surfing the internet.
Much information can be tracked and extracted from your IP address, including your device’s location, what you are browsing on, where your data is really going, and the route by which it gets to the desired destination.
Let’s discuss how to find a mobile number using just an IP address.
How do IP Addresses Work?
Your IP address provided by your service provider is a string of numbers that are separated by periods.
IP addresses are mathematically produced and assigned to users by the division of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), called the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA).
They are not random; instead, they are unique.
IP addresses work like other programming languages using set guidelines to pass information when communicating with any website or platform.
With this protocol, devices find information, send them or exchange them with other connected devices.
Speaking the same language allows all computers and devices in different locations to communicate with one another.
For your device to connect to the internet, it first connects to a network connected to the internet. This device grants your device access to the internet, meaning your device connects to the internet indirectly and not directly.
The network your device connects to before connecting to the internet is your Internet Service Provider (ISP).
Your Internet Service Provider (ISP) assigns your IP address to you, and all internet activities you engage in go through the ISP.
Uses of IP address
IP addresses can be used for many activities on the internet. It is with the IP address that many government agencies can monitor criminals and their actions online and also trace their location to get them apprehended.
The government, your Internet Service Providers, and even the websites you visit can use IP addresses to control web contents and place geo-location restrictions on them.
Your IP address can also be used to find out other personal information about you, such as the recipient of the data you are processing, your current location, and even bank details if your device is hacked.
Your IP address is easy to get, making it easy for eavesdroppers and intruders to gain access to your personal information.
With IP addresses, Cybercriminals can easily perpetrate criminal activities online and cart away internet users’ resources.
The fact that IP addresses can be easily gotten is dangerous because if your data falls into the wrong hands, you will be exposed to cyberattacks which could cost you dearly.
For this reason, many internet users result in using VPN (Virtual Private Network) or proxy services when surfing the Internet to ensure that their data is safe and they stay entirely anonymous.
Although using your actual IP address can expose you to a lot of vulnerabilities, it can also be helpful for you in cases where you need to extract information about other Internet users.
One of such uses is to find the mobile number attached to a particular IP address.
Reasons for Finding Mobile Numbers with IP addresses
There are several reasons why you would want to find the phone number of another user through their IP address (IP address to phone number).
Many eCommerce websites and other platforms track the phone numbers of people that visit their websites from their IP addresses to send adverts and provide better product recommendations.
Some other people who receive inappropriate or spam calls and messages from unknown phone numbers may also want to track the location of the caller or sender.
If you are not familiar with how IP addresses work, you may not know that it’s possible to trace someone’s phone number using their IP address; however, this is possible.
In fact, just as your IP address can also be gotten from your phone number, your phone number can be obtained from your IP address.
The reason for this is that the phone number you use is assigned to you by your network service provider, and also your IP address is assigned by a network service provider.
Both your phone number and your IP address are connected to each other at the point of registration for the service.
If you are looking to find the phone number linked to an IP address of interest, there are several ways to go about it.
How Mobile Phone Numbers and IP Address are Linked
IP addresses are designed in a way that makes them unique and allows web service providers to communicate, enforce access rights, and geo-targeting with internet users by having an idea of their location.
When your device visits any website, the ready information that can be gotten are the IP address and your Internet Service Provider’s name and organization.
Other personal information like your phone number can’t be revealed, as the only services with access to your phone number are the services that provide them.
However, these services sometimes display such information publicly, making it possible for people to find your phone number.
How to Find Mobile Number Using IP Address
When connecting to the internet, you do this with an Internet Protocol address (IP address) assigned to your computer or mobile device by your Internet Service Provider (ISP).
Every IP address assigned by your ISP is unique, and with this, your location is even discovered, making the internet not anonymous as one would think.
This makes the Internet seem to be faceless, as you are as identifiable on the internet as you are in the real world.
There are several ways to get the IP address of an internet user. You can either choose to use software and other tools like IP grabbers, use the command line in some cases, or get the user to send you emails or give you a call.
However, getting the user’s phone number is not easy even when you have the IP address, as you can’t directly extract it from the IP address.
To get a user’s phone number from an IP address, you may need to use specialized web tools.
There are many providers of such tools that claim to seamlessly and efficiently help people find the contact details of any given IP address.
However, such tools are mostly only practical for web server IP addresses. They don’t work on regular IP addresses assigned to individuals by network providers.
Using social engineering tools could be termed illegal, as it bypasses the security systems set up by Internet Service providers to protect their customers and bridges the privacy policy of these network providers.
Some tools that can be used to find phone numbers on the internet from IP addresses include the following.
Planetsoldner.com
Update: this website no longer exists.
Planetsoldner.com is a social engineering tool that can be used to find a person’s phone number by using an IP address.
This social engineering tool is a cell-tower locator that uses the user’s location area code and cellid or bid /sid/nid to find out the location of the user’s nearby cell phone towers.
First, the user’s location is found with the IP address, and then the location is used to search for the user’s phone number.
Each base station used by Planetsoldner.com covers a particular area; therefore, the more cell towers are in the user’s area, the more accurate the result will be.
Codebeautify.org
Codebeautify.org is another social generating tool that helps to generate IP to phone numbers from any provided IP Address.
It works by decoding the phone number attached to an IP address through some systematic protocol. It is fun to use and said to be secure.
Getting the Phone Number from the ISP
Internet Service Providers are the ones responsible for assigning IP addresses to internet users; therefore, they also have the contact details of their customers, such as their mobile number.
However, it is illegal for these Internet Service Providers to give out their customers’ details because of privacy policies.
They, therefore, put several security protocols in place to ensure that their customers’ details are protected.
This privacy policy also makes it difficult for you to go to the Internet Service Providers straight and ask for the person’s phone number using their IP address.
The only way to find a mobile number using an IP address from Internet Service Providers is by engaging the weapon of the law.
For example, if you are being threatened or bullied on the internet and you have the user’s IP address, you can get authorization from the police and a court order.
With this, you can request the person’s phone number from their Internet Service Providers, and it will be granted.
Conclusion
From the above information, it is evident that getting a user’s phone number legally through their IP address is not easy.
You will need to get permission from the authorities before any Internet Service Providers can provide you with such information.
To also get this information, you have to present a strong case; if not, your request for a court and authorization from the police will be declined.
If you wish to bypass the law and your Internet Service Provider, the best bet is for you to use the social engineering method tools listed above.
However, note that many of these social engineering tools are unsafe and could expose you to more risk.
