There are free services on the internet that will allow you to acquire the email address of anyone, provided that you know some of his details, particularly his first and last name. These are called email search or email lookup. However, there may come a time when only have an email address of a person and no other details to help you find him/her. How will you know who the owner of this email address is?



Reverse email lookup is the answer to this. As the term suggests, it is the opposite of the traditional email search in the sense that instead of entering the first and last name to find out the email address, you will have to enter the email address to find the name and other details of a person. The amount and type of information you will get depends on how comprehensive the database is and on the type of reverse email lookup service you are using.

Some are asking if it is allowed by law to search people by email address through this reverse email lookup services. The answer is yes. Reverse email search services are perfectly legal. Therefore, you need not worry yourself thinking that you will be traced by the authorities or by the person you are tracking down.

The ability to search people by email address is useful in many ways. First, it will allow you to identify the sender/s of emails from unknown sources, specifically spam emails, and other unsolicited emails including those with attachments infected with viruses.

Second, if you do not know much about the recipient of the email address and wants to find out more about him, you will find reverse email lookup services useful. For example, you have a new boyfriend. Being hurt from your past relationships, you want to be more careful this time. By using a reverse email search, you can find out more about this guy, see what social networks he is registered in, and even get to see who his online friends are. If you are planning to buy a Prada bag from an eBay seller but you are unsure of the authenticity of the item, you might want to do a reverse email search and gather more information about this seller. These are just some of the countless examples.

There are many ways to search people by email address, but listed hereunder are some of the simplest yet most effective.

First, get an email address of your own and make sure to have it verified. If you already have one, then you need not create a new one. A verified email address will allow you to send and receive emails. This is important if you are trying to find out if a certain email address exists or is valid. Basically, you should create a random message and send it to the email address. If that address exists, then there should be no problem. If it does not, however, you will receive an error email notifying you that your message failed to be delivered.

If you are not after knowing the validity of an email address but of the information regarding its owner, you can use the search functionalities of social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. These sites allow you to search members by entering one or more details, one of which is the email address. You have to be a member too, though. If you are not a member, you can sign up for free and become one in just a few minutes.