Submitted by Mike Grenville on Fri, 07 Aug 2009 13:01

A text messaging service that enables users to identify unknown callers and text senders in the USA has been launched by WhitePages.

Although a basic form of caller ID is available on most mobile devices in the USA, it typically only presents the calling party number, not the name or location of the caller. The LOOKUP service from WhitePages shows the name and location of unknown numbers.

To find information on a number users send a text with the unknown number to LOOKUP (566-587). This instantly matches any unrecognized incoming call or text message to a database of over 600 million mobile and landline numbers. LOOKUP can be used either on a per use basis of $1.99 per match, or as a monthly subscription of $2.99 for unlimited matches.

WhitePages offers one-click access to more than 200 million adults and powers more than 2 billion searches on over 1,300 partner sites including Verizon, AOL, United States Postal Service, and MSN.

A similar service in the UK by 118 118 provoked such a deluge of people wanting to be removed from its database that the site was initially closed down.