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Ask HN: How to find current phone numbers?

3 points by wrp ↗ HN
Even when I know the name and address of someone, it is nearly impossible to find their current phone number (in the USA). People search sites will give up to a dozen numbers for a particular name+address, but usually all of them are discontinued. If people don't maintain LinkedIn/Facebook/Twitter activity, how can you contact them?

5 comments

[ 3.2 ms ] story [ 20.7 ms ] thread
syndicatedjelly
At this point, social media is the wayto get ahold of people. Not having social media in 2023 is like not having a phone number in 1990
eminence32
Write them a letter and ask them :)
eesmith
The one time I tried that, it worked.
geepytee
How often do you have this problem? The easiest solution might be to mail them / show up at their door (startup idea?)
wrp
I often want to contact people about old research, but they have changed institutions or retired. I can usually find their most recent address, but no working phone number, and they usually have no social media presence.

It is ironic that the fallback method for cold-contacting people in the Internet age has to be snail mail.