{"id":28947,"date":"2025-12-18T09:23:51","date_gmt":"2025-12-18T17:23:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/?p=28947"},"modified":"2025-12-17T09:34:42","modified_gmt":"2025-12-17T17:34:42","slug":"most-popular-articles-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/most-popular-articles-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Your 10 Favorite Compass Reads of 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Whew, 2025 sure was\u2026a year. We discovered oxygen in a distant galaxy, Kendrick took out Drake on live TV at Super Bowl LIX, Wicked <\/em>merch was inescapable, and AI went from kind of niche to completely mainstream. And through it all, Spokeo was here. Our Compass<\/a> blog covered everything from scams (including lots of AI scams, no Wicked <\/em>scams, though) to online etiquette to tech history to baby names.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You might say we posted through it. Of course, that includes dozens of articles, but if you need the TLDR, grab a warm bevvie and tuck in to 10 of our absolute favorites from the Big 2025. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

1. How to Find Out Who\u2019s Behind a \u201cNo Caller ID\u201d<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Look, if you\u2019re millennial-aged or younger, you\u2019re probably running from actual phone calls anyway. And if \u201cNo Caller ID\u201d pops up? No shot. But if it\u2019s not explicitly marked as spam and you\u2019re still a little curious, this article gives you no less than five options for tracking down your mystery caller.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"man<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

2. How to Pull off a Catfish Search Like the MTV Pros<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re dealing with a stinky catfish, you could cast your reel blindly into scam rivers, or you could pull from real, accessible methods (including Spokeo people searches!) used by pros from MTV\u2019s Catfish<\/em>, like co-host Max Joseph and co-creator Nev Schulman. Plus, we drop some juicy Catfish <\/em>history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"woman<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

3. Too Good to Be True: Publishers Clearing House Scams<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You know what? It\u2019s an oldie but a goodie, and Compass is inclusive \u2013 we\u2019re an all-ages blog. Publishers Clearing House has been ticking since the 1950s, and it seems like the scams associated with it have been around for just as long. Here\u2019s how to (finally) make these iconic grifts a thing of the past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"mystery<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

4. How to Find Out Who a Phone Number Belongs To, for Free<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Look, finding a whole lot of info on people you\u2019re curious about by using just a tiny bit of info to search is kind of Spokeo\u2019s whole thing. This lays out some tried and true old-school methods, but doesn\u2019t take long to get to the heat, guiding you through the process of a Spokeo Reverse Phone Lookup<\/a>, step by step.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"man<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

5. Who is This Number Registered To?\u00a0 How to Find Out Quickly<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

OK, so How to Find Out Who a Phone Number Belongs To<\/em> hooked you up with some solid info on your mystery digits. But we need to go deeper. This post does just that \u2013 follow it down the rabbit hole, and you might even end up with your mystery caller\u2019s social profiles, criminal record, age, gender, and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"who<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

6. Who Are My Neighbors? Getting to Know the People Around You<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s curiosity, and there\u2019s safety. And this article is where the two meet. To assuage that curiosity and ease your mind, we talk you through some people-searching deep cuts you may have never thought of \u2014 public records, National Sex Offender sites, the National Center for State Courts \u2014 as well as a (much easier) Spokeo Reverse Address Search<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"2FA<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

7. 6 Smishing Scams to Watch Out for in 2025<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019ve ever read the Compass, you know one thing for sure: a scam hates to see us coming. Covering bogus delivery messages, toll scams, 2FA rackets, IRS-related smishing, and more, this article guides you through the best of the worst in 2025 \u2014 and teaches you how to stay safe from them, in any year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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8. Our Emails, Ourselves: What the Histo<\/a>r<\/a>y of Email Reveals About Us\u00a0<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Of course, we\u2019re not all scams and searches at the Compass. Here, we take a deep, fascinating, and often funny dive into the very human history of email (the thing people used to use before Slack and iMessage), from ARPANET in the early 1970s and the Yahoo and AOL addresses of the \u201890s to Gmail in 2004, and way beyond. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"how<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

9. Watch Out for These 7 Cash App Scams<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In 2025, Cash App had more than 57 million monthly active users, generating $3.88 billion<\/a> in revenue in Q1 of the year alone. With those numbers, you\u2019re just going to get some scams. Good thing we have your back with seven of the most widespread Cash App scams of the year, and how to protect yourself from every one of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"how<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

10. How to Delete or Deactivate Facebook (and What\u2019s the Difference?)<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Facebook\u2019s coolness cachet has been on the decline for a few years, so if you\u2019re finally ready to stop scrolling through AI bot p<\/a>o<\/a>sts<\/a> and your friend\u2019s mom\u2019s weird selfies, we\u2019ve broken down the difference between deleting and deactivating Facebook and how to do both.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a freelance writer, small business owner, and consultant with more than a decade of experience, Dan has been fortunate enough to collaborate with leading brands including Microsoft, Fortune, Verizon, Discover, Office Depot, The Motley Fool, and more. He currently resides in Dallas, TX.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

SourcesBacklinko – Cash App Statistics: How Many People Use Cash App?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From the chaos to the pop-culture milestones, Spokeo posted through 2025. TLDR? 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