Making and receiving calls has become one of the less popular ways of communicating. Mobile phones made landlines almost obsolete, and even those who owned them rarely used them. Therefore, most of the calls you receive are unwanted, usually from marketing campaigns. What’s worse, scam phone numbers are used every day to trick unsuspecting people into giving away their private information or money. There are 10 area codes you should never answer or call back because they are preferred by phone scammers. Otherwise, you may get into trouble.
14# The Calls Coming from Area Code 332 and 347
Both 332 and 347 are area codes coming from New York City. High alerts should be set to 332 and 347 since they top the list of FTC suspicious area codes. They are always reported to be scam calls. Sometimes the numbers are disguised with Amazon and sometimes with FedEx.
13# The Calls Coming from Area Code 268
The area code 268 comes from the Caribbean and it always works as one-ring scams that indicate the calls ringing one time and are quickly hung up. Most international calls are suspicious, which is especially true when you have no actual contact with foreign countries.
12# The Calls Coming from Area Code 232
According to FTC, one-ring calls may appear to be from phone numbers somewhere in the United States, including three initial digits that resemble U.S. area codes. But savvy scammers often use international numbers from regions that also begin with three-digit codes – for example, “232” goes to Sierra Leone, and “809” goes to the Dominican Republic. Scammers may also use spoofing techniques to further mask the number in your caller ID display. So, keep a high alert for area code 232.
11# The Calls Coming from Area Code 216
The area code 216 is used in the city of Cleveland, Ohio. This 216 area code is not a toll-free number but may possibly work as a VOIP number. After all, scam calls from VOIP numbers account for one-third of all scam calls, based on the latest weekly report by RealCall on scam calls. You should keep in mind that it’s IMPOSSIBLE to identify a scam call number unless you answer the call or even get frauded. The coming call numbers can be in disguise that they may fail to be correctly recognized. The area code 216 may come as robocalls, spam calls for telemarketing, or even scams. So, stay alert on area code 216!
10# The Calls Coming from Area Code 805
Area code 805 is an area code for California and covers Oxnard, Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks, San Buenaventura (Ventura), and Santa Maria. There have been many area code 805 scams reported by many users in the area. Recently, a scam that involves the 805 area code had been circulating in the form of the scammer pretending to be a member of the Social Security Administration saying that they were coordinating with the Santa Barbara Police Department, asking for personal information and money, and threatening arrest if not followed.
As the 805 area code covers large geography, you can also get scammers pretending to be IRS agents or bank officials claiming to be calling for debt restructuring. Therefore, everyone should stay vigilant against scams. If called up by a scammer, do not give any personal information, hang up and block immediately. To stay safe, do not answer calls from numbers unfamiliar to you. If you are constantly getting calls from area code 805 number, and you do not have any relationship with the call, it is recommended that you block the number. Otherwise, you may get into trouble.
9# The Calls Coming from Area Code 915
American area code 915 is a state of Texas area code for telephone numbers in the El Paso area. It is one of the original area codes established in October 1947. Originally, it covered the north-western part of the state, north of Austin and west of Fort Worth, and stretched from the Oklahoma border to the Mexican border.
It appears some scammers are calling from 915 area code telephone numbers. The scammers keep calling but they do not leave a message. The calls seem like a One-Ring scam where cybercriminals trick potential victims into calling premium-rate numbers by ringing their telephone numbers once, hoping they will see the missed call and call back. The money collected via the premium pay-per-minute services will be paid over to the scammers unless the scam is detected and shut down by the callers’ telephone service provider. The danger of these scams is not receiving the phone calls, but calling back the premium-rate telephone numbers.
8# The Calls Coming from Area Code 502
The area code 502 belongs to north-central Kentucky. The major cities and communities covered by the area code 502 in north-central Kentucky include the cities of Bardstown, Louisville, Frankfort, Fairdale, Georgetown, Hillview, Lawrenceburg, Mount Washington, Shelbyville, Shepherdsville, Turners Station, Union Star, Waddy, West Point, Westport, Worthville and all other cities and communities surrounding north-central Kentucky.
Scammers can use any area code at their own convenience. Although a number code is duly registered, they are still prone to scams. Anyone can be a victim of scams if he/she doesn’t exactly know the number that is flashing on your screen. Therefore, it’s better not to answer. Scammers use robot dialers so no one will know who they are and where they’re located. These perpetrators will try to extract your personal information, which might put your personal bank accounts at risk. So if unrecognized numbers keep bugging you, just leave it ringing or directly block the number.
7# The Calls Coming from Area Code 530
Area code 530 is a California area code. It covers northeastern Northern California. Most of the large cities covered by the 503 area code include Anderson, Auburn, Chico, Corning, Davis, Grass Valley, Live Oak, Marysville, Olivehurst, Orland, Oroville, Paradise, Placerville, Red Bluff, Redding, Shasta Lake, South Lake Tahoe, Susanville, Truckee, Willows, Winters, Woodland, Yreka, Yuba City and many other cities surrounding northeastern California.
Since telephone area code 530 covers a large number of users, there’s a great chance that scammers and fraud callers could also be using the 530 area code. There are also companies and businesses that are using area code 530, which is why area codes are somehow vulnerable to scammers. These scammers use some tricks to gain people’s trust and would make them stay on the line where it could charge you hefty bucks.
6# The Calls Coming from Area Code 626
The 626 area code includes eastern parts of Los Angeles County, including parts of Pasadena, Alhambra, El Monte, Covina, LaPuente, Baldwin Park, Azusa, Glendora, Monrovia, and Arcadia. The 626 area code is contained within the Los Angeles-Long Beach Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA).
Some online users have reported receiving phone scam calls from 626 area code telephone numbers, where the callers impersonate IRS agents and request money.
5# The Calls Coming from Area Code 315
Area code 315 was created to serve the west-central state of New York. This includes larger cities and communities of Syracuse, Aurora, Auburn, Watertown, Rome, Baldwinsville, Canton, Macedon, Ontario, Palmyra, Pompey, Seneca Falls, Marcellus, Sodus, Ilion, and Utica in addition to many smaller communities throughout the New York state.
Due to the proliferation of cell phones, area code 315 could be associated with scammers. Scams are very innovative nowadays. They use telephone fraud to lure people and make them give away their personal information.
Beware of these tricks.
They might put you and your account at risk. They might get hefty bucks from you without even your knowledge.
4# The Calls Coming from Area Codes 284, 809 and 876
Area codes 876, 809, 284, and 658 are the local telephone area codes of Jamaica. Area code 876 servers the country’s two mobile operators – Cable & Wireless/Liberty Global (marketed as FLOW Jamaica) and Digicel.
Seniors receive a call from an 876 area code, which is often mistaken for a toll-free number. Victims are congratulated for winning the Jamaican lottery or a new car and then are directed to send a fee of up to $4,000 to process the lottery winnings. Victims are told that once the fee is received, money will be wired to their bank account and the car will be delivered to their homes. Many times, the caller will tell the victim that a representative of the lottery is in the area and as soon as the processing fee is received, someone will deliver a check to their home. Scammers often use Google Earth to identify local landmarks and make the scam more believable.
3# The Calls Coming from Area Code 855
Like all other toll-free numbers, it is a non-geographic area code, meaning it doesn’t belong to any particular state. 855 calls can come from anywhere within the country and sometimes from abroad. An 855 call could come from any part of the United States. It could be from Philadelphia, Alabama, or Alaska. Unlike geographic area codes, toll-free numbers do not give us much information about where they are coming from.
Given today’s online conveniences, such as selecting and customizing your own number, there has been a rise in confidence scam tricks that lure people into thinking that a legitimate business is contacting them due to the toll-free area code being used. These scammers often pretend to be banks and businesses that fish out personal information from unsuspecting people. Scam calls can come from 855 numbers so it is optimal to confirm with an official government agency before picking up. Other times these scammers would pose as the IRS or Internal Revenue Service when in fact, they are not. Determined to get you to pay up, these people will threaten you with arrest if you refuse to provide them with your personal information and details on payment plans.
2# The Calls Coming from Area Code 833
833 is a code attached to all the phone numbers used in Canada and the United States. So automatically, it was generated in the same area. It is also a very common North American number. Many individuals and businesses use the 833 area code and others to easily register toll-free numbers. Scammers and spammers will robocall phone numbers and leave voicemails to ensnare targets. But they’ll also insert pop-ups or ads on websites onto devices and computers to lure would-be victims to call the numbers or send emails.
1# The Calls Coming from Area Code 561
Area code 561 is the telephone area code in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It was created on May 13, 1996, in a split from area code 407. Notable cities within 561 are Palm Beach, West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Wellington, Boynton Beach, Jupiter, Delray Beach, and Belle Glade. The scammers from 561 area code telephone numbers will claim they are from Geek Squad, calling about unemployment benefits, auto, and life insurance.
Bottom Line
This article mainly introduces several area codes that are often scams. When you see these calls, you can directly choose to hang up, because most of them are scams. If there are missed calls with these area codes, please ignore them and do not need to call them.