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The National Consumer Law Center reported that more than 33 million scam robocalls are made to American telephones daily. That’s over a billion scam calls per month. Phone scam attempts are very common and are sometimes even intentionally allowed by providers because they can profit off of the calls if you answer.
Because of this, it’s important to learn some key indicators of a scam call so you are able to protect yourself from digital fraud without missing real calls. One easy way to quickly identify if a call is likely spam is to look at the area code: the first three digits of the number.
Scammers more commonly use certain area codes, so if you can recognize those, you can avoid more spam calls and decrease your risk of getting scammed.
What Are Different Types of Scam Calls?
There are a variety of strategies and techniques robocallers and scammers will use to try to get you to answer the phone and/or stay on the line and talk to them. Usually these callers are trying their best to appear like a real number and possibly a real business or person to gain your trust.
Whether they explicitly ask you for personal information or make money simply when you stay on the line, the best way to avoid this type of fraud is to not answer the call in the first place. Remember, nothing bad can happen to your number, and the scammer and provider don’t make any money unless you answer the call.
If you can identify scam techniques along with suspicious area codes, you’ll have a much easier time filtering spam from real calls.
Telemarketers
Probably the most well known type of spam call is a telemarketer. Telemarketers will call you trying to sell goods or services or ask for donations. A telemarketer is actually a legitimate job and the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that over 81,000 Americans were employed as telemarketers in 2023 with an average hourly wage of $17.64 in 2023.
While telemarketers may be selling legitimate products and representing legitimate companies, there’s no doubt these calls are still annoying. Most people will want to avoid unsolicited calls no matter what the content of the call is.
Telemarketers may use a variety of area codes including international codes as well as legit-looking local numbers to gain your trust and increase the likelihood of you answering the call.
They’ve also been known to use toll-free area codes, which include:
- 800
- 833
- 844
- 855
- 866
- 877
- 888
The One-Ring Call
This type of robocall technique involves the caller hanging up on the recipient after only one ring. The idea is that the call piques your interest, and you call back in hopes you haven’t missed something important.
Once you’ve called back, if the area code is international, you will be connected to an international number and can be charged for that call. The longer you talk to them, the more that charge goes up.
Because this scam technique relies on you calling the number back, you will almost always see a number that looks like a US number. American numbers are 10 digits, separated into groups of three, three, and four.
But numbers from Caribbean island nations follow the same format. So you may think the number is American, but it immediately starts charging you an international call fee once you’re on the line. If your phone plan does include free international calls, you may be spared from these fees but it’s still a good idea to avoid speaking to scammers.
Traffic Pumping
Often rural area codes will be used for a fraud tactic called traffic pumping. This is when a local phone carrier charges high rates for consumers or other telephone companies to use their network partners with another company with high call volumes.
The high-volume call company brings extra traffic to that local provider, who in turn makes a high profit off the increased number of calls. It’s a more complicated operation than most spam calls, but the key takeaway is that both companies share the profits by manipulating the flow of call traffic.
Here are some example rural area codes that have been known to participate in this scheme are:
- 218 - Northern Minnesota
- 712 - Western Iowa
The Federal Trade Commission has also reported variations of traffic pumping in which voicemails left after the call urge you to call back to claim a prize or check in on a sick family member.
Organization Scams
There are a lot of scammers who will pretend to be a legitimate company or organization. They use a reputable name to gain your trust and hope you believe that they’re the actual company. If you think you’re on the phone with your bank, you’re much more likely to reveal personal information they can use later.
A common phone scam that uses this technique is IRS scams. Because taxes are stressful and people are worried about getting them wrong, you will be much more likely to pay attention to a caller claiming to be from the IRS than you would an average telemarketer. They might ask you to pay a fake tax bill over the phone, in which case they would then have access to your credit card information.
Other callers may pose as banks, technology or phone companies, government agencies, doctor’s offices, and more. Unfortunately, in this case, the sky’s the limit on who a caller can impersonate.
Other Scams
Here’s a list of other common scam calls:
- Charity scams: callers pose as a real charity and ask for donations
- Debt collectors: callers pose as debt collectors and ask you to pay back a fake debt
- Lottery/prize schemes: callers claim you’ve won the lottery or a prize such as a fancy car, but they ask you to pay to receive your reward
- Free trial scams: callers invite you to participate in a free trial but then bill you after
- Travel scams: callers promise free or cheap vacations but pocket your down payment (and there’s no real vacation)
What Area Codes are Usually Spam?
The average American citizen typically doesn’t receive an influx of genuine calls from international numbers on the regular. So, one way to identify that a call might be spam is if the area code is not a US code.
Other times, scammers use US codes, so it’s a good idea to let any unknown call go to voicemail and then search the number to determine if it’s legitimate. By identifying which area codes are commonly used in scam attempts, you can more easily know which calls are likely fraudulent and which ones may be worth picking up or calling back.
You always want to exercise caution when answering an unknown number, but you also don’t want to miss an important call from your doctor or insurance company.
Caribbean Island Area Codes
Upon first glance, an incoming call from the Caribbean will look like a domestic American call. That’s why identifying area codes comes in handy. Remember that it’s always a good idea to let an unknown call go to voicemail and then assess later if the caller is legitimate.
Here are some common Caribbean area codes used by scammers:
- 268 - Antigua and Barbuda
- 242 - Bahamas
- 246 - Barbados
- 441 - Bermuda
- 284 and 809 - British Virgin Islands
- 345 - Cayman Islands
- 767 - Commonwealth of Dominica
- 809, 829, and 849 - Dominican Republic
- 473 - Grenada (including Carriacou and Petite Martinique)
- 876 - Jamaica
- 664 - Montserrat
- 721 - Sint Maarten
- 869 - St. Kitts and Nevis
- 758 - St. Lucia
- 784 - St. Vincent and Grenadines
- 868 - Trinidad and Tobago
- 649 - Turks and Caicos
American Area Codes
American area codes can also be used by scammers, particularly for one-ring scams, telemarketers, and traffic pumping. While not always fraudulent, these area codes have been identified as commonly used by scammers:
- 216 - Cleveland, OH
- 469 - Dallas, TX
- 657 - La Palma, CA
- 646 - Manhattan, NY
- 332 and 347 - New York City, NY
- 218 - Northern Minnesota
- 712 - Western Iowa
International Area Codes
Scammers may call you from anywhere in the world, but the most common area code to avoid is 232 from Sierra Leone. Some countries also have different phone number formats, so the area code may come after a country code.
How To Deal With Spam Calls
Learning which area codes you should not answer is the first step to safely dealing with spam calls.
Here are six ways you can minimize your exposure to scammers and protect yourself from fraud:
1. Never Answer Unknown Numbers
Unless you know you’re expecting a call from a specific company or person at a specific time and the area code matches their location, the safest practice is to never pick up a call from an unknown number. Scammers can’t scam you if you don’t answer.
2. Look Up the Number and Area Code
Almost all calls will allow you to see the number that called you. From there, you can look up the area code and determine if you typically interact with businesses/people in that area. You can also check if that code is on the list of common area codes used for spam numbers.
If you want to go further, you can look up the whole number on a reverse phone lookup site and figure out who called you.
3. Check Your Voicemails
If someone really needs to contact you, they will likely leave a voicemail or text detailing the nature and urgency of their call. By reading the message, you’ll be able to determine if the caller is a real person or if it’s a spam call.
To aid in this process, it’s a good idea to save all companies/people you routinely communicate with in your contacts so their names show up, which eliminates confusion.
4. Block and Report Suspicious Numbers
On any smartphone, you can block and report numbers as junk if they seem like obvious spam calls. This will keep a record of the fraudulent nature of that number and prevent them from calling you again. In the event that someone is spamming you and calling very frequently, this is also a good way to make sure they can’t reach you with that number again.
5. Join the National Do Not Call Registry
The National Do Not Call Registry is a government program that allows you to register your phone number on a list that prevents common telemarketers from contacting you. You may still receive other spam calls, but you can report them on the website to continue to prevent spammers from calling you.
6. Use a Second Phone Number
By using a second phone number app, you can help limit the number of people who have access to your main number. The decreased exposure will help lower the number of robocallers, spammers, scammers, and telemarketers who can easily find your number online.
Second phone number apps like Burner phone also come with built-in spam blockers to cut down on the number of scammers you have to deal with. Try Burner today to see how a second number can help you organize your contacts and minimize spam.
7. Use Common Sense
If something feels off, it probably is. Legitimate companies will not aggressively try to get you to buy something or pressure you to pay over the phone.
If you recognize this behavior, read a voicemail transcription with information that doesn’t add up, or get a call from Antarctica when you’ve spent your whole life in Ohio, trust your gut. It’s probably spam. And never ever give out personal information over the phone unless you’re 110% sure the company is legit.
Area Codes You Should Not Answer: The Bottom Line
You should automatically be cautious if you get an unexpected unknown call from an out-of-state area code. If you aren’t expecting calls from anyone who lives in the area code that called you, you should be cautious. And especially if you check the area code and see that it’s on the list of area codes, you should not answer and definitely shouldn’t respond or call back.
Remember that most scammers will use US or Caribbean area codes to appear familiar and safe to you. But by letting unknown calls go unanswered, keeping track of your essential contacts to ensure you don’t miss anything important, and never revealing personal information over the phone, you will be okay.
Sources:
Traffic Pumping | Federal Communications Commission
Do not answer calls from these area codes
Scam Robocolls Exec Summary | NCLC
Avoid Answering Calls from These Area Codes: Scam Phone Numbers Guide
