What are Delaware County Area Codes?
An expanding population and the need to ease long-distance calling necessitated an upgrade of the old telephone numbering system. This led to the introduction of the North American Numbering Plan (NANP). The NANP segmented the entire country into different Numbering Plan Areas (NPAs) and assigned a unique area code to each NPA. Represented by three digits placed at the beginning of telephone numbers, area codes indicate where phone numbers were registered. Pennsylvania area codes are managed by the Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission (PUC), as directed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
The two area codes currently active in Delaware County are:
Area Code 610
The PUC activated the 610 area code in 1994. Delaware County and other nearby counties are served this area code. Delaware County communities under the 610 NPA include Media, Chester, Upper Darby, Lansdowne, Marple, Concord, and Edgmont.
Area Code 484
Area code 484 is a Pennsylvania telephone overlay code in the NANP. It was introduced in 1999 as an overlay on the 610 NPA.
What are the Best Cell Phone Plans in Delaware County?
A 2018 CDC survey estimated that 61.3% of American adults lived in wireless-only households. However, Pennsylvanians’ shift to wireless telephony has not been as rapid as in other states. Figures from the CDC report showed that less than half of Pennsylvania adults, 43.4%, resided in wireless-only homes. Adults in households that exclusively used landline made up 4.3% of the demographic.
Pennsylvania enjoys excellent cellular telephone coverage, with three out of the four major network operators covering over 90% of the state. AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile cover 95%, 93%, and 92.9% of the state respectively. Sprint’s 66% coverage lags the other telephone carriers but it has roaming agreements with them to share their networks in areas where its services are unavailable.
Alongside wireless telephony, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) has contributed immensely to the shift away from landlines. VoIP routes phone calls over the internet which allows certain benefits over traditional alternatives. For example, VoIP numbers are not restricted to single devices and area codes are not as binding as for landline and cellular phone numbers. This flexibility and the convenience of making VoIP calls on phones, computers, and tablets are directly responsible for the rapid and widespread adoption of VoIP telephony.
What are Delaware County Phone Scams?
These are phone scams involving fraudsters using telephony services (phone calls and text messages) to extort residents and steal their personal information. These fraudsters gain access to their targets, mostly by impersonating loved ones and government agencies. The Office of the Attorney General in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania identified common scams in the state in a resource guide for residents. Some of the established phone scams include:
What are Grandparent Scams?
Victims are called by fraudsters who claim to be their grandchildren or distant relatives, and in emergencies that require immediate financial assistance to resolve. The fraudsters usually claim emergencies such as being involved in car accidents and getting arrested by law enforcement. Never send money to persons over the phone without confirming their claims and identities. Verify the status of the loved one allegedly in distress from a trusted third party. Report a grandparent scam by submitting a consumer complaint to the Attorney General’s Office.
What are Government Agency Scams?
Fraudsters introduce themselves as government officials to commit these scams. They use the agencies’ authority to threaten residents with arrests if they do not make payments or provide personal information. The impersonators may also claim to be court officials or with the Attorney General’s Office and threaten arrests over missing jury duty and other court appearances. They may even claim to be police officers who can stop impending investigations if the targets pay them off.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is regularly used by scammers, claiming to be tax officials and demanding immediate payment for outstanding taxes. Being able to spoof the caller IDs of such government agencies aids scammers in passing themselves off as genuine. Report government agency scams by using the FTC online consumer complaint assistant.
What are Tech Support Scams?
Scammers commit tech support scams by using devious schemes to gain remote access to their targets’ computers. The fraudsters call targets and introduce themselves as representatives of large tech companies (usually Microsoft). They convince their targets that their computers have been infected with viruses and they require remote access to those computers to carry out repairs. While conducting their bogus repairs, the scammers can steal personal information or install malware to gain remote control of these computers. They will also charge their victims for the phony repairs.
Never grant remote access to your devices to unknown callers. Reputable tech companies, such as Microsoft, do not randomly contact customers about repairs. Call (717) 787-9707 to report tech support scams to the Attorney General’s Office or complete an online consumer complaint form.
What are Lottery or Sweepstakes Scams?
Lottery scams involve sending victims notifications of winnings in overseas lotteries or sweepstakes. The scammers deceive victims into paying some fees upfront before their winnings can be processed and redeemed. After making payments, victims get neither their expected prizes nor refunds of the upfront payments made. Report lottery scams to the Attorney General’s Office by completing an online consumer complaint form.
What are Investment Scams?
Investment scams try to lure Delaware County residents into financing phony business opportunities. Scammers present victims with enticing but fake business offers and get them to make investments. However, the scammers fail to deliver on their investment promises or simply disappear with their victims’ funds. Senior residents are primarily targeted by investment scams with the hopes of earning tangible returns that will ease their retirement.
Authorities warn Delaware County residents to always make necessary inquiries before investing in business offers. Contact the Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities by calling (800) 722-2657 to authenticate any investment offer. Report investment scams by using the FTC’s online consumer complaint assistant.
The anonymity provided by unknown phone numbers allows fraudsters to assume identities that can grant them access to their potential victims. Using reverse number lookups to investigate unfamiliar numbers may reveal strange callers’ identities and help prevent phone scams.
What are Robocalls and Spam Calls?
Robocalls are automated calls delivering pre-recorded messages to large numbers of people. Robocalls are legitimate telemarketing tools that got abused when scammers started using them to commit phone scams. Both government and private companies are trying to tackle the robocall menace. The Telemarketer Registration Act and the Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (TRACED) Act have been passed at state and federal levels. These laws prescribe strict guidelines within which robocalls must be made and recommend harsh punishments for violators.
Mobile phone manufacturers try to curb robocalls and spam calls by developing call filtering and call blocking features. Once these features are activated, phone users get notifications of suspected incoming spam calls. Network operators also offer call filtering and blocking functions, sometimes as premium paid services, to subscribers.
Take these steps to reduce robocall abuse:
- Do not pick calls from unknown numbers. Divert them to your voicemail and screen suspicious spam callers, usually those that do not leave messages.
- Set up a password for your voicemail to guard against hacking through spoofed numbers.
- End calls you mistakenly picked that turn out to be robocalls. Do not follow prompts delivered during robocalls as doing so will lead to more robocalls.
- Get the most suitable call blocking service offered by your network provider.
- Install and use third-party call blocking apps from your phone’s app store.
- Register on both the Pennsylvania Do Not Call List, and the National Do Not Call Registry. Legitimate telemarketers do not robocall numbers on these lists.
- Report robocall abuse to the Attorney General’s Office or the FTC.
How to Spot and Report Delaware County Phone Scams?
Not knowing what to look out for leads many residents to fall victim to phone scams. Authorities warn Delaware County residents to be wary of the following:
- Calls that offer business opportunities that require immediate financing. Scammers do not give their targets enough time to make necessary inquiries. Rather, they claim the opportunities offered are only valid for short amounts of time.
- Calls that claim prizes have been won, but redemption only occurs after making payments upfront. Free prizes should not attract extra costs. If you have to pay before receiving any prize, it is a scam.
- Calls from people claiming to be representatives of government agencies and threatening arrests, forfeitures, deportations, and closure of businesses over unpaid debts or taxes. Government agencies do not initially contact defaulters over phone calls and do not seek immediate payment.
- Unsolicited calls with payment requests via gift cards, prepaid debit cards, wire transfers, and other hard-to-tracing means of payments. Scammers prefer these payment methods because they are hard to trace or recover.
- Unsolicited calls from alleged government agencies or financial institutions requesting personal information. On no account should you share your personal information with any individual or institution over unsolicited calls. End calls with such requests and initiate contact with the agencies directly through verified phone numbers only.
Educating residents about the various types of phone scams helps prevent many more from becoming victims. The following agencies provide periodic scam alerts to Delaware County residents and also have channels to report phone scam incidents:
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) protects consumer interests. They provide guidelines that help residents identify common phone scams and avoid robocalls. The FTC manages the National Do Not Call Registry, which notifies legitimate telemarketers not to disturb you with robocalls if your phone number is on the register. Dialing 1 (888) 382-1222 from the number you want to get registered also gets you on the list. Report any phone scam incident to the FTC by using the online consumer complaint assistant.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) supervises the telecommunications industry. They provide Delaware County residents with resources on how to identify spoofing and activate call blocking. The FCC has mandated network operators to improve caller authentication to help eradicate caller ID spoofing. Report phone spoofing and other phone scams to the FCC by making complaints online.
The Attorney General’s Office in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania releases several consumer advisories and brochures that contain tips on scams. The Attorney General’s Office also manages Pennsylvania Do Not Call List, which reduces robocall abuse. Calling 1 (888) 777-3406 from the number you want on the list also gets the number registered. Delaware County residents can also sign up to receive regular scam alerts from the Attorney General’s Office. Report scams to the Attorney General’s Office online or call (800) 441-2555. Alternatively, send an email to the office to report incidents of scams.
The Delaware County Sheriff’s Office maintains law and order in the county. Residents can report scams to the Sheriff’s Office by calling (610) 891-4296.