What are Erie County Area Codes?
An area code refers to the first three numbers that precede a telephone number in North America. Area codes, which are part of the North American Numbering Plan, were introduced in 1940 to unify the phone numbering schemes of different telephone operators in North America. An area code often refers to specific geographical regions in North America. The distribution of area codes in North America is handled by the North American Numbering Plan Administrator. In the State of Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commissions is responsible for all telecommunication-related concerns of the State.
Area code 814
Area code 814 is the only area code that is currently in service in Erie County. The area code was brought into service on the 1st of January 1947. All the twelve cities in Erie County are covered by this area code. Some of the County's major residential cities and communities served by this area code include the City of Erie, City of Corry, Township of Fairview, Waterford Boroughs, and Albion Borough.
Area Code 582
The Area Code 582 is an all-service overlay for the area code 814. The recently approved area code would come into service on the 1st of May 2021. Therefore, area codes would have to be included in all calls made in the State of Pennsylvania, as the State will have identical phone numbers for different phone users.
What are the Best Cell Phone Plans in Erie County?
Information deduced from a 2018 National Center of Health Statistics Survey showed a rise in the use of wireless phones by both adults and minors in the State of Pennsylvania. The survey indicated that about 43.3% of the adults in Pennsylvania used wireless cell phone services alone, while 4.3% of the adults used only landlines. It was also discovered that 21% of the adult population used both landlines and wireless phone services. The study also shows that among the minors below the age of 18 in Pennsylvania, about 52.5% used wireless cell phone services exclusively and only about 2.3% of them used landlines alone. A further 14% of minors used a combination of both wireless phone services and landlines.
Pennsylvania is home to numerous phone service providers. However, the top 4 phone service providers based on their coverage area rating in Pennsylvania include Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint. Each of these providers has coverage area ratings of 88%, 86%, 64%, and 48% respectively. These major wireless service providers also provide good data quality across Erie County and an above-average wireless coverage rating in comparison to other counties nationwide.
In general, Verizon offers the widest 4G coverage in the eastern region of the United States, providing about 95.3% 4G coverage throughout the State. In contrast, T-Mobile, AT&T, and Sprint have 4G regional coverage of 93%, 90.2%, 89.8% respectively. Most major operators in the state are set to deploy 5G wireless services in the state. 5G wireless services have improved data transfer speed. This would provide better infrastructure for running current telephony services, such as Voice over Internet Protocol.
Due to its flexibility, affordability, reliability for long and long-distance calls, VoIP services are gaining increasing popularity amongst many homes and businesses in Erie County. As such, many private telephony companies currently offer VoIP services within the County at very competitive rates.
What are Erie County Phone Scams?
Erie County phone scams are phone calls made by fraudsters. They target Erie County residents with the goal to obtain their money, financial information, social security details, and other personal details to defraud them. The scams committed by these fraudsters often take the form of impersonation of legitimate government entities or fraudulent business propositions. To perpetrate these scams, fraudsters often spoof the caller ID of various legitimate business entities or government agencies. This makes it difficult for the average resident of Erie county to easily identify such scams. However reverse phone lookup and phone number lookup services come in handy for residents to identify callers.
Due to the increase in phone scams, the Erie County Sheriff’s Office and other County agencies consistently provide information on the scams being perpetrated in the County. They also give advice to citizens on how to avoid being victims of these phone scams.
What Are One-Ring Phone Scams?
In the one-ring phone scam, the scammer calls an Erie County resident’s phone number with an international number, but before the resident can answer the call, the caller hangs up the phone. The goal of this scam is to get the victim to call back and then keep them on the phone for as long as possible. If the resident does call back, they will incur the cost of the call and also an extra charge of about $2 - $7 per minute of the call. This extra charge will often show up in the resident’s next bill. The scammers often operate from countries with 3 digit calling codes so that their phone numbers appear to have originated from the United States. If the scam is successfully perpetrated, the victim is left with an expensive phone bill which the scammer would have profited from. Sometimes the scammer spoofs a caller ID in the county to make the call appear as if it originated from Erie County.
Tech Support Phone Scams
In the tech support scam, scammers pose as big-name tech companies and call residents of Erie County. During the calls, they scare the victims with claims of security breaches on their computers. They often claim that there might be some sort of system breach or new viruses that are stealing the victims’ confidential data from their computers. The scammers go as far as sending victims emails, pop-up messages, or links to software asking them to download certain software as it will help delete the virus. The goal of the scam is to get the victim to either pay for software or tech support services that they do not need. In some cases, the software they ask the residents to download could be bugs or trojan horses that give them backdoor access to the resident computer system.
What are COVID-19 Scams?
Covid-19 scams involve contact tracing scams or Covid-19 relief package scams. In contact tracing Covid-19 scam, the scammer calls the residents, posing as contact tracers. They inform victims that they might have come in contact with persons that have been infected with the coronavirus. They go further to request victims’ personal information, such as social security numbers and so on. County officials have informed residents of Erie County that local contact tracers will never request any information, other than the resident’s name, address, phone number, and date of birth.
In Covid-19 relief package phone scams, the scammers take advantage of the awaited Covid-19 relief payments from the government. The scammer then poses as officials to obtain personal information and bank account details from residents of Erie county. The scammer claims that these details are required to enable them to make direct payments into the residents’ bank account, for the relief packages.
What are Social Security Scams?
The social security scams involve the scammers contacting residents of Erie County, telling them that their social security numbers have been used to commit a crime or some sort of fraud. The crime or fraud could be either money laundering or drug trafficking. The scammers then advise the victims to make certain payments to avoid arrest and resolve the situation. Often, the scammers spoof the caller ID to show a genuine social security agency’s phone number. The Social Security Administration has advised residents that the administration would never call to request any sort of payment or private information. Residents of the county are advised to use reverse phone number lookup services to be able to identify who called.
What are Robocalls and Spam Calls?
Spam calls are unwanted, unsolicited calls that are made to individuals. Spam calls are very similar to robocalls but unlike robo calls that are sometimes solicited, spam calls are always unsolicited. Robocalls are often used by non-profit organizations, politicians, and marketers; robocalls use computerized auto dialers to call numbers at random to deliver pre-recorded messages. Robocalls are very beneficial to many organizations as they allow them to reach a large number of individuals in a very short time and with minimal effort. However, following the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (TCPA), there are several restrictions to the use of robocalls. These restrictions are in place to protect the interest and privacy of phone users. The act only permits unsolicited robocalls for market research, polling, or calls made on behalf of tax-exempt nonprofits, any other type of robocall must require the consent of the phone owner.
Robocalls are used to disseminate information to a large number of people in a short time. However, scammers have found a way to exploit these robocalls, impersonating legitimate organizations to steal personal and financial information from residents. Erie County residents are advised to be vigilant to the prevalence of illegal robocalls used by scammers. Phone number lookup and free reverse phone number lookup make it easy to identify who called. Erie County residents are advised to take the following actions or use the following tools to stop unwanted robocalls;
How to Spot and Report Erie County Phone Scams?
Phone scams are on the rise in Erie County. Therefore, residents need to know methods used by these scammers to commit scams. This will assist in curbing the activities of scammers. The following are reflags of scam calls:
- The caller persistently asks for you to verify confidential information over the phone. Note that most legitimate businesses will never ask you to verify sensitive financial information over the phone.
- The caller employs evasive tactics to dissuade you from asking questions about their businesses.
- The caller proposes amazing business opportunities with an amazing return on investment
- The caller employs intimidation tactics to get you to comply with their request.
Due to the prevalence of phone scams, Erie County Officials, the State of Pennsylvania, and the Federal Government have various agents that can be contacted to deal with scammers. Some of these agencies and reporting lines include;
Office of the State Attorney General - Complaints can be filed online, or in person at:
Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General Strawberry Square
Harrisburg, PA 17120
Monday - Friday 8am -5pm
Call 717-787-3391
Federal Trade Commission - Reports can be filed online or in person at:
Bureau of Consumer Protection
Strawberry Square, 15th Floor
Harrisburg, PA 17120
Monday - Friday 8am -5pm
1-888-777-3406 (Toll-Free Helpline)
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) - File complaints online with the FCC or call 1-888-225-5322
The Erie County District Attorney's Office - Complaint, tips, and reports can be made in person at :
The Erie County’s District Attorney’s Office
Erie County Courthouse
140 West Sixth Street
Suite 506
Erie, PA 16501
814-451-6349
The Erie County Sheriff’s Office - Reports can be made to the Erie County Sheriff’s office at:
The Erie County Sheriff’s Office
Erie County Courthouse
140 W Sixth Street
Room 400
Erie, PA 16501
Call 814-451-7012