What are Franklin County Area Codes?
An area code is a prefix that forms the first three digits of every ten-digit telephone number in North America. It identifies the location within a numbering plan area where a phone call originates from. The Pennsylvania Public Commission is responsible for the maintenance of area codes in Franklin County. There are currently two area codes that cover Franklin County.
Area Code 717
Area code 717 serves south-central Pennsylvania and Susquehanna Valley. It came into service in 1947 and is one of the original area codes generated in that year. By 2010, the Pennsylvania Utility Commission predicted that area code 717 would likely reach exhaustion by the second quarter of 2018. Therefore an overlay code was introduced in 2017. Area code 717 currently serves Lancaster, Carlisle, Palmyra, Cam Hill, etc.
Area Code 223
Area code 223 became operational in 2017. It is the overlay of area code 717 and also serves the south-central of Pennsylvania. In 2017, the introduction of area code 223 stopped seven-digit dialing and made mandatory 10-digit dialing in Pennsylvania. Some of the cities and boroughs under area code 223 include York, Carlisle, and Waynesboro.
What are the Best Cellphone Plans in Franklin County?
Four major phone carriers operate in Franklin County. These include AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile. AT&T has the widest reach in Franklin County, with 100% coverage. Verizon follows closely with 94% coverage, and Sprint is next with 78% coverage. T-Mobile offers the least coverage with 60% coverage. Note that cell phone service coverage is not as good in rural areas when compared to the major cities in Pennsylvania.
Many Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOS) also operate in Franklin County. MVNOS runs on the major carriers and provides alternative options for residents of the county. Examples of MVNOS in Franklin County are Access Wireless, Allvoi Wireless, Boost Mobile, Cricket Wireless, and EcoMobile.
According to the 2018 National Center of Health Statistics Survey, 43.4% of the Pennsylvania adult population used wireless telephone services only, while 4.3% of the adult population used landlines only as their preferred telephone services. According to the same statistics, 52.5% of the minors in Pennsylvania used wireless telephones only, while 2.3% of the minors in Pennsylvania used landlines only. The survey showed that many people, particularly minors in Pennsylvania, prefer wireless telephones over landlines.
Other telephony services like VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) are also becoming more prominent in Franklin County, especially among business owners. The increasing demand for VoIP is associated with VoIP’s affordable cost, flexibility, and advanced features. VoIP uses broadband Internet connections to place and receive calls and text messages instead of the traditional telephone services. Consequently, VoIP has become a strong competitor to cell phones and landlines in Franklin County.
What are Franklin County Phone Scams?
Phone scams are unwanted phone calls with fraudulent intentions made by scammers to Franklin County residents. Phone scams are used to gain access to residents’ personal and financial information. These phone scams could cost Franklin County residents so much money, sometimes as much as their life savings. Residents of Franklin County who have fallen victims to phone scams can file reports on the Federal Trade Commission.
What are Franklin County Impersonation Scams?
Impersonation scams are common phone scams in Franklin County. They occur when scammers take on the identities of trusted business organizations or government agencies to trick unsuspecting residents into sending them money. Common indicators of these scams are threats of arrests, deportation, or frozen assets to get residents to send them money. This could be done through calls or text messages requesting residents to make urgent wire transfers. Usually, victims of impersonation scams always respond to these requests under the belief that they are making legitimate payments or following genuine instructions from trusted business organizations or government agencies.
To avoid being victims of impersonation scams, Franklin County residents are advised to use free reverse phone lookup services. Note that scammers may spoof the caller IDs of trusted business organizations or Law enforcement agencies. Therefore, residents of Franklin County must contact the appropriate entities using their official websites. Residents may also report such calls to the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office.
What are Franklin County Family Assistance Scams?
Family assistance scams occur when scammers contact unsuspecting residents of Franklin County claiming to be family members or close relatives in dire need of money. These scammers pretend to be in trouble and then pressure their victims to send money to get them out of the trouble. Scammers would usually tell their targets to keep their requests secret and not tell any other family members.
Franklin County residents are encouraged not to succumb to any pressure requiring them to send money immediately without first calling the supposed family member supposedly in trouble to confirm the claim. On the other hand, targets may instead contact other family members to confirm the claim. Victims of these scams may file reports to the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office.
Additionally, residents may use the reverse phone look up tools to verify the identities of callers.
What are Franklin County Law Enforcement Agency Scams?
In law enforcement agency scams, residents of Franklin County receive phone calls from scammers who take on the identities of members of the Pennsylvania Police Department or the Franklin County Sheriff's Office. These scammers use threats of arrest to trick targets into sending them money. They threaten that failure to succumb to the payment requests would lead to their arrest and jail time.
Residents of Franklin County must be cautious when dealing with such calls. They must also be aware that the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office would never contact them to make requests for payment of money under any circumstances. Residents who have any queries concerning arrest warrants must contact the Sheriff's Department directly by calling their official phone numbers at 717-264-4125 to notify them of such occurrences. In addition, residents of Franklin County are advised not to give sensitive personal information to unsolicited callers. Such calls should be terminated immediately.
In identifying police phone scams, residents can use phone number lookup services. Residents can also confirm such calls by visiting the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office at:
Courthouse Annex
157 Lincoln-Way East
Chambersburg, PA 17201
(717) 261-3877
What are Robocalls and Spam Calls?
Robocalls are mostly utilized by telemarketers, government agencies, or political parties to circulate public service announcements. They are calls from automated sources that deliver pre-recorded messages to residents. Typically, robocalls give instructions to recipients to hit certain buttons that connect them to live agents. While legitimate entities use robocalls, they are also used by scammers to commit scams to defraud residents of the county. These scammers aim to get sensitive personal information that will be used to steal money or commit identity thefts. Illegal robocallers impersonate legitimate business organizations or government agencies to deceive their victims.
Spam calls are unsolicited calls sent to many people at the same time, sometimes to commit scams and other times, to pass across irrelevant information. Robocalls fall in the category of spam calls, as they are unsolicited and unwanted.
In Franklin County, scammers sometimes use robocalls to mask their identities by displaying false caller ID information. Phone scammers sometimes use robocalls to mask their identities by displaying false caller ID details. Phone scammers spoof robocalls and make them look like phone numbers and caller IDs that the targets are familiar with to make them feel comfortable answering the calls. Some robocalls impersonate government agencies and legitimate businesses to cheat unsuspecting persons or trick them into divulging confidential information.
Besides impersonating legitimate entities, robocalls use numbers identical to their targets’ phone numbers so that they appear familiar and increase the likelihood of the calls being answered. Robocalls are pre-recorded and mostly instruct recipients to press specific keys or numbers to speak with live agents. Franklin County residents can use reverse phone lookup applications to identify robocalls and avoid phone scams.
If you receive a robocall, take these actions:
- Hang up immediately you realize it is a robocall and block the caller with the call blocking features on your cell phone, a third-party application, or a free reverse phone lookup tool.
- Register your phone number on the National Do Not Call Registry. This service is free and restricts telemarketers from calling you, making it easy to identify spam calls.
- Do not follow any instructions given by the robocall prompting you to press a button. Following such an instruction would only lead to more robocalls.
Residents of Franklin County who have been illegally contacted through robocalls can report to the Federal Trade Commission.
How to Spot and Report Franklin County Phone Scams?
In Franklin County, phone scams are a major downside to the use of cell phones because scammers exploit telephony services to defraud unsuspecting residents. These scammers innovate new tactics to defraud residents every day.
A common trick that phone scammers use is hiding their identities and impersonating legitimate entities to steal money. Residents are advised to be cautious when dealing with unsolicited calls. They may use free reverse phone number lookup services to reveal the real identities of unknown numbers and answer the question, “who is this number registered to?”
In addition, the Office of Attorney General regularly publishes phone scam indicators for residents to educate themselves on phone scams. Some of the common indicators of phone scams include:
- Unsolicited calls requesting residents’ sensitive personal information like account numbers, social security numbers, or passwords are most likely scams. This is because legitimate business organizations or government agencies do not make such requests over the phone. Hang up such calls.
- Calls requesting upfront payment requests before you can claim gifts, or lotteries, threatening that failure to make such payment would lead to loss. Any calls making such requests are most likely scam phone calls. Residents should terminate such calls immediately without giving out personal information.
- Calls requesting payments through methods that make it difficult for money to be retrieved, such as gift cards or wire transfers.
- Aggressive tactics to get individuals to invest in seemingly good offers. Residents must properly research before making any investments.
In tackling phone scams, residents can use free reverse phone number lookup tools to identify who called. Also, Franklin County has government agencies that help protect residents from scams. Such government agencies include;
Federal Trade Commission: The FTC regularly publishes information relating to phone scams. They also aid the enforcement of laws to protect consumers from fraudulent business practices. Scam victims can report to the Federal Trade Commission by filling the online complaint forms. The FTC tracks down scammers behind phone calls and brings cases against reported businesses.
Franklin County Sheriff’s Office: Scam victims can file reports to the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office by calling the county fraud hotline at (717) 261-3822 or visiting the physical office at 272 North Second Street Chambersburg, PA 17201.
Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission: Victims of scams can fill the online complaint form to report phone scams.
Federal Communication Commission: Residents of Franklin County can file complaints about unwanted calls, spoofing, or other phone scams. The FCC is also responsible for establishing rules to protect consumers of telecommunication scams, such as the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).
Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office: The Office of the Attorney General regularly educates residents about new phone scams. Residents can also file complaints by completing the online form or calling 717-787-9707.