What are Philadelphia County Area Codes?
Area codes are the first three digits beginning North American telephone numbers. Area codes are part of the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) and consolidate the processes required to long-distance phone calls. Area codes define numbering plan areas (NPAs) in states and identify the destinations and origins of phone calls. The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission implements and manages area codes for Philadelphia County.
There are three Philadelphia County area codes currently in use. These area codes cover all of Philadelphia County and parts of the surrounding counties.
Area Code 215
Area code 215 is the NANP telephone area code for Philadelphia County and parts of the surrounding counties in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Area code 215 was one of the original area codes established in 1947. It covers the entire City of Philadelphia.
Area Code 267
Area Code 267 is the first telephone overlay code established by the NANP for the 215 numbering plan area. It was activated in 1997.
Area Code 445
Area code 445 is the other NANP telephone overlay code for the 215 NPA. It became active in 2018.
What are the Best Cell Phone Plans In Philadelphia County?
A CDC survey undertaken in 2018 indicated that cell phones had supplanted landlines as the favored means of telecommunication in Pennsylvania. The survey estimated 43.4% of the adults in the state exclusively used cell phones for telecommunication, and 52.5% of children (under 18) did likewise. In comparison, 4.3% of adults and 2.3% of children used only landlines as their preferred means of telecommunications.
Philadelphia County boasts excellent telephony services, with all four major network operators present and claiming 100% coverage of the county. Network coverage can be tricky in densely populated areas downtown and the Powelton Village area. The major operators’ excellent network coverage also means the numerous MVNOs in the county provide impressive telephony services. MVNOs (Mobile Virtual Network Operators) are local operators that use the major operators’ networks to offer telephony services at cheaper rates.
A variety of businesses provide VoIP services for the telecommunication needs of residents, SMEs, and large enterprises in Philadelphia County. VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) is the group of technologies that delivers telephony services over IP networks, typically the internet. Advances in internet technologies enable VoIP businesses to offer highly efficient telephony services at very competitive rates.
What are Philadelphia County Phone Scams?
This refers to the use of telephony services to perpetrate fraudulent acts against Philadelphia County residents to obtain money or confidential information for identity thefts. For calls from suspicious phone numbers, lookup services can ascertain their origins and answer the question, “who is this number registered to?”
Information on prevalent scams and assistance is available to Philadelphia County residents from multiple public institutions. These include the:
- Office of the Philadelphia District Attorney
- Philadelphia Police Department (PPD)
- Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office
- Federal Trade Commission
County residents can contact any of these agencies to file reports on scams and other fraudulent practices. Common phone scams committed in Philadelphia County include:
What are Credit Card Scams?
In these scams, the callers contact credit card owners claiming to be employees of credit card companies, usually VISA and MasterCard. The callers already possess the credit card numbers and names of the banks that issued them and provide these details during their calls. They tell their targets that the cards have been flagged for unusual purchase activities, and are calling to verify. They then inform the card owners of fictitious purchases made with their cards. They tell the card owners that their accounts will be credited unless they can prove they are the true holders of the cards. To do this, the owners should provide their Card Verification Value (CVV) Numbers - the three-digit security codes on the back of credit cards.
These scammers aim to obtain these security codes because they are mandatory for online transactions made with credit cards. Providing these codes allows the scammers to run up charges on the credit cards, without the card owners’ knowledge. Legitimate credit card companies already have these security codes and do not request them. If you receive this type of call, do not provide the caller with any information. Call your credit card company and seek verification of the claims. You can use reverse phone number lookup services to ascertain if these calls come from legitimate credit card companies.
What are Grandparent Scams?
Grandparent scams are so called because they target senior citizens and elderly residents of Philadelphia County. The callers claim to be relatives of their targets, usually grandchildren, who are caught up in desperate situations in foreign countries. Claimed woes include accidents, jail time, and medical emergencies. The scammers then direct their targets to send them money through Western Union wire transfers to resolve the situations. They ask for the money to be wired immediately and the matter kept secret from other family members, especially their parents. In some instances, they have their targets speak to other people who identify themselves as the officers of the law or good samaritans trying to help.
These scams seek to hurry their targets into taking hasty actions to help out their loved ones. If you receive this type of phone call, avoid acting impulsively. Always confirm the validity of the caller’s claims from someone else before responding to their requests. Phone number lookups can help shed light on fraudsters running grandparent scams and can verify the authenticity of such calls.
What are One-Ring Scams?
In these scams, the targets repeatedly receive robocalls that hang up after the first ring. The aim is to get them to call the numbers back. If the targets call the numbers back, they run up per-minute toll fees similar to charges for calling a 900 number. Typical international phone codes used for these robocalls include 649 (Turks and Caicos), 809 (Dominican Republic), and some West African countries. Calling these numbers back will incur fees for connecting and significant per-minute fees that show up as premium services on your phone bill. You can use a phone number lookup service to identify international area codes and the countries they serve. There is no reason to call these numbers back if you have no contacts in these countries.
What are Bench Warrant Scams?
These types of scams involve the perpetrators calling residents and identifying themselves as agents of law enforcement. The agency could be the Philadelphia Police Department, Sheriff’s Office, or Municipal Court. They inform the residents of bench warrants issued against them for a variety of reasons, such as unpaid tickets or missed jury duties. They then tell the residents that officers (or deputies) have been dispatched to their addresses and will arrest them unless they pay up. They always ask for the payments in irregular forms, such as prepaid debit cards and wire transfers. The callers can get hostile to force compliance.
Residents are advised that employees of these agencies do not call about bench warrants. They will also not demand payments, especially by such unconventional means. If you receive such calls, do not make payments or provide any financial or personal information. Hang up immediately, call the agency, and make inquiries about any outstanding warrants. Scam callers can spoof Caller IDs to display the numbers of these agencies, but phone number lookups can identify if the displayed numbers are spoofed.
What are Robocalls and Spam Calls?
An automated phone call set up to deliver a sequence of pre-recorded messages is a robocall. Robocalls were initially created to deliver the same messages to multiple recipients and are typically associated with political and telemarketing campaigns. Phone scammers have co-opted robocalls because of their ability to deliver messages to numerous residents and their anonymous nature. Also, residents are used to receiving robocalls from legitimate entities and are less alert when responding to them, making the scams easier to carry out.
Scammers use robocalls to steal confidential information from residents to facilitate financial and identity thefts. Reverse number lookup free services are capable of confirming if incoming calls are robocalls, providing the receivers the option of screening them.
Authorities advise the following if you receive illegal robocalls:
- Add your phone number to the National Do Not Call Registry. Doing this exempts it from receiving commercial robocalls. If you still receive robocalls after doing this, it is likely these are scam calls. Pennsylvania also maintains a Do Not Call List where residents can enroll to exclude their numbers from robocalls.
- End a robocall once you realize what it is. Following any of the prompts given during the call leads to more automated messages and sets you up for more robocalls.
- Submit online reports to the FTC or call 1 (888) 382-1222.
- Phone service providers have tools and procedures for blocking phone numbers. Inquire about these services and use them if they are convenient for you.
- Reverse phone number lookup services can identify robocalls. Use these tools to identify and block these numbers.
The FTC also provides guidelines on its website on how to block unwanted calls.
How to Spot and Report Philadelphia County Phone Scams?
Scammers are always coming up with new schemes to defraud unsuspecting residents. If you receive calls from unknown numbers, applications that perform reverse phone number searches can reveal who called. While these services can help deal with the threat of phone scammers, the most effective tools remain consumer education and awareness. Some red flags to look out for when dealing with potential scam calls include:
- The callers repeatedly solicit your personal information. This could be financial or identity information. Authentic businesses and government agencies would not request your personal information, especially if you did not initiate the call.
- The callers demand payments in specific manners, such as wire transfers, prepaid debit cards, gift cards, and cryptocurrencies. Payments made in these ways are untraceable and/or irreversible once they are received. Legitimate entities do not demand payments in such untraceable forms.
- The callers use threats of lawsuits, arrests, and prosecution to get you to comply with their demands. Law enforcement agencies do not threaten residents over the phone for any reason. If there is a warrant for your arrest, the officers or deputies will not warn you; they will just show up.
- The callers do not definitively answer any questions or inquiries you have about their claims. They also try and dissuade you from verifying their claims with other parties, under the guise of time sensitivity.
- The callers offer free prizes, gifts, products, and services that you pay to receive. If a payment is required to obtain an item or service that is supposed to be free, the offer is almost certainly a scam.
Numerous online applications conduct reverse phone lookups by number, name, and address, and these services can help answer the question “who called me?” These services are available in free and paid versions and assist in identifying phone scammers.
Government agencies in Philadelphia County that also assist in dealing with phone scammers include:
Office of the Philadelphia District Attorney - The Philadelphia District Attorney is the top law enforcement official in the county, and his office is committed to protecting residents from fraudsters. Victims can contact the Economic Crimes Unit of the D.A’s Office on (215) 686-9902.
Philadelphia Police Department (PPD) - The Philadelphia Police Department is the primary law enforcement agency for the County and City of Philadelphia. Residents who have been the victims of scams or fraud can file reports at their local PPD district.
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office - The Attorney General’s Office issues consumer alerts on prevalent scams in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Residents can submit complaints to the A.G’s Office online or by printing and completing a complaint form and mailing it to the Bureau of Consumer Protection. Residents can also enroll on Pennsylvania’s Do Not Call List to stop receiving unwanted calls.
Federal Trade Commission- The FTC is the federal authority that combats deceptive and fraudulent practices against consumers. The National Do Not Call Registry is part of its efforts to combat illegal calls. Adding your phone number to the DNCR exempts it from receiving robocalls. Unsolicited calls received after registering on this list are likely scams.