What are Licking County Area Codes?
Area code refers to the three-digit number at the beginning of every telephone number in North America. The North American Numbering Plan (NANP) established area codes in 1947 to ease phone calls over long distances. Area codes identify the specific Numbering Plan Areas (NPAs) in a state. The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) is in charge of implementing and maintaining area codes in Licking County. Residents may leverage the online area code lookup service provided by the NANPA to verify the origin of phone calls.
Two area codes currently serve Licking County. These are:
Area Code 740
Area Code 740 was created from a split of the 614 NPA and put into service in December 1997. It serves the southern and central regions of Ohio. Cities covered by this area code in Licking County include Newark, Lancaster, and Marion.
Area Code 220
Area Code 220 is an overlay of the 740 NPA. It was first set into service in April 2015, and it covers the same areas served by area code 740.
What are the Best Cell Phone Plans in Licking County?
Wireless telephony services are the most preferred in Licking County. A survey by the National Center of Health Statistics (NCHS) in 2018 confirmed this. The data from the report showed that an estimated 58.5% of Ohio residents aged 18 and above used wireless-only telephony services. This is opposed to a significantly low 4.3% of them who still used only landline phones for telecommunications. Wireless telephony adoption was more evident among the children (under 18 years).
The four major phone carriers in America offer the best cell phone plans in Licking County. AT&T provides the best service with about 99% coverage. Verizon follows closely, providing 97% network spread, while T-Mobile covers about 96% of the county. Sprint offers the least network coverage at 82%.
Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is becoming more popular in Licking County as an alternative to regular telephony services. It enables residents to communicate using high-speed internet connections. VoIP makes it easy for users to connect to phone numbers outside their telephone service areas at relatively cheaper rates. The technology is compatible with computers, smartphones, and traditional phones connected to a special adapter. Alternatively, users can use specialized VoIP phones to enjoy the service.
What are Licking County Phone Scams?
Licking County phone scams are phone calls, robocalls, or text messages from fraudsters aimed at defrauding county residents. These scams usually attempt to extort money or obtain confidential information such as debit card details or personal identifying information from their targets. Scammers employ different strategies, including phone spoofing and impersonation, to convince targeted residents to yield to their demands. Certain agencies shoulder the responsibility of educating and assisting residents in combating the menace of phone scammers. These include:
- Licking County Sheriff's Department
- City of Newark Division of Police
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
- Better Business Bureau
- Federal Trade Commission
County residents may contact these agencies to file reports of phone scam incidents. Reverse phone lookup services can assist residents in identifying phone scam calls and help them avoid being fleeced. Phone scams that commonly rip off Licking County residents include:
What are Licking County Grandparent Scams?
Scammers call unsuspecting Licking County residents to extort them, often claiming that their grandchildren are in a fix and need urgent financial assistance. The fraudsters may say that the supposed grandchildren are in emergencies such as road crashes or have violated some laws and been arrested. The targets are usually asked to send money immediately to cover supposed expenses such as attorney's fees, hospital bills, or other such costs. This type of scam is commonly targeted at elderly residents.
The Attorney General of Ohio, through a news release, pointed out some common indicators of grandparent phone scams to educate residents. These scammers often demand immediate payments using gift cards, wire transfers, cash, or any other means of payment that make such transactions hard to trace. They usually encourage their victims not to communicate the issues with other family members for fear of embarrassment. Residents who receive these types of calls are advised to inform other family members promptly to verify the callers’ claims. They are also advised to be careful with unknown callers requesting payment via unusual methods. If you suspect a grandparent scam, you may contact the Attorney General at (800) 282-0515 to report it. You can also file a complaint online. Applications offering free phone number lookups by name can assist residents in uncovering the true identities of these callers.
What are Licking County Telemarketing Scams?
Licking County residents usually receive phone calls from scammers posing as legitimate telemarketers. Such fraudsters may entice their targets with high-return investment offers with little or no risks. In other cases, they may lure residents into paying for non-existent promotional sales at seemingly discounted rates. Some will even inform their targets that they qualified for certain prizes and ask them to redeem such winnings at a fee.
These scammers sometimes spoof their phone numbers to make their calls appear as coming from reputable telemarketing companies and deceive targets into answering their calls. They often insist on urgent payments via gift cards. The Ohio Legislative Service Commission revised code provides information on telephone solicitations to enable residents to identify potential telemarketing scams and avoid them. Phone number search applications can also help residents spot telemarketing scams before they are cheated.
What are Licking County IRS Impersonation Scams?
IRS impersonation scams involve scammers who disguise themselves as representatives of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to defraud Licking County residents. They are usually common during tax filing seasons. The scammers often spoof their phone numbers to appear like IRS official phone numbers to fool the targets. They usually demand payments of delinquent taxes from unsuspecting residents and make them comply using threats of arrest, deportation, lawsuit, license revocation, and other punitive actions.
The scammers are also fond of manipulating residents into disclosing confidential information for eventual fraud. Reverse cell phone lookup services can help residents uncover their real identities and prevent them from falling victim. The IRS provides guidelines on the common ways to identify possible IRS scams. The IRS does not request personal or financial information over the phone. Phone calls by unknown persons who threaten you and demand payments via specified channels are most likely not from the IRS. Persons who experience any of these may contact the IRS to verify such calls.
What are Licking County Robocalls and Spam Calls?
Robocalls enable individuals or groups of persons to deliver pre-recorded messages using automated phone calls to mass phone numbers. It is a technology often utilized by non-profits organizations, political campaign groups, and telemarketers to reach targeted audiences at the same time. The recipients of robocalls may respond to the prompts by making specific inputs through preset response codes. As such, robocallers may get feedback from their call recipients.
Spam calls are irrelevant calls made to multiple phone users who did not give consent with the intent to defraud them. A typical example is a robocall. Scammers use the feedback feature of robocalls to manipulate residents into disclosing confidential information and then commit both identity and financial theft with such information. However, reverse phone lookup services can help identify if incoming calls are robocalls and prevent residents from falling prey to robocall scams. To avoid robocall scams, residents may take certain precautions, which include:
- Do not answer any call you suspect as a scam robocall, especially when the call is without your prior permission. Some of those calls are manipulative enough to prevent the recipient from realizing the point at which sensitive information is given away.
- Enroll your phone number in the National Do Not Call Registry provided by the FTC. Phone numbers listed in the registry are prevented from receiving telemarketing robocalls. Only illegal robocalls defy this list, helping you identify scam calls.
- File a report with the FTC when you suspect a robocall scam.
- Block identified robocalls and spam numbers by downloading and installing call-blocking applications on your smartphone. These apps are available at app marketplaces such as Play Store for Android users and App Store for iOS users.
- Verify phone calls from unknown phone numbers using number lookup applications. Such applications can help you find an answer to the question "who called me?"
How Can You Spot and Report Licking County Phone Scams?
Licking County residents are encouraged to keep tabs on the information provided by relevant government agencies on the latest information on phone scams and how to avoid them. Scammers often employ different tricks while preying on county residents. Phone users need to take precautions to minimize the possibility of being victimized by scammers. One of such is running unknown phone numbers in incoming calls through reverse phone lookup applications to ascertain callers’ identities. The following signs may indicate phone scams in Licking County:
- The caller requests that you share confidential information. Legitimate entities hardly request such over the phone.
- The caller resorts to aggression and threats to get you to comply with their demands. Such threats may include license revocation, lawsuit, deportation, and arrest.
- Callers who hide or spoof their caller IDs are likely to be scammers. You can identify such calls using free reverse phone lookup services.
- Telemarketing calls that entice recipients with low-risk investments with high returns are potential scams. Such offers aim to lure residents into making hasty payments without properly assessing the proposals.
- When a caller insists on receiving immediate payments via unofficial payment methods such as gift cards, and crypto transactions. It is most definitely a scam call.
In Licking County, the public agencies that educate residents on phone scams also assist in combating them and provide reporting avenues. They include:
Licking County Sheriff's Department - The Licking County Sheriff’s Department provides residents with important information on identifying and preventing phone scams. Residents may file complaints of phone scams with the Sheriff's Department at 155 E Main St., Newark, OH 43055, or contact their official phone number at (740) 670-5555.
Newark Police Division - The NPD has the responsibility of protecting county residents from harm, including fraud. To contact the Newark Police, call (740) 670 7200. Residents can better provide details about phone scams for investigation using reverse phone number lookup applications to retrieve scammers’ identifying information.
Federal Trade Commission - The FTC's Do Not Call Registry helps to minimize the influx of unsolicited calls to registered phone numbers. Licking County residents can report phone scam incidents to the FTC via a dedicated online complaint portal.