What are Lorain County Area Codes?
The North American Numbering Plan (NANP), makes provision for a three-digit Numbering Plan Area (NPA) code for all counties in the State of Ohio. This NPA code is what we commonly call an area code. Lorain Country area code is 440. There is usually a seven-digit number that follows an area code, that is, (440) 111-555. Lorain County area code covers all cities located in the county. This includes:
- Amherst
- Avon
- Avon Lake
- Eaton Estates
- Elyria
- Grafton
- Kipton
- Lagrange
- Lorain
- North Ridgeville
- Oberlin
- Rochester
- Sheffield Lake
- Sheffield
- South Amherst
- Vermilion
- Wellington
What are the best cell phone plans in Lorain County?
What influences an individual when picking a cell phone service provider, is the ability to use a service that guarantees the best services. That is when choosing a cell phone service provider a consumer in Lorain County will look at if there are data limitations, available minutes to talk on the phone, and if there are texting restrictions, also, most importantly, they will look at the coverage quality. In recent times, there has been a lot of competition between these service providers however, this has left residents of Lorain County with more options when it comes to getting good data coverage from different providers, as well as affordable prices and faster data. Residents of Lorain County can subscribe to these cell phone service providers; AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, Spectrum, T-Mobile, MetroPCS, and MVNOs which make up smaller telecommunication companies. However, the four major service providers leading the market are AT&T with the highest network outreach of 99.9% and then there are, Sprint covering 81.9%, Verizon covering 96.7%, and T-Mobile covering about 96.55.
According to the Federal Communications Commission citywide average, Lorain City which is the county seat is the 196th most connected city in Ohio. Also, about 27.27% of Lorain County residents are without broadband access while about 40.39% are without a wired connection.
In recent times, residents of Lorain County have become a user of smartphones and other mobile devices. Generally, a lot of Americans about 97% of them own a cellphone in recent years. As of 2004, more than 90% of adults in the US had landline phones in their households now looking at the data today, the usage of landlines is now less than 40%. The biggest competition landline providers are facing is from mobile phone service providers, which have over the years taken over the market in Ohio. For instance, the Ohio Telecommunications Association in 2008 made a report that there were about 9.1 million subscribers of wireless telephone service in Ohio, which is about double of the 4.7 million subscriptions in 2001. While there was a drop in the number of landlines by nearly half over that same period with records showing 4 million in the year 2008, as against the 7 million recorded in 2001. According to the biannual National Health Interview Survey of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for the year 2018; statistics for adults aged 18 and over living in Ohio were using 58.5% wireless-only, 12.7% were using wireless-mostly, 13.4% were also using dual-use, then 8.1% were using landline-mostly, while 4.3% were using the only landline. About 3.0% do not use any telephone service. From these figures it can be said that there has been a shift in the means of communications in Lorain County, people have migrated to the use of smartphones and the trend of using landlines is going down, although its residents have not entirely migrated.
According to the Federal Communications Commission Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), is a kind of technology that allows a customer to make a voice call using a type of broadband Internet connection instead of the traditional or analog phone system. As of today, a lot of people have turned their interest towards this raving internet technology known in the information technology world as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). According to the Ohio Telecommunications Association, the State of Ohio there is an estimate of about 70% of homes being wireless only with an additional 10% switching to a non-regulated VoIP service. Generally, VoIP phone services in Lorain are for residential or business users which has given its residents a much bigger range of services which includes calling and productivity features, even with the most basic plans. With the emergence of the VoIP service, there is a likelihood that more residents of Lorain County will switch from the traditional services to this internet connection service.
What are Lorain County phone scams?
Phone scams use telecommunications services to illegally steal money from unsuspecting victims or steal their personal information to commit identity theft. Phone scammers come in different forms, they may even pretend to be from the law enforcement agency to gain the trust of the victim and eventually defrauding them of their possession. There are various methods phone scammers use and it includes:
- Robocall scams
- The grandparent/ family emergency scam
- IRS scams
- Holiday/cruise ship scam
- Unsolicited tech support
- Auto Warranty Scam
- Banking/Credit Card Scams
- "Can You Hear Me" Scam
- Free Trial Scams
- Gift Card Scams
- Identity Theft Scams
- Investment Scams
- Jury Duty Scams
- Lottery/Sweepstakes Scams
- Social Security Number Scam
The Federal Communications Commission has a glossary of phone scams available on its website to keep residents of Lorain County informed.
According to the Federal Trade Commission’s 2007 annual data summary on consumer complaints, Americans in their 20’s made up 40% who reported fraud which caused the loss of money while victims ages 70 and above made up 18% that lost money to phone scams. The Federal Trade Commission, Ohio ranks 14th on the Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book 2017 with 598 reports per 100k population and reports of 69,764 fraud. Identity scams made up 12% and telephone services made up 6%.
In 2020, Ohio made up one of the most populous states suffering from robocalls, recording a total of 2.21 billion residents. With the high numbers, Lorain County residents are prone to receive a lot of robocalls. Phone scammers use robocall via a computerized auto dialer which delivers a pre-recorded message like a robot to its recipient. Phone scammers use robocalls mostly for political and telemarketing phone campaigns. An unsolicited sales message will be deemed an illegal robocall This is why the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) restricts automatic dialing systems, prerecorded voice messages, and unsolicited text messages. To further avoid being a victim of a robocall, residents of Lorain County can register their phone numbers on the National-Do-Not-Call-Registry established by the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). Alternatively, they can register online or contact the office at (888) 382-1222.
How Can You Spot and Report Lorain County Phone Scams?
illegal and spoofed robocalls are by far one of the Federal Communications Commissions' top consumer complaints which makes it a top consumer priority for the commission. In recent times, scammers are getting smarter, which means residents of Lorain County need to know how to stop these invasive, annoying calls which are made to scam them. In the year 2020, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) received about 1.25 million fraud complaints in which phone scams made up the majority of it. A phone scammer will usually make false promises, adopt aggressive sales pitches, and even make unserious threats to get information that may lead to loss of money or identity. These scams are not limited to only sales or telemarketing
Residents of Lorain county are to be cautious by not taking any immediate action on a robocall asking them to do anything or provide any information To avoid being a victim of a phone scam, resident of Lorain County can look out for the following signs used by phone scammers:
- Unsolicited calls from callers who claim to work for the government, public utility people.
- Unsolicited calls from fundraisers working with charity
- Caller pitching offers that sound too good to be true especially those offering free trials or cash prizes.
- An automated sales call from a company the person did not authorize to contact them.
- A call from a phone number not displaying the caller's ID.
- There is pressure by the caller on the call recipient to make a decision or take immediate action.
- When the caller starts requesting the credit card details from the recipient
- No information or reference to back up the claims of the caller
Any resident of Lorain County who falls victim to a phone scam can make a report to the Lorain County Sheriff’s office. The victim can visit the Sheriff's office at:
9896 Murray Ridge Rd
Elyria, Ohio 44035
Otherwise, fill the contact form to lay a complaint. The victim can also approach the relevant law enforcement agency operating in the city they reside.
Also, the Ohio Auditor of State’s office affords the residents of Lorain county to make fraud complaints. The complainant can send a written letter containing the details of the complaint they are making and send it to:
8 E. Broad St. PO #1140
Columbus, Ohio 43215
This can also be done by downloading the Ohio Stops Fraud on the relevant app store. The complainant can submit the fraud complaint online. Otherwise, contact the office via email or by calling 1-866-Fraud-OH.
The residents of Lorain County can register on the Do-Not-Call-Registry to prevent robocalls and other phone scams. Registration can be done online or by contacting the office at (888) 382-1222. The four major service providers in the county provide tools that identify, filter, and prevent robocalls from calling or texting an individual's number. These services may require payment to activate these services. Also, a list blocking apps that label calls as spam are available via the U.S. Wireless Communications Industry.
The Attorney General’s Office for the State of Ohio through the Ohio Protects platform, allows the residents of Lorain County to report a scam. If the individual has been a victim of a scam or any other type of fraud they can fill a consumer complaint form. A complaint about unwanted calls or robocalls can be made by filling the report an unwanted call form online or the complainant can download the unwanted call notification Form and mail the completed form to:
The Office of Ohio Attorney General
Consumer Protection
Section 30 E. Broad St., 14th floor
Columbus, OH 43215
The office also affords any person whose personal information led to the use of their identity to scam other persons or commit any other crime. To make a complaint, download the identity theft notification and affidavit form and send the completed form to the identity theft unit of the address provided above. An individual can also report a scam to the Attorney General’s office by filing report a scam form online. For more additional information, an individual can contact the office at (800) 282-0515, or they can fill the contact form .
For other relevant offices where a report or complaint of fraud or scam can be made, residents of Lorain County can access further information on the State Consumer Protection Office.