What are Richland County Area Codes?
The North American Numbering Plan (NANP) is the telephone numbering plan for public switched telephones in World Zone 1. It was created to simplify direct international calling. The NANP was developed in 1947 and implemented in 1951. An area code is a prefix represented by the first three numbers of all phone numbers in North America. It refers to specific geographical areas known as numbering plan areas. The North American Numbering Plan Administration is responsible for the management and allocation of the NANP resources. The Ohio Public Utilities Commission ensures the provision of reliable telecommunication services in the State of Ohio.
Area Code 419
Area code 419 was put into service on the 1st of January 1947. It serves the north-western part of the State of Ohio. Area code 419 covers some major villages and cities like Shelby and Butler.
Area Code 567
Area code 567 became active on the 1st of January 2002. This area code is a service overlay of area code 419. This mandates the use of 10 digit dialing in Richland County. Area code 567 covers various towns and cities, including Madison and Ontario.
What are the Best Cell Phone Plans in Richland County?
Wireless phone services provide a flexible and convenient means of communication for both adults and minors in the State of Ohio. Many residents in the state prefer wireless phone services to traditional landlines. This was illustrated in the 2018 study titled, Wireless Substitution: State-level Estimates from the National Health Interview Survey. The survey showed that 58.5 % of adults in the state only used wireless phone services, and 4.3% of adults used only traditional landlines. Similarly, 71.8% of minors in the state used only wireless phones, and 2.0% used traditional landlines only. The study also captured that 13.4% of adults and 8.2% of minors used a combination of traditional landlines and wireless phone services.
Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint are the three major wireless phone carriers that operate in Richland County. Verizon provides the best wireless coverage in the County, covering 92% of Richland County. This is closely followed by AT&T, which covers 88% of the county, and finally, Sprint which covers 72% of the county. Note that service available for these major wireless service providers is poor in some remote locations or areas between buildings. However, the numerous Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) in Richland County provides wireless services in remote areas with inadequate wireless service. MVNOs use the infrastructure of the major wireless service providers to provide wireless services to their subscribers. Finally, note that Richland County has an average 4G coverage.
Many MVNOs in Richland County specialize in the provision of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services. VoIP enables Richland County residents to make cheap and reliable voice calls over internet broadband connections. More businesses and residents of Richland County embrace VoIP due to its reliability and affordability.
What are Richland County Phone Scams?
Richland County phone scams are cleverly designed phone calls made by scammers, which target Richland County residents to obtain personal information or money. They use ploys such as business and investment opportunities to lure and defraud Richland County residents. Scammers attempt to establish some credibility by posing as legitimate businesses or officials of government agencies. They use caller ID spoofing tools to make their phone numbers appear like legitimate government agencies or businesses. Hence, residents may not be able to distinguish between scam calls and legitimate calls. Richland County residents are advised to use suspicious phone number lookup services to verify any suspicious phone numbers.
What are the Richland County Computer Repair Scams?
In the Richland County computer repair scam, a scammer contacts a resident and impersonates a reputable computer repair company, claiming that the resident's computer system is infected with a virus. The scammer proceeds to inform the resident that in order to resolve the problem, they would require remote access to their computer. Often, the scammer will exploit this remote access to install malicious software and steal the resident's personal information. On other occasions, the scammer installs ransomware that completely locks the resident out of the computer. The scammer then demands payment from the resident to have their computer access restored. Residents are advised to use phone number lookup services to verify the identity of callers.
What are Richland County Sweepstakes Scams?
In the sweepstake scam, a scammer calls a Richland County resident using caller ID spoofing to mimic the phone number of a legitimate lottery company. During the call, the scammer falsely informs the resident that they have won a lottery or a contest the resident never entered. The scammer then proceeds to ask the resident to pay tax or prepay a fee before claiming the prize. However, when the payment is made, the resident will not receive the prize. Richland County officials have informed residents to hang up such calls immediately. Residents should employ the use of reverse lookup services or number lookup services to find out who called.
What are Richland County Romance Scams?
The Richland County romance scam begins with a scammer meeting a victim online or over the phone. The scammer then initiates a conversation with the victim and claims to be outside the country on a military assignment or a mission trip. The scammer progressively builds a romantic relationship with the victim. Note that the objective of this relationship has nothing to do with true love; instead, the supposed lover scammer aims to defraud the victim. When the scammer has established a substantial level of trust and intimacy with the victim, they will claim to be in some sort of trouble requiring urgent financial assistance from the victim to settle. Officials of Richland County have advised residents to refrain from sending money to individuals they have never met. This is because once the money is sent, the resident may never hear from the caller again.
Often, these scammers never really reside overseas; instead, they use caller ID spoofing to manipulate their phone numbers to appear as international phone numbers.
What are Richland County Fake Charity Scams?
In the fake charity scam, a scammer calls a Richland County resident, asking the resident to make a charitable donation. They make use of caller ID spoofing to mask their true identities. The scammer will collect any donations and never use them for any charitable cause. Richland County officials have recommended that residents verify all charities they intend to donate to. Residents should also note that the Ohio Attorney General's Office also has mandatory registration for every charity in the state. This greatly helps to simplify the resident's verification process. The Attorney General’s Office Help Center can be reached on (800) 282-0515 to verify the authenticity of any charitable organization in the state. Residents should make use of number lookup services and phone number lookup services to identify who called.
What are Robocalls and Spam Calls?
Robocalls are automated calls that provide a cheap and efficient way for organizations to reach many residents in a short time. They are mostly used by political campaigns, telemarketers, nonprofit organizations, and polling agencies. It makes use of software that works in a loop and calls numbers randomly. However, spam calls refer to all unwanted calls that are distributed in bulk. Spam calls are often unsolicited and are made without prior request.
Robocall software has inbuilt configurations that help maintain the caller’s anonymity, as the caller may program the software to display their preferred identity. Some robocall software is capable of dialing up to a million calls per hour. Unfortunately, scammers have hijacked the use of these robocalls to carry out their scams. Therefore residents need to equip themselves with the necessary skills to deal with unwanted robocalls.
Some of the ways to deal with unwanted robocalls include:
- Residents are advised to use call blocking solutions to block unwanted calls. Residents may also reach out to their phone service providers to request details on how to block calls. For mobile phones, residents may simply download a call blocking solution online.
- Residents should end all robocalls immediately.
- Residents should ignore any prompts from robocalls. This is because following such prompts would likely set them up for more robocalls.
- Residents need to get their phone numbers registered with the National Do Not Call Registry.
- Residents need to use area code lookup services and phone number lookup by address services to identify the location of callers.
Finally, reports of unwanted calls can be made online to the Ohio State Attorney General’s Office.
How Can You Spot and Report Clark County Phone Scams?
Residents need to remember that scammers are constantly after their money and personal information. Scammers will often use different scams to get residents to hand over money or personal information. They use different tools such as robocalls and caller ID spoofing to legitimize themselves. The scams employed by these scammers are constantly changing, but the goal has always remained the same. Therefore, no matter the scam use, they all bear the same telltale signs. Richland County officials constantly create awareness on how to identify these scams.
Here are some common signs to identify phone scams:
- The caller pressures the resident to decide on a product or an offer immediately.
- The caller claims that the resident has been specially selected for an offer they never applied for.
- The caller presents poorly written company information about the offer.
- The caller continuously seeks to verify the resident’s information over the phone.
- The caller requests that the resident keeps the conversation secret.
- The caller requests payment via a debit card, cash app, or gift card.
- The caller requests fees to be paid before residents can receive the prize.
- The caller offers an amazing return on investment on investment with little to no risk.
- The caller requests remote access to your personal computer.
While these pointers are crucial in identifying phone scams, some Richland County residents can also have fun. Richland County residents should notify any government and state agencies if they end up as victims of a scam.
Here are some agencies that deal with scams in Richland County:
The Richland County Sheriff’s Office - The Richland County Sheriff’s Office investigates complaints of phone scams. These reports can be filed in person at:
The Richland County Sheriff’s Office
597 Park Avenue East
Mansfield, OH 44905
Phone: (419) 774-5881
The Ohio State Attorney General’s Office - The Ohio State Attorney General’s Office receives reports of both scam calls and robocalls online. These reports can also be made in person at:
Ohio State Attorney General’s Office
30 East Broad Street, 14th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215
Phone: (800) 282-0515
The Mansfield Police Department - The Springfield Police Department investigates reports of phone scams. Reports and complaints can be filed in person at:
Springfield Police Department
130 North Fountain Avenue
Springfield, OH 45502
Federal Trade Commissions - The Federal Trade Commission is responsible for enacting policies to ensure fair and professional business practices. These complaints can be made online or by phone at 1-877-ID-Theft and 1-877-FTC-HELP.
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) - The Federal Communications Communication receives online complaints of phone scams.