What are Guilford County Area Codes?
Area codes are the sequence of three-digits at the beginning of 10-digit telephone numbers in North America. Guilford County area codes identify the telephone service areas or numbering plan areas where the county’s telephone calls originate. As established by the North American Numbering Plan (NANP), an area code differentiates one Numbering Plan Area (NPA) in the county from another. The North Carolina Utility Commission (NCUC) presides over area codes in North Carolina as authorized by the Federal Communication Commission (FCC).
The active area codes in Guilford County are two. These are:
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Area Code 336
Area code 336 came into service in 1997 as a split from the 910 NPA. It covers all of Guilford County and serves parts of many other counties in the state. The 336 NPA includes Guilty County locations such as Greensboro, High Point, Sedalia, Oak Ridge, Gibsonville, and Summerfield.
Area Code 743
Area code 743 overlays the 336 NPA and serves the places covered by area code 336.
What are the Best Cell Phone Plans in Guilford County?
Cell phones are the most popular telecommunication devices in North Carolina. As of 2018, 57.3% of adult North Carolinians used wireless-only telephony services, while only 4.5% of them used landline phones exclusively. This data is from the reports of a survey conducted by the CDC in 2018 to study phone usage in the United States. The report also revealed that 69% of children (under 18 years) solely used cell phones for telecommunications, while only about 2.6% exclusively used landlines.
The major wireless service providers in the United States provide network services for the various towns and cities in Guilford County. The City of Greensboro enjoys 98% coverage of Verizon, and 94% cover by AT&T. T-Mobile has a spread of about 86% in the city, while Sprint provides the least cover at 58%.
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is a telephony service that transmits signals over broadband internet connections. Guilford County residents with internet-enabled devices can use VoIP service to communicate at more affordable rates. The service supports text messaging, audio calling, and video conferencing.
What are Guilford County Phone Scams?
Guilford County phone scams are deceptive practices operated using telephone services to extort money and personal information from county residents. Phone scammers can mask their identities by spoofing the Caller IDs of familiar organizations and government agencies. Reverse phone lookup services can uncover the real identities of persons perpetrating phone scams.
The Guilford County Sheriff's Office (GCSO) and the North Carolina Office of the Attorney General (NOAG) protect residents from falling prey to phone scams. Residents who are phone scam victims can report online to the NOAG or call the GCSO on (336) 641-3694 to file formal complaints. The commonly perpetrated phone scams in Guildford County include:
What are Law Enforcement Agents Impersonation Scams?
Beware of unknown callers who claim to be law enforcement agents and solicit money over the phone. If you reside in Guilford County and receive this type of call, hang up and report to the Guildford County Sheriff's Office (GCSO). Do not provide any personal information or send money. The GCSO warns about phone scammers impersonating Deputies and targeting Guilford County residents, telling them that they have warrants for missing court dates. During the call, the scammers coerce the targets to pay fines to avoid getting arrested. They ask their victims to send the money by wire transfers and gift cards or arrange to meet them and collect cash. Though the GCSO contacts residents by phone regarding warrants and legal concerns, they will never solicit money to settle warrants and cancel arrests. An unknown caller claiming to be a Deputy Sheriff who threatens arrest if you do not send money promptly to resolve a warrant is a scammer. Applications that offer phone number search free services can retrieve information on the identities of these scammers. You can report these scams to the GCSO by calling (336) 641-3694 or online to the NOAG.
What are Charity Scams?
Charity scams are common in the United States. Scammers take advantage of emergencies, pandemics, and natural disasters to con residents into donating money to fake charities. Groups of persons who claim to raise money for charities are taking advantage of county residents’ benevolence to extort them. You can avoid falling for their scheme by checking their legitimacy when they contact you. In most instances, these scammers will solicit donations to assist victims of recent disasters or ongoing pandemics. They usually ask for cash donations or request their targets to wire money.
If someone calls and asks for a donation on behalf of a charity organization, ask for the charity's name, website, and address. Confirm the details of such an organization online and contact them directly to verify the caller's claim. Residents who fall for this scheme can file reports online with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) or contact the GCSO by calling (336) 641-3694.
What are COVID-19 Scams?
Scammers are exploiting the coronavirus outbreak to steal Guilford County residents' money and personal data. The COVID-19 scams have many variations. In a version, the scammers will pose as employees of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and request fees to expedite their targets' stimulus payments. They ask the targets to pay by wire transfer or purchase gift cards and give them the cards' details. In another prevalent version, targets will receive text messages stating that they had contacts with persons who tested positive for coronavirus. The text messages will advise targets to self-isolate and click links provided in the texts for more information. If you click on such links, the scammers will gain access to personal data and financial information stored on your device.
If you receive these types of text messages, do not click on any links. The Guildford County Health Department warns residents to delete such messages immediately and report it to their local law enforcement agency. The Health Department does not provide links in its COVID-19 contact tracing text messages. Victims of these scams can report their encounters to the FTC by calling 1 (888) 382-1222 or online. It is possible to unveil these scammers' identities by performing reverse phone lookups.
What are Grandparent Scams?
Fraudsters target the elderly in Guilford County because they typically have good credit or considerable savings. They usually think of them as easy prey for their schemes. In these scams, con artists will pretend to be the grandchildren of their targets. They claim to need money urgently to bond out of jail, get out of the hospital, or resolve other emergencies. Most of the scammers pull targets' real grandchildren names from social media accounts while some wait for the elders to mention names. They typically request targets to pay promptly via wire transfers or retail gift cards. The Guilford County Sheriff's Office advises seniors to ignore calls from unknown phone numbers to prevent these scams. If you receive a call from a number you do not recognize but who claims to be a relative in need of help, end the call. Contact the person through a known phone number to confirm the caller's claim. Never send money until you can ascertain their genuineness and especially not by odd payment channels. County senior residents who fall prey to this scam can call (336) 641-3694 to file reports with the Guilford County Sheriff's Office. Alternatively, they can complain online to the North Carolina Office of the Attorney General (NOAG).
What are Robocalls and Spam Calls?
Robocalls are automated calls that deliver prerecorded messages to a large number of people at the same time. Government agencies and telemarketers use robocalls for legitimate purposes. A lot of robocalls are, however, illegal and annoying. Phone scammers spoof robocalls in attempts to steal money and personal information from Guilford County residents. Hence, residents must be wary of calls with caller information that appear like trusted organizations to avoid falling victim to scam robocalls. If you are getting inundated by robocalls and want to avoid scams, the best line of actions are:
- Join the National Do Not Call Registry by dialing 1 (888) 382-1222 from your phone number. You can also register online. The robocalls you still receive after 31 days of registration are potential scams.
- Reject calls from numbers you do not recognize. If you do answer and realize it is a robocall, disengage your phone immediately.
- Contact your phone company to block robocall numbers each time you receive calls from them. However, doing this for each robocall may be tiring. You can use third-party call-blocking applications to bar each of those numbers.
- Report illegal robocalls online to the FTC and spoofed robocalls to the FCC.
How Can You Spot and Report Guildford County Phone Scams?
Con artists have many ways of cheating Guilford County residents out of their money. Phone scams are typically frustrating to persons at the receiving end of avoidable phone scams. The essential thing is that you do not give out personal information or send money to anyone over the phone. Avoiding phone scams is easy when you know what to look out for during a conversation with an unknown caller. Keep your eyes on the following signs to prevent falling prey to the schemes of phone scammers:
- If an unknown caller asks you for money in a way you least expect, it is a sign of a phone scam. Phone scammers usually request payment via unusual means such as gift cards, wire transfers, or cash.
- Phone scammers will pretend to be representatives of the government and ask for your social security numbers, bank information, and credit card details. Do not disclose your confidential information to anyone, especially not over the phone.
- If you receive a phone call from someone you do not know and demanding immediate payment for a service, it is a potential scam.
- Someone who claims to work for the government and threatens you with arrest if you fail to pay a supposed debt or fine over the phone is a scammer. Legitimate representatives of government agencies will never threaten anyone with arrest or solicit money over the phone.
- If you receive a call informing you that you won a foreign lottery, it is a potential scam. In most instances, the unknown caller will request that you pay taxes by wiring money to claim the supposed lottery.
The best way to nip phone scams in the bud within Guilford County is by getting consumer education. Some government agencies provide such education while also making sure to prevent residents from falling victim to phone scams. Enrolling your phone number on the DNC Registry is also a proven way of avoiding robocall scams. Reporting phone scams is also key to ending the menace. It enables the relevant agencies to prosecute phone scammers where possible. You can report phone scams in Guilford County to the following agencies:
North Carolina Office of the Attorney General - The NOAG provides scam alerts on the latest phone scams and tips on avoiding them. Victims of phone scams in Guilford County can file complaints online to the NOAG or call (919) 716-6000.
Guilford County Sheriff's Office - The GCSO helps investigate reported incidents of phone scams in the county. You can call the GCSO on (336) 641-3694 to register a phone scam complaint.
Federal Trade Commission - Residents whose phone numbers are on the DNC Registry developed by the FTC are more likely to avoid robocall scams than those who are not. If you are a victim of a robocall or other phone scams in Guilford County, file a formal complaint online with the FTC. Alternatively, you can report to the Commission by calling 1 (888) 382-1222.