What are Napa County Area Codes?
The area code system was developed by AT&T and Bell Laboratories in the 1940s. It was tagged the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) and went into effect in 1947. The system created area codes - three-digit prefixes put in front of telephone numbers which indicates the geographical area associated with telephone numbers. Area codes helped automate calls to different geographical areas without the need for human operators. You can find the area code of an area in the United States by using an area code lookup tool online.
There is currently only one area code serving Napa County – Area code 707
Area Code 707
Area code 707 was created from area code 415 and was officially put into service on January 1, 1959. It covers approximately 7,311,000 unique phone numbers and 1,187,845 individuals near the cities of Santa Rosa, Vallejo, and Fairfield. Other locations served by this area code include Vacaville, Benicia, Eureka, and Napa.
What are the Best Cell Phone Plans in Napa County?
Mobile phones have become very important to everyday communications. Many long-distance calls can now be made without incurring huge costs. In addition to mobility, these factors have fueled an increase in the adoption of wireless telephony service in Napa County and California. According to a 2018 survey conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics, among persons above the age of 18 living in California, 55.4% used wireless telephony service exclusively, while only 3.3% used landline-only telephony service. Among residents below the age of 18, 63.5% used wireless-only telephony, while only 1.8% used landline-only telephony service.
Considering the amount of cell phone plans on the market, it is not difficult to find one that fits your budget and needs. However, before inquiring into the data volume and minutes and text limits on a plan, you should consider the coverage of the wireless providers in your local area. In the county seat of Napa, Verizon has the best overall coverage with a 94%. T-Mobile has a coverage score of 82%, AT&T has 76%, while Sprint's coverage is rated 72%.
With decent coverage from all the four major Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), Napa County residents are well covered whichever wireless provider they sign up with. Smaller carriers referred to as Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) also offer affordable cell phone plans. MVNOs purchase minutes and data from the MNOs at wholesale prices and resell to their customers at retail prices. Network coverage is also good with the majority of the MVNOs operating in Napa County.
You can also purchase phone plans from VoIP service providers to make and receive phone calls. Typically, persons using the same VoIP applications can contact themselves with no charges on the minutes used. VoIP charges are only made on data used. By subscribing to VoIP plans you can make short and long-distance calls to persons using regular numbers at much cheaper rates.
What are Napa County Phone Scams?
Napa County phone scams are deceptive acts of con artists perpetrated using phones to con Napa County residents out of money. Many phone scams involve fraudsters deceiving people into believing that they are speaking to trusted agencies or businesses. Phone scammers may even convince targets into believing that they have fallen victim to other frauds in order to obtain personal and financial information to gain access to their accounts. Common phone scams in Napa County include law enforcement impersonation scams, grandparent scams, lottery scams, and utility scams. Napa County residents may use free reverse phone lookup tools to ascertain the true origins of suspicious phone numbers
What are Napa County Law Enforcement Impersonation Scams?
In the law enforcement impersonation scam, the caller may claim to be a sheriff deputy, a sergeant, or other employees of your local police department and inform the target of an outstanding arrest warrant. Typical reasons for arrest warrants include missing jury duty or failing to pay the fine associated with a ticket offense. To avoid arrest, the target must contact the caller at a particular number for further instructions.
Upon calling back, the target is informed to send money urgently through a prepaid card purchased at a local store or by money transfer services such as MoneyGram and Western Union. The target may be able to bargain the requested fee with the scammer. For victims who purchase prepaid cards, they are usually required to read the numbers of the card to the con artists over the phone. You can use free reverse phone number lookup tools online to find out who called and who a number is registered to.
What are Napa County Grandparent Scams?
The grandparent scam is quite rampant in Napa County. It has two major variations. In the first one, a supposed grandchild contacts a grandparent and sounds distressed with the call appearing to come from a noisy location. The "grandchild" claims to be involved in some type of trouble while traveling overseas, such as being arrested, involved in a car accident and needing emergency car repairs, and sick in a hospital needing to settle hospital bills. The "grandchild" asks the target to wire money to fix the urgent financial problem. The scammers ask for several thousands of dollars and may even call back a few more times asking for more money.
The second variation of the scam involves two con artists. Other than the first scammer purporting to be the grandchild, the second con artist poses as a law enforcement officer or an employee of the hospital affirming the story of the "grandchild" and putting pressure on the target to send money urgently.
Whichever form the grandparent scam takes, the con artists usually plead with the targets to keep the situation and financial requests secret from other family members for several reasons. Reverse phone number lookup applications can prevent residents from falling victim to grandparent scams.
What are Napa County Lottery Scams?
A lottery scam begins with an unsolicited notification from a caller claiming to be from a lottery company. The notification says that you have won a large sum of money or prize in a lottery. Typically, the target of the scam is to direct you to keep the notice confidential and contact a purported claims agent. Upon contacting the agent, you will be asked to pay tax, insurance, shipping, or processing fees so that the winnings can be distributed. The con artist insists that you pay using wire transfer, gift card, or prepaid debit card. Once you make the payment, you will not receive the promised winnings. The scammer may keep coming back with other stories to keep obtaining money from you until you decide to stop sending money. Many lottery or sweepstakes scams illegally use the names and spoof the numbers of legitimate lottery organizations. You can use a reverse cell phone lookup tool to verify if a caller’s identity matches the name given.
What are Napa County Utility Scams?
The utility scam has remained one of the top scams perpetrated in Napa County in recent years. Usually, criminals posing as employees of utility agencies such as water, gas, cable TV, and electric power organizations claim that targets have unpaid bills and must pay immediately or risk service disconnections. However, the utility scam is becoming more detailed with scammers using specific names of customers, guessing amounts owed and disguising their true phone numbers using caller ID spoofing technique.
Utility scammers threaten cut off services unless targets pay using specific payment methods like Green Dot cards, MoneyPak cards, or other cash and gift cards. To verify that callers are who they say they are, you can use good reverse phone lookup tools online to quickly do a number lookup or reverse number lookup.
What are Robocalls and Spam Calls?
Robocalls are automated phone calls initialized by computerized auto-dialers to deliver pre recorded messages to phone users. Improvements in technology in recent times now mean that telemarketers and businesses can use robocalls to place thousands of automated phone calls to phone users every minute at low costs. The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) of 1991 requires telemarketers to obtain the express permission of phone users before contacting them with robocalls. However, you may get robocalls from political candidates running for office or charities asking for donations without having given them your permission. These kinds of robocalls are legitimate and permitted.
Many crooked persons do not adhere to the TCPA guidelines by contacting Napa County residents with thousands of robocalls hoping to swindle them out of money. Although legitimate businesses may inundate residents with unwanted calls, a large portion of spam calls are used to defraud residents. In 2020, Californians received over 4.5 billion robocalls. As of April 2021, over 1.5 billion robocalls have been placed to residents in the state, an average of 32.9 robocalls per person. Reverse phone number lookup can help phone users identify robocalls and avoid falling victims to robocall scams.
Napa County residents can also take the following steps to limit the scourge of robocalls:
- Hang up on robocalls. If you answer a phone call and hear a recorded message, hang up immediately.
- Use the call blocking feature on your phone: Most smartphones have in-built tools to stop spam calls. Check to see if your cell phone or carrier offers blocking tools. Next time you receive unsolicited robocalls, simply block them using your device.
- Ask your phone service provider if it offers a robocall blocking service. Some phone service providers offer that service already in existing cell phone plans, while others offer the service for an additional fee
- Add your number to the Do-Not-Call List: The Federal Trade Commission maintains a registry which telemarketers are required to consult before placing robocalls to phone users. Any robocall received 31 days after adding your number to the registry is likely to come from a scammer.
- Download a call-blocking app: Third-party apps help block spam calls. You can download one from any of the major mobile application stores. Examples of call-blocking apps include Nomorobo, Hiya, Truecaller, and RoboKiller.
How to Spot and Report Napa County Phone Scams?
Many people post too much personal information online. Although scammers do find out information about their targets from multiple sources including print media, neighbors, and workplaces, they take advantage of all the background and personal information shared online and use it to make skillful and highly targeted pitches to scam victims. No matter how targeted scam approaches are, they often use slightly varied versions of commonly known tricks. You can use reverse phone lookup tools to identify potential phone scams. You can also educate yourself on the common tricks devised by con artists.
Be on the lookout for these red flags:
- The caller promises high returns with no risk: Many phone scams promise unreasonably high short-term profits. Guarantees of huge returns every day of the week are too good to be true. Remember that risk and reward go hand in hand.
- The caller asks you to pay an upfront fee to obtain a prize or grant: Legitimate organizations running lotteries do not require people to pay processing fees or taxes in order to claim their prize. Do not take the bait.
- The caller uses a high-pressure technique to obtain sensitive information: It is common practice among con artists to put you under pressure using juicy offers or threats and intimidation to get you to divulge sensitive information. Take your time to verify any information provided by unsolicited callers.
- The caller insists on receiving payment through specific means: Con artists prefer receiving payments through difficult-to-trace methods such as wire transfers, gift cards, cryptocurrencies, and prepaid debit cards. If a caller insists you have to use a particular method of payment, hang up immediately.
You can file complaints with any of the following public bodies if you have been contacted by a scammer:
- The Napa County Sheriff’s Office and local police departments: If you have received a call from a scammer, you can contact your local police department or the Napa County Sheriff's Office at (707) 253-4440. In the county seat of Napa, you can contact the Napa City Police Department at (707) 257-9223.
- The Napa County District Attorney's Office: If you are the victim or target of a scam, contact the District Attorney's office by email at daconsumer@countyofnapa.org, by phone at (707) 253-4059, or by filing a consumer complaint.
- The California Attorney General’s Office: Consumers are encouraged to report scams to the Office’s Public Inquiry Unit by calling (800) 952-5225.
- The Federal Trade Commission: If you receive unsolicited calls 31 days after adding your number to the National Do Not Call Registry, you can file a complaint online with the FTC.
- The Federal Communications Commission: The FCC allows you to file a complaint online if you believe you have received a call from a spam call, or if you think you are the victim of a phone scam.