What are Sacramento County Area Codes?
Area codes refer to the strings of the three-digit numbers at the beginning of American phone numbers. Sacramento County area codes differentiate the Numbering Plan Areas (NPA) within the county as designed by the North American Numbering Plan (NANP). The California Public Utility Commissions (PUC) manages the administration of area codes in Sacramento County.
There are currently two active area codes in Sacramento County, namely:
Area Code 916
Area Code 916 is a California telephone area code that came into service in 1958. It covers Sacramento County and parts of other counties within California. Cities in California covered by this area code include Elk Grove, Rancho Cordova, Folsom, Citrus Heights, Roseville, and Sacramento.
Area Code 279
Area Code 279 is an overlay of area code 916. It serves the same cities and towns as the 916 NPA.
What are the Best Cell Phone Plans in Sacramento County?
According to a 2018 survey by CDC, only about 3.3% of the adult population of California used landlines-only for telecommunication. An estimated 55.4% of them used wireless-only telephone services. The survey also revealed that an estimated 63.5% of the children population (below 18 years) utilized wireless-only telephone services. Only a small portion (1.8%) of the children used landlines-only for telecommunication. These findings suggest that phone service preference among Californians has shifted from landlines to cellular, wireless phones.
The major phone carriers that serve the residents of Sacramento County are AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile. They all have varying degrees of coverage. In Sacramento, Verizon leads others with a coverage of about 96% while AT&T has about 70% coverage of the county. Sprint has about 68% coverage while T-Mobile covers 66% of the county. Generally, network reception is better in the cities than in the villages/towns.
VoIP is a newer alternative to landline and wireless phone services. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) enables voice communications over the internet and offers all of the features of traditional telephone services. VoIP offers businesses and individual users more affordable and more convenient telephone services.
What are Sacramento County Phone Scams?
Sacramento phone scams are frauds committed using telephone services and targeting unsuspecting residents of the county. Phone scammers employ various tactics to steal their targets’ money and/or identities. Reverse phone lookup services can help residents identify scammers and avoid falling victim of phone scams.
The Sacramento County District Attorney's Office (SACDA) seeks to protect residents against scams by providing consumer tips and scam alerts. Similarly, the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department (SSD) educates residents on how to identify phone scams when they receive suspicious calls. Residents who have been victims of scams can report online to the Consumer Unit of the SACDA or complain to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Commonly reported phone scams in Sacramento County include:
What are Jury Duty Scams?
Scammers pose as deputy sheriffs to call unsuspecting residents and accuse them of not showing up for jury duty. They warn their targets that arrest warrants have been issued to bring them in. The scammers then advise targets to pay fines to avoid getting arrested. They demand immediate payment by wire transfers or reloadable debit cards, which are difficult to trace.
Jury duty scammers aim to steal targets' money or financial information. It is worth noting that officers of the SSD or the court do not call jurors for not appearing for jury duty nor request payments over the phone. If you receive this type of call, hang up, and check the caller's identity with applications that provide phone number lookup free services. Anyone who has fallen victim to this scam can report the incident to the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department by calling (916) 874-5115.
What are Federal Government Agencies Impersonation Scams?
Scammers spoof their phone numbers to display those of federal agencies to con unsuspecting residents. The trick employed varies but generally results in scammers looking to steal funds or confidential information from their targets. They usually choose to take payments from victims by wire transfer. They coerce targets to quickly pay up or provide personal information to avoid arrest.
Many residents have fallen prey to government impersonation scams. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) warns that federal agencies do not call residents to request payments over the phone. If you receive such a suspicious call, run the number through a phone number search to answer the question: "who is this number registered to?" You may file a complaint online with the FBI if you have fallen victim to this type of phone scam.
What are County Sheriff Department Impersonation Scams?
In this scam, fraudsters pretend to be employees of the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department (SSD). They threaten their potential victims with arrests for failure to clear unpaid tickets. The intention is to get paid by instilling fear in their targets. They demand payments by cryptocurrency, money transfer, or gift cards. Sometimes, they appear to be helping targets out of troubles. The County Sheriff's Department does not call residents over the phone to request payments as they have a standard payment procedure. If you receive a call from someone claiming to be an employee of the SSD, confirm the caller's identity with a reverse phone lookup. Report the incident to the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department at (916) 874-5115 if you believe you have fallen for a scam.
What are Social Security Phone Scams?
Scammers pretend to be calling from the Social Security Administration (SSA) and inform unsuspecting residents of their compromised social security numbers. They claim to be investigating crimes linked to their targets’ SSNs and that the SSNs are blocked. Scammers will then offer to help reactivate these SSNs or issue new ones and clear their targets from police investigations. They usually request wire transfers and gift cards as the means of payments. Strangely, they will also request for their targets’ full SSNs while claiming to help.
The SSA will never call residents over the phone to request payment nor ask for the details of their SSNs. If someone calls, claiming to work for SSA, run their number through websites that provide suspicious phone number lookup services to reveal the caller's identity. Residents who have fallen victim to social security scams can report to the SSA or call them on 1 (800) 772- 1213. They can also file complaints online with the FTC.
What are COVID-19 Contact Tracing Scams?
The Sacramento Public Health Department adopts contact tracing to stem the spread of the coronavirus in the county. Unfortunately, scammers now use this public service initiative to deceive unsuspecting residents and steal their personal information for identity fraud. They ask for the target's SSNs among other personal information.
Legitimate contact tracers will never request that residents provide their SSNs in the course of engagements. They will only engage you on medical information and ask questions about the people you may have had contact with lately. If you believe you have been a victim of COVID-19 related scam in Sacramento County, file complaints with SACDA or call (916) 874-6218. You can confirm the identity of who called by using search engines that offer reverse phone number lookup services.
What are Robocalls and Spam Calls?
Robocalls are calls placed by auto-diallers to deliver pre-recorded audio messages to selected phone numbers. They are useful for passing important information to large numbers of recipients at affordable rates. Telemarketers, government agencies, and politicians all employ robocalls for legitimate purposes. Scammers adopt robocall for its wide reach, anonymity, and ease of use. They use this tool to defraud Sacramento County residents. A reverse phone number lookup can help residents confirm the identities of persons behind robocalls and avoid phone scams.
To avoid falling prey to robocall scams, the steps to take when you receive a robocall include:
- Hang up immediately. Listening further may have you acting on prompts that will get you scammed further or increase the number of robocalls received.
- Block the number used for the robocall with call-blocking applications provided by your carrier or on your cell phone.
- Do not fully trust the Caller ID information displayed on your phone. Scammers spoof phone numbers and make them look legitimate.
- Add your phone number to the National Do Not Call Registry to stop robocalls from coming through your phone. Any robocall you receive afterward is a potential scam.
- File robocall complaints online with FTC or call (202) 326-2800.
How Can You Spot and Report Sacramento County Phone Scams?
Phone scammers deceive targets with the intent of stealing their money, identities and/or financial information. They achieve this by employing tactics ranging from threats to offers to help. Applications that offer phone number search free services can help find names and addresses linked to scammers’ numbers. The best way to clamp down on scam activities in Sacramento County is by educating residents on how to spot and avoid phone scams.
The signs that a telephone call is a scam include:
- Scammers demand immediate payment. They warn targets of imminent dangers if they fail to comply immediately.
- Scammers pose as representatives of government agencies and legitimate businesses but request payment via the most unusual means.
- Scammers pressure their targets into believing they will miss great offers if they delay payment or hold back requested information.
- Scammers intentionally decline to fully and clearly answer questions about their claims.
Educating Sacramento County residents on how to avoid scams is the best way to curb the menace of phone scams in the county. Consumer protection agencies that provide such education include:
Federal Communications Commission - The FCC is responsible for regulating all channels of communications in the United States. They also provide guides to consumers on how to stop unwanted calls. Residents who are victims of phone scams can file complaints with the FCC or call 1 (888) 225-5322 to report the incidents.
Federal Trade Commission - The FTC protects consumers against phone scams by providing information and procedures on call blocking. They developed the National Do Not Call Registry, a platform for residents who wish to avoid robocalls to add their phone numbers. If you receive unsolicited calls despite having your phone number to the DNC registry, odds are the calls are from scammers. Residents can report cases of unwanted calls to the FTC or call 1 (888) 382-1222.
Sacramento County District Attorney Office - The SACDA protects residents in the county against phone scams by providing tips and scams alerts. They keep residents abreast of current phone scams. Residents who have fallen victim to phone scams in Sacramento County can file complaints with the SACDA or contact the office at (916) 874-6218.
Sacramento County Sheriff Department - The SSD maintains law and order within the county. It educates residents by sharing phone scam trends and tips for avoiding such scams. It also puts up a platform for residents to report tips on crimes within the county. The Sheriff's Department employs search engines that offer paid and free phone number lookup services while investigating phone scams. Persons who fall victim to phone scams in Sacramento County can report to the SSD by calling (916) 874-5115.