What are Oswego County Area Codes?
An area code is a unique three-digit number used by the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) to identify a telephone service territory in a state. Area codes are also known as Numbering Plan Areas (NPAs). They are prefixed to seven-digit North American phone numbers to create the destination routing addresses of phone calls within the public switched telephone network (PSTN). The New York State Department of Public Service is the authorized state agency that regulates area codes in the state.
Oswego County is presently served by two area codes - the 315 and 680 NPA codes.
Area Code 315
Created in 1947 as one of the original 86 codes, the 315 NPA code is the New York telephone code that initially covered central New York, including Syracuse. Presently, it covers Oswego City and other locations in the state’s upstate region. Other cities and towns within the 315 NPA code include Fulton, Albion, Amboy, Hannibal, Orwell, Richland, West Monroe, Minetto, Scriba, Granby, and Constantia.
Area Code 680
Area code 680 is the New York overlay code in the NANP that overlays the 315 NPA code. Activated for service on March 11, 2017, it is the first overlay in the upstate region and serves the same area as area code 315.
What are the Best Cell Phone Plans in Oswego County?
The report of a 2018 Center for Diseases Control (CDC) survey showed that Oswego County residents have massively migrated from landline phone services to wireless phone services. About 6.0% of adult respondents in New York confirmed that they used only landline phones in contrast to 38.8% who preferred wireless telephony services. New Yorkers under age 18 also displayed a similar trend. Users of landline-only services represented 4.9% of the minors demographic, compared to 45.9% who used cell phones as their sole means of telecommunications.
America’s top phone carriers, AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, and Sprint, provide Oswego County and the rest of the state with reliable network services. AT%T has the best network coverage, with a 95.4% network spread. Verizon and T-Mobile cover 87.2% and 84.3% of the county, respectively, while Sprint provides phone services for a little above half of the county’s population. Besides the major carriers, some Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) also offer Oswego County residents more cost-effective cell phone plans. They partner with the major phone carriers through various wholesale arrangements that allow them to resell pre-purchased excess capacity at cheaper rates.
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) allows Oswego County residents to make calls using the internet. VoIP phone services are very flexible to use and are compatible with multiple communications devices such as landlines, smartphones, computers, and tablets. VoIP technology offers phone users a cheaper alternative to traditional phone services, especially for long-distance calls. This is because calls are routed through cyberspace rather than via regular physical telecommunications infrastructure.
What are Oswego County Phone Scams?
Oswego County phone scams are the frauds committed by scammers against residents using telephony services. Scammers’ goal in these frauds is to con residents out of their money and/or fraudulently obtain their confidential information for identity theft. Phone scams are often facilitated by telephone services such as spam calls, text messages, and live calls. They also involve con artists using phone spoofing technology to mimic official phone numbers of reputable businesses and government agencies to deceive their marks. Free reverse phone lookup services can help Oswego County residents spot scams in time enough to avoid financial or identity losses. They can also seek out consumer protection resources from various public agencies involved in combating phone scams in the county. Some of these agencies include:
- Oswego County Sheriff’s Office
- New York State Office of the Attorney General
- Federal Trade Commission
- New York Department of Financial Services
Some frequently committed phone scams in Oswego County are:
What are Oswego County IRS scams?
Scammers involved in IRS scams target Oswego County taxpayers at any time, but their fraudulent activities often intensify during the tax filing season. Although several variations of these scams exist, fraudsters commonly impersonate IRS or other tax-related government employees to trick them into parting with money. They often use phone spoofing to make their calls appear like the IRS is calling and may sometimes brandish badge numbers of real IRS employees. They typically call their marks about delinquent taxes and threaten to arrest them if they fail to clear such tax debts immediately. They usually coerce their targets to comply by threatening to suspend or cancel their social security benefits. The scammers then request that such payments be made via prepaid cards or wire transfers. Scammers have also targeted residents with fraudulent robocalls that threaten criminal litigations against them if they fail to call back regarding tax frauds committed in their names.
In another instance, scammers attempt to obtain their marks’ confidential information by informing them of purported tax filing errors. They use aggression to persuade their targets into believing that such information is required to correct these non-existent errors. If their marks comply, scammers then use this information to commit identity theft or sell them to other scammers for future frauds. If you receive a call from unknown persons claiming to work with the IRS, quickly end the call and contact the IRS directly at (800) 829-1040 to confirm claims. You can also determine the identity of the caller using a reverse phone lookup application. Note that the IRS will never contact taxpayers via unsolicited phone calls or ask for payments through prepaid cards or other irregular channels.
What are Oswego County Charity Scams?
These scams are prevalent during periods of distress and crises because fraudsters prey on the kindness of residents seeking to assist victims of these tragedies. Scammers, either pretending to be with reputable charities or posing as fundraisers for legitimate causes, call residents to solicit financial aid. They often use similar-sounding names to established and well-known charities in an attempt to confuse potential donors. These con artists further attempt to authenticate their claims by spoofing the official numbers of some trusted charities.
The New York Attorney General’s Office advises residents to diligently investigate any charity to which they wish to make donations. They must confirm that these entities are duly registered by asking for their New York State Charities registration numbers. These scammers usually divert donations for their selfish purposes or, in the case of fraudulent fundraisers, remit only part of the donations raised. Charities soliciting donations in Oswego County and other parts of New York must register with the New York Attorney General’s Charities Bureau. Residents can avoid falling prey to these charity scammers by using phone lookup tools to unveil such callers’ actual identities. These tools can also help residents obtain answers to questions such as, “who is this number registered to?” Oswego County residents who suspect fraudulent charity solicitations can notify the New York AGO by filing scam complaints online.
What are Oswego County Law Enforcement Imposter Scams?
These are phone frauds that rely on impersonation to swindle unwary Oswego County residents. They usually involve scammers calling their marks while pretending to be law enforcement agents and using officers’ legitimate cover to coerce quick responses from them. Scammers often use various scripts to obtain their targets’ compliance, and phone spoofing is a crucial hallmark of these scams. In a typical instance, a scammer contacts their mark with news that their close relative has been arrested and demands bail using gift cards. They pressure their marks to yield by making reference to personal details about them or providing real names and badge numbers of law enforcement employees. The fraudsters may further inform their targets that their supposed relatives are embarrassed and want to keep their arrests a secret from other family members.
In another variation of this scam, a fake law enforcement officer may call a targeted resident and threaten them with a purported warrant, summons, or violation in their name. They then offer to drop the charges if their mark cooperates and pays a fine. Oswego County residents are reminded that no legitimate law enforcement officer calls out of the blue to solicit payments. The Oswego County Sheriff’s Office also advises residents to resist the pressure to act quickly and ensure to verify callers’ claims. Residents can conduct good reverse phone lookups to retrieve important information about these callers’ identities and find out who called.
What are Robocalls and Spam Calls?
Robocalls and spam calls are phone calls that mass-deliver unwanted messages to several recipients. They are classified as unwanted and unsolicited calls that generally annoy and irritate American consumers and can be used to initiate phone fraud. Legitimate entities such as telemarketers, political organizations, debt collectors, and charities originally used robocalls for their respective informational/awareness campaigns. However, robocalls have become synonymous with phone scams in various fraudulent schemes that dispossess Oswego County residents of their money and confidential information.
Spam calls differ from robocalls in terms of the mode and timing of their delivery. While robocalls require automatic dialing devices to launch thousands of calls at a time, spam calls can be initiated by real humans, one call at a time. Also, unlike spam calls, robocalls are usually deployed at specific times, such as during election periods, although they can be randomly issued in certain cases. Over the years, both types of bulk calls have relentlessly pestered Americans with various unsolicited messages and are now the top complaint issue at the FTC. Some phone number search free services are capable of identifying incoming robocalls and spam calls, hence enabling countermeasures on residents’ parts.
Some of these countermeasures that help residents tackle robocalls and spam calls include:
- Hang up on a call once you hear a recorded message. Decline any instruction to connect to a live operator or delist your phone number from their calling list. This is a ruse to confirm active phone numbers and target them with more robocalls.
- Sign up on the FTC’s National Do Not Call Registry to reduce the volume of unwanted and illegal calls you receive after 31 days. Subsequent automated calls after this period are most likely scam calls.
- Contact your phone carrier and inquire about any available call-blocking and labeling service for your protection. You can also activate the built-in call-blocking features on your phone to screen and filter out unwanted calls.
- Inform the FTC of all instances of robocall violations or unwanted calls by filing complaints online or calling 1 (888) 382-1222. You can also submit complaints to the FCC online.
Oswego County residents can use the instructions on how to block unwanted calls featured on the FTC’s website to avoid robocall scams.
How Can You Spot and Report Oswego County Phone Scams?
Scammers are ever-versatile at adapting to new technologies and regularly exploit every opportunity to commit phone fraud. They also keep tabs on the latest trends and manipulate current events to develop deceptive schemes for their selfish gains. This often makes it challenging to spot phone scammers. To further evade detection, fraudsters have become proficient at masking their identities with the aid of phone spoofing technology. They can easily trick residents into thinking familiar or trusted entities are calling them. Nevertheless, by learning how phone scammers operate, Oswego County residents can better guard against phone scams and avoid losses.
The following signs characterize potential phone scams:
- Scammers often ask their marks to pay money in advance or provide confidential information before they can receive specific prizes. These fees are often branded as taxes, processing fees, or administrative charges.
- Fraudsters frequently resort to threats in a bid to pressure their targets to act quickly. Common threats scammers use include arrests, license suspensions or revocations, fines, lawsuits, and imprisonments.
- Unexpected phone calls from unknown callers or entities often point to a scam. In all scam cases, fraudsters are always the first to contact their marks.
- Scammers usually make fake claims about their identities and often identify themselves as representatives of familiar reputable entities such as banking institutions, government agencies, and law enforcement. They do this to gain their marks’ trust and avoid detection.
Fortunately, Oswego County residents can combat scammers’ deceptive schemes by maintaining vigilance and exercising due diligence over unsolicited phone calls. They can also uncover valuable identifying information on scammers by performing free phone number lookups by name and address. The public institutions protecting Oswego County residents from phone scams include:
Oswego County Sheriff’s Office: The OCSO protects county residents by regularly circulating scam alerts and investigating reported phone scam complaints. Scammed residents can file complaints with the OCSO by calling (315) 349-3302.
New York State Office of the Attorney General: The New York State AGO, through its Bureau of Consumer Frauds and Protection, combats phone scams and other fraudulent commercial practices targeting residents. New York State residents, including Oswego County residents, can file scam reports with the Bureau by calling their consumer helpline on 1 (800) 771-7755 or completing a complaint form online.
Federal Trade Commission: This federal agency is tasked with protecting American consumers from persons and businesses engaged in anti-competitive and deceptive trade acts. They also manage the National Do Not Call Registry, a database that protects registered phone users against illegal robocalls. Report cases of unwanted robocalls, phone scams, and fraudulent business practices to the FTC online or call 1 (888) 382-1222.
New York Department of Financial Services: This Department regulates insurance agencies and other financial institutions in the state. They also keep consumers safe from phone scams and other financial frauds. Aggrieved Oswego County residents can submit complaints of phone scams and other financial fraud to the Department online.