What are Faulkner County Area Codes?
The North American Numbering Plan (NANP) was established in 1947 to facilitate direct dialing of long-distance calls, and implementation started in 1951. The NANP then assigned Numbering Plan Areas (NPAs) codes to differentiate each telephone service territory in North America. These codes are known as area codes. They are a series of three-digit codes that precede all North American phone numbers, and they identify the specific numbering plan area where a phone call originates. Faulkner County currently has only one active area code (501). The Arkansas Public Service Commission (PSC) is authorized by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to administer and implement all Arkansas' area codes.
Area Code 501
Area code 501 is an Arkansas telephone code in the NANP serving the central part of the state, including Faulkner County. It came into service as a part of the original 86 area codes launched in 1947. The major cities and towns in Faulkner County within the 501 NPA include Conway, Vilonia, Enola, Mayflower, Wooster, and Greenbrier.
What are the Best Cell Phone Plans in Faulkner County?
Some Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) and the four major phone carriers provide network services in Faulkner County. However, AT&T has the best coverage in the county, with a 100% network penetration in the cities of Vilonia and Greenbrier. In Mayflower, AT&T offers a 94% network spread, while Verizon covers 86% of the city. MNVOs provide affordable network services for residents in communities with insignificant coverage by some of the major network operators.
The data gathered from a 2018 CDC survey revealed a widespread wireless service adoption in Arkansas, both among adults and minors. An estimated 66.4% of the adult population used cell phones solely for telecommunication, while only 4.2% relied on landline phones exclusively for telephony. More than 70.0% of the children demographic (under 18 years) had adopted wireless-only telephony services. This trend confirms that landline phones are gradually disappearing in many Arkansas households, including Faulkner County.
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is a telephony service alternative that supports voice calling, video conferencing, and messaging using IP networks, such as broadband internet connections. It offers Faulkner County residents more affordable means of telecommunicating than traditional phone services. Residents can choose from an array of service providers within the county to enjoy VoIP services. However, they must have internet-enabled devices, such as smartphones, tablets, and computers, to enjoy the numerous unique features of VoIP. Also, landline phones connected to special adapters can communicate over IP networks.
What are Faulkner County Phone Scams?
Faulkner County phone scams are deceptive activities perpetrated to strip county residents of their money and obtain personal information using phones as a medium of operation. Phone scammers use victims' personal information for personal benefits in identity and financial theft. They leverage phone spoofing to appear credible and employ various tricks while preying on targets. In most instances, phone scammers take advantage of residents' ignorance to cheat them out of their money and confidential information. However, applications that offer reverse phone lookup free services can reveal the identities of phone scammers and prevent innocent residents from getting fleeced.
The Faulkner County Sheriff's Office (FCSO) is the primary law enforcement agency in the county. It investigates reported incidents of phone scams and prosecutes the perpetrators if feasible. The Arkansas Office of the Attorney General (OAG) educates residents with scam alerts to help them stay ahead of phone scammers' manipulations and avoid scams. The commonly perpetrated phone scams in Faulkner County include:
What are Faulkner County Credit Repair Scams?
In Faulkner County, residents with bad credit reports and histories are the usual targets of credit repair scams. This set of residents can hardly qualify for loans at any structured lending business or financial institution. They, however, will stop at nothing to repair their credit histories, and this desperation is why they fall victim to credit repair scams. The scammers offer to help repair targets' credit reports or promise to issue them new identities at a fee and get them eligible for credit facilities once again. However, they do nothing to improve marks' credit reports. They only impoverish them the more. They usually request their targets' confidential information such as social security numbers, bank account information, and credit card numbers. This information is eventually used to commit financial and identity theft. Do not disclose such information to anyone in an unsolicited call. You can retrieve information on such callers' identities using free reverse phone number lookup services. These scammers often request that fees be paid upfront for the phony credit repair services and advise them not to inform any credit reporting agency about such an arrangement. Their favorite payment channels include wire transfers and gift cards.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) warns residents against credit repair scams. It reiterates that there is no legitimate credit repair company anywhere. The best way to fix your credit history is to pay up all obligations. Beware of fraudsters who contact you and claim to be with credit repair companies promising to fix your bad credit history and give you a clean credit report. Any entity that promises you a new credit identity is illegal and is only interested in ripping you off. If you receive such a call and suspect it might be fraudulent, retrieve valuable information on the caller using phone number lookup applications and report them to law enforcement.
What are Faulkner County Social Security Scams?
Social security scams have many variations, but scammers who engage in the scheme impersonate the Social Security Administration (SSA) employees. Their primary aim is to steal money and acquire targets' confidential information for identity and financial theft. However, applications that provide phone number search free of charge can retrieve valuable information on these scammers and prevent Faulkner County residents from falling victim to scams. In a popular version, the callers will inform targets that they compromised their social security numbers (SSNs). Consequently, they will claim the SSA suspended their social security accounts due to observed criminal activities with their SSNs. The scammers will offer to clear their names from the alleged crimes and help reactivate their social security accounts at a fee. They then ask their marks to confirm SSNs for supposed verification and reactivation, a trick to obtaining such information for identity theft. The scammers can also threaten to stop targets' benefits tied to their SSNs to get them to comply.
They often request payment by gift cards and wire transfers. Sometimes, they ask targets to provide their credit card information to fulfill such payments. It is essential to reiterate that the SSA does not solicit money over the phone and will not threaten you for any reason. Also, they do not suspend residents' SSNs. Never share confidential information with anyone over the phone to avoid financial and identity loss. Typically, the callers spoof their targets' Caller IDs to display the SSA's official phone numbers and fool them into sending money and sharing social security numbers, among other personal information. The SSA warns residents never to trust the names and phone numbers that show up on their Caller ID information. Residents who use reverse phone lookup applications can identify spoofed phone calls and avoid social security scams that thrive on phone spoofing.
What are Faulkner County Lottery Scams?
Lottery scams are not new, but it is surprising how people still fall prey to this scam scheme. In Faulkner County, these scams thrive on residents' greediness to cheat them out of their money. However, if you have to part with money in exchange for a prize, then it is most likely a scam. In lottery scams, the callers impersonate legitimate lottery companies to lure residents with overly attractive winnings. Targets are informed of the fantastic prizes awaiting them and required to provide their addresses and names to enable the supposed companies to mail partial-payment checks to them. The scammers will inform targets to deposit such checks into their bank accounts once they receive them.
To obtain the rest of the prize winnings, the scammers instruct victims to send a part of the initial deposits to cover taxes and other fees via wire transfers. However, the victims will receive information from their banks after a while that the deposited checks were not suitable for payment. At this time, such fraudsters would have stopped all communication with victims and fled with the money. Consequently, such victims are left to pay back the bank, probably from their life savings. Authorities warn residents to be wary of these scams, especially for competitions they never entered in the first place. It is unlikely that you win a lottery if you did not buy a ticket for it. Besides, legitimate lottery companies do not contact winners via phone calls. You can retrieve valuable information of such callers using reverse phone number lookup applications if you fall victim to a lottery scam.
What are Faulkner County Charity Scams?
In Charity scams, phone scammers take advantage of Faulkner County residents’ goodwill to rip them off. These scams are particularly prevalent during the holidays and some major disasters. The callers often impersonate representatives of familiar charitable organizations and solicit uninformed residents' donations for disaster relief and other noble causes. These scammers employ robocalls, live calls, and text messages in reaching out to their targets. They usually insist on getting residents' contributions via gift cards, credit cards, cash, and wire transfers.
Never send money to someone who claims to be with a charity in an unsolicited call without proper verifications. Legitimate charities will not ask for payments via unofficial channels. If you get such a call, applications offering reverse phone lookup services can help you retrieve the caller's identity and avoid a charity scam. The Arkansas Office of the Attorney General (OAG) warns residents to be careful when contacted by unknown callers claiming to be with familiar charity organizations and requesting donations. It advises residents to research charitable organizations thoroughly before making any donations.
What are Robocalls and Spam Calls?
Robocalls are automated phone calls that disseminate information to selected phone numbers with minimal or no human input. They are usually unsolicited, annoying, inundating, and intrusive. Although most residents think of scams at the mention of robocalls, this does not imply that robocalls do not have legitimate uses in Faulkner County. They are legitimate tools used by telemarketers, government agencies, and political campaign organizations in delivering sales information and public service announcements, as the case may be. However, scammers have co-opted robocalls in their scam activities. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) provides tips on how to stop unwanted calls. Robocalls are a type of spam call. Spam calls are phone calls that convey irrelevant messages to mass recipients who never indicated an interest in such calls. Reverse phone number lookup services can help Faulkner residents determine if incoming calls from unknown phone numbers are robocalls and avoid scams.
Taking the following actions can reduce the volume of robocalls you receive and prevent you from falling victim to robocall scams:
- Report robocall numbers to the FTC online or call 1 (888) 382-1222. You can also file a complaint with the FCC if you get a spoofed robocall.
- End a phone call if you hear an automated voice. Listening further and taking action will lead to repeated robocalls.
- Block robocall numbers from calling you in the future using the built-in call-blocking features on your smartphone. You can equally engage your phone provider for robocall screening tools. These tools recognize incoming robocalls and block them out.
- Add your phone number to the DNC Registry to prevent the inundation of robocalls. You can register by calling 1 (888) 382-1222 from the phone number you intend to enlist. Enrolling your number may not stop robocalls completely, but the odds are that any illegal robocall you receive after registration is a potential scam.
How Can You Spot and Report Faulkner County Phone Scams?
Phone scammers are continually evolving new tricks in their quest to extort unsuspecting Faulkner County residents. However, residents can spot and avoid most phone scams through education and awareness by relevant government agencies. Faulkner County residents are encouraged to leverage services offered by phone lookup applications in identifying potential phone scams before getting fleeced. If you observe the following while having a conversation with an unknown person over the phone, you are probably being targeted for phone scams:
- The caller identifies themself as an employee of a government agency and threatens with arrest for not complying with their demand.
- The caller claims that their company selected you for a special prize but wants you to pay a fee to redeem such winnings.
- The caller claims to be with your bank or a government agency and requests confidential information. Legitimate entities will never ask you to share such information over the phone.
- The caller insists on receiving payment via irregular payment methods. If an unknown caller asks you to pay via gift cards, bitcoins, or wire transfer, it is a potential scam call.
Numerous options are available to Faulkner County residents in filling phone scam complaints. Some of these are:
Arkansas Office of the Attorney General - Faulkner County residents can file complaints online with the Consumer Protection Division of the OAG. The OAG wants residents to sign up for scam alerts to remain updated with current phone scams.
Faulkner County Sheriff's Office - Faulkner County residents can report phone scam incidents to the FCSO on (501) 328-5906. The FCSO hosts Press Releases on its website to educate county residents on the latest scams.
Federal Trade Commission - Enlisting your phone number in the DNC Registry managed by the FTC prevents unsolicited calls. However, Faulkner County residents who are phone scam victims can file reports with the FTC by calling 1 (888) 382-1222 or online.
Federal Communications Commission - Faulkner County residents can report phone spoofing scams and other phone scams to the FCC online or call 1 (888) 225-5322.