What are Hall County Area Codes?

What are the Best Cell Phone Plans in Hall County?

In the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) established by Bell Systems in the 1940s, area codes were created as routing tools to help automate telephony communications. The existing system at the time leaned heavily on using human operators to switch and route calls. Area codes were created as three-digit codes before the usual seven-digit telephone numbers which indicated the geographical area associated with telephone numbers. An area code is useful in identifying the origin and destination of a phone call. For quick information about a specific area code, use area code lookup tools online.

Currently, three area codes serve Hall County - Area codes 678, 770, and 470.

Area Code 678

Area code 678 was first used on January 6, 1998, and created from area code 770. In 2010, area code 678 was split to create area code 470. Hence, area code 678 is an overlay for the 404 and 770-area codes Area code 678 covers Roswell, Johns Creek, Alpharetta, Sandy Springs, and Atlanta.

Area Code 770

Area code 770 was first used on August 1, 1995, following its creation from the 404-area code. It overlaps coverage areas with area codes 470 and 678. Major locations covered by the 770-area code include Marietta, Smyrna, Dunwoody, Mableton, Gainesville, and Newnan.

Area code 470

Area code 470 was first used on February 26, 2010, following its creation from the 678-area code. It is an overlay for area code 770 and area code 404 and serves the combined area. Locations covered by this area code include Mableton, East Point, Milton, Redan, and Peachtree City.

Hall County and other Georgia residents are fast adopting wireless telephony service as their preferred telephony option. Less than 7% of Georgia residents still use wired telephony service. Estimates from a 2018 survey conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics reveal that 59.0% of the Georgia residents aged 18 and above used wireless-only telephony service, while 3.5% used wired telephony service exclusively. Among residents below the age of 18, 69.2% used wireless-only telephony service, while 2.7% used wired-only telephony service.

When considering which cell phone plan to purchase, you should compare several wireless carriers for features such as dependability, price, and convenience. Most people want phone service that is reliable and affordable. Some people want sophisticated features, others want more predictable costs. However, the most important thing to consider is the coverage in your area.

Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint all have good coverage in Hall County. In the county seat of Gainesville, T-Mobile has the best coverage with a relative score of 92 compared to other providers. Verizon coverage is rated at 86%, AT&T is rated 70%, while Sprint is rated 62%.  Hall County residents can also purchase cell phone plans from any of the small wireless carriers known as Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) operating in the county. MVNOs operate under one or more of the main carrier networks. Hence, odds are good that your local area will have good coverage for any of the MVNOs, should you go opt for a smaller carrier.

VoIP phone services in Hall County are also beneficial for some residents because they allow for more customization than is possible with other telephony services. After choosing a traditional phone service, customers lose the option to change their area code. VoIP is different because it allows users to change their area codes, and they do not have to live in the location of the area code. Since VoIP offers this feature and delivers many other useful features, such as call waiting, call blocking, international calling, and three-way calling, it is a better choice for many Hall County residents. VoIP phone plans from service providers typically help save huge costs on monthly phone bills.

What are Hall County Phone Scams?

Hall County phone scams are illicit and fraudulent acts of crooked individuals committed through the use of phone calls to steal sensitive personal information or defraud unsuspecting Hall County residents. Phone scams can also occur through robocalls and text messages. Regardless of the means, the con artists’ ultimate goal is to defraud county residents. Phone scams typically come from strangers claiming to represent government agencies or law enforcement officials. These criminals can make their calls appear like they are originating from legitimate phone numbers through caller ID spoofing. Scammers might demand that their targets send money or gift cards immediately and threaten arrest or imprisonment if payments are not made right away. Hall County residents may use free reverse phone lookup tools to ascertain the true origins of suspicious phone numbers.

What are Hall County Government Grant Scams?

Grant-related scams often begin with calls from people pretending to work with government agencies promising access to grants or "free money." These fraudsters claim they can help residents access such money in exchange for payments. You may also be told that you have been selected to receive a grant of several hundreds or thousands of dollars from a government agency or non-profit organization for paying your tax on time or other flimsy reasons. To complete the grant process, fraudsters seek access to your money or personal information. You may be asked to send money via wire transfer to pay a "processing fee" to receive the grant. Phone lookup applications can help uncover the true identities of scam callers.

What are Hall County Social Security Scams?

In a social security scam, the callers pose as federal agents or employees of the Social Security Administration and mislead targets into believing that their Social Security numbers were involved in crimes. Targets are threatened with arrests and loss of assets if they do not send money within a short period of time. Some scammers may direct targets to mail cash to aliases used by other members of their fraud network or ask them to send money by wire transfers.

Social security scammers may also inform targets that their accounts have been suspended following fraudulent activities traced to them. To lift suspensions, targets are instructed to send money immediately or purchase reloadable cards. You can use a reverse cell phone lookup tool to verify if a caller’s identity matches the name given.

What are Hall County IRS Scams?

IRS scams are perpetrated by persons posing as representatives of the IRS claiming that contacted persons owe taxes to the IRS or the Department of Treasury. To appear legitimate, these persons use fake names and IRS badge numbers and may even spoof the IRS number on recipients' caller IDs. The con artists threaten targets with arrests, jail time, or revocation of business or driver's licenses during phone conversations to scare them into action. Following the threats, these criminals may hang up. Others soon call back pretending to be from the local police or Department of Motor Vehicle supporting the claims of the previous callers.

Although recent immigrants are often targeted in this scam, taxpayers in Hall County are also common victims of the scam. If you do not owe taxes or have no reason to think that you owe any taxes, then call and report the IRS scam incidents to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. Reverse phone number lookup applications can prevent residents from falling victim to phone scams.

What are Hall County Healthcare Scams?

The healthcare scam is typically targeted at senior citizens. Scammers believe that older adults are more likely to trust strangers and that extra health coverage makes them worthy propositions. Healthcare scammers pose as healthcare workers or Medicare representatives while asking their targets for their contact information and other sensitive information.

These fraudsters hope to build a relationship of trust with their victims, so they might offer to help targets obtain medical insurance. They refrain from asking for personal information straight away. Instead, they wait a few days before calling back again saying that they contacted close relatives of the targets who have given the green light for the target to provide them with their Social Security numbers, license numbers, debit or credit card numbers, or any other personal information. 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 telephone calls placed using auto-dialers or predictive dialers to deliver pre recorded messages. Robocalls are now commonly viewed as spam calls considering the sheer volume of such calls received by people. In 2020, nearly 3 billion robocalls were placed to Georgia residents. Between January and March 2021, residents have received over 860 million robocalls - an average of 68.3 robocalls per person. The magnitude and frequency of these calls have made residents term robocalls as intrusive and annoying.

However, robocalls are useful in many instances such as when used by government bodies in issuing public service announcements, legitimate charities seeking donations, political campaigners, and hospitals in reminding patients of appointments. The United States government enacted several federal laws to limit the scourge of robocalls, especially its use in phone scams, such as the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) of 1991. The Act requires robocall users and telemarketers to obtain the express permissions of persons to be contacted using robocalls.

Reverse phone number lookup tools can help phone residents identify robocalls and avoid falling victims to robocall scams. Hall County residents can also take the following steps to limit the intrusion of robocalls:

• Do not answer. If you are unfamiliar with a phone number, do not hesitate to let the call go directly to voicemail.
• Hang up. Do not press any numbers. Scammers usually ask you to press a number to speak with a live operator. Pressing the number indicates to the scammer that the line is active, which in turn means that more robocalls can be made to the phone line. If you press the button to speak to a live operator, the operator who doubles as the scammer will eventually ask for money or say they will remove you from their list, which ends up being untrue.
• Report robocalls online to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) or call the FTC on 1 (888) 382-1222. The more complaints are filed, the more the FTC can help stop robocalls and share the information in the public space and with law enforcement agencies.
• Subscribe to the FTC's Consumer alerts.
• Contact your phone service provider if it has call-blocking tools that you can use to block unwanted calls on your phone.
• Install a third-party call-blocking app, such as Hiya, Nomorobo, and Truecaller
• Register your number in the National Do Not Call Registry.

How to Spot and Report Hall County Phone Scams?

Scammers sometimes study their targets by collating information on them from online sites and other places before placing calls through to them. They may find out what motivates their targets in order to increase the chances of being successful with their schemes. At other times, these criminals use the same schemes and tricks on many targets in the hope that some will take the bait.

You can identify phone scams by performing free phone number lookups. You should also get to know the tactics used by scammers in order to limit the odds of falling victims to these fraudulent practices.

Be on the lookout for these red flags:

• The caller leaves an urgent message and instructs you to return the call right away: If you get a call or message from an unknown number asking you to call back immediately, do not call back. This is a common trick used by scammers to play on your emotions to send money or release sensitive information. Trustworthy agencies or businesses will not leave numbers for people to call back.
• The caller insists you can only pay in a certain way: Scammers prefer to receive payment through untraceable methods such as cryptocurrencies, wire transfers, and gift cards. Any caller who insists you can only pay through these methods is likely to be illegitimate.
• The caller says you have won a prize, vacation, or free gift but have to pay a fee or come to a local office to claim your winning: Legitimate prize promotions do not require purchases or payments for consumers to participate or win.
• The caller asks you not to take time to think about an offer that is "guaranteed" or "risk-free": Scammers do not want you to verify their offers from independent sources. By enticing you with "limited-time" offers and promises of huge bonuses or winnings, they hope to get you to sign up immediately or transfer funds.
• The caller demands sensitive personal information: Any caller who asks you to provide personal information such as Social Security number, bank account information, and credit card information is likely to be a scammer. Real government agencies and legitimate private businesses do not ask for personal information.

You can file complaints with any of the following public bodies if you have been contacted by a scammer:

• The Hall 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 Hall County Sheriff's Office at (770) 531-6900. In the county seat of Gainesville, contact the Gainesville Police Department at (770) 534-5252.
• The Georgia Attorney General’s Office: Consumers are encouraged to report scams online to the Department of Law's Consumer Protection Division of the Attorney General’s Office or by calling the Department at (404) 651-8600 or (800) 869-1123 (toll-free in Georgia, outside of the metro Atlanta calling area). The Department’s representatives are available weekdays between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday through Thursday, and 8:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. on Friday.
• 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.
• Social Security Administration: If you receive a scam call or you suspect you have been a victim of a scam from the Social Security Administration, report such calls by calling the Office of the Inspector General at (800) 269-0271 or make a report online.
• The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA): Report IRS imposters to the TIGTA. To report by phone, call TIGTA at (800) 366-4484.