What are the Best Cell Phone Plans in Muscogee County?
Area codes, also referred to as Numbering Plan Areas (NPAs), are three-digit prefixes that appear before every telephone number in North America. As a part of the initiative of the North American Numbering Plan (NANP), area codes are designed to identify the geographical locations where every call originates from. Phone users can conduct area code lookups using reverse phone number lookup services to ascertain the geographical location of calls they receive. Free reverse phone number lookup services can be used to carry out area code lookups.
In addition, under the North American Numbering Plan, every region in North America is assigned with at least one area code and in cases where the initial area code has been exhausted, such regions have overlay codes.
Muscogee County has two area codes namely:
Area Code 706
Area code 706 was created as a split from area code 404 on May 3, 1992. It serves northern Georgia outside the Atlanta metro area, including the whole of Muscogee County and other cities including the cities of LaGrange, Elberton, Grovetown, LaFayette, and Washington.
Area Code 762
Area code 762 was created on September 19, 2017, as an overlay for area code 706 and it covers the same area.
Muscogee County has four major phone network providers and some Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) that residents use to supplement the major phone carriers. Among the four phone network providers, Verizon ranks the highest, having a 96% coverage rating when compared to the other phone network providers in the county. AT&T ranks as the second-best with a coverage of 94%, followed by T-Mobile with 90%. Sprint ranks the least with 68% coverage. Note that phone network quality may be negatively affected by harsh weather conditions.
The National Center of Health Statistics survey released in 2018 shows a clear distinction in the preference of wireless telephones over landlines. The telephone status survey encompasses the preference of both the adults and minors in Georgia. The survey shows that 59% of the Georgia adult population used only wireless telephones, while 3.5% of Georgia adults used only landlines as their preferred telephony service. On the other hand, 69.2% of minors under age 18 in Georgia used only wireless telephone services, while just 2.7% of minors used only landlines.
With the emergence of new telephony inventions, reaching out to different people across the world and scaling businesses is a lot easier. VoIP is one of the latest telecommunications innovations and it is fast growing in popularity within Muscogee County. VoIP means Voice over Internet Protocol. It uses high-speed internet connections to enable voice and multimedia communications. VoIP is cost-effective compared to traditional telephone services. It also provides a wide range of features at no extra charge; some of the features include name dialing, anonymous calling, conference calling, call routing, automated line attendants, advanced call management, call analytics and call rejection.
What are Muscogee County Phone Scams?
Criminal schemes perpetrated by fraudsters over the phone are phone scams. Fraudsters target Muscogee County residents with phone scams of different forms to extort them and steal their confidential information such as their financial data, social security numbers, passwords, etc. While the emergence of new telephony services has made telecommunications easier, fraudsters have begun using it to facilitate their schemes and appear legitimate. For instance, robocalls and Caller ID spoofing are innovations that have constantly been taken advantage of, making it easy for scammers to impersonate government officials and legitimate entities. Residents should take note of such schemes and use good reverse phone number lookup tools to identify scam callers and block them. Furthermore, the Federal Communications Commission creates awareness on illegal Caller ID spoofing and shows people how to avoid phone scams by enabling call blocking on their cell phones.
Common Muscogee County phone scams include:
What are Muscogee County Sheriff’s Office Scams?
Muscogee County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) warns of scams involving impostors posing as members of the department. These impostors call residents randomly and tell them that they have outstanding arrest warrants for committing certain crimes or missing jury duty. The impostors claim that the warrants will only be cleared if the residents send money via prepaid cards, and failure to do so would result in their arrest. Residents should never accept to make such payments. Note that the Muscogee County Sheriff’s Office does not contact residents with outstanding warrants over the phone and sure does not request payment over the phone.
Residents that have been contacted in such a manner can contact the MCSO Criminal Investigative Division at (706) 653-4235. Good reverse phone lookup services help uncover the identities of the scam callers and spoofed Caller IDs.
What are Muscogee County Federal Reserve Scams?
Federal Reserve scams involve scammers claiming to be from the Federal Reserve. They tell their recipients that their bank account information and financial information have been compromised. The scammers then demand that recipients verify their account numbers. Note that the Muscogee County Sheriff’s Office never calls residents to ask for their financial information. Such calls are scams, never give personal and financial information over the phone; instead, call the MCSO to report any scam call. You may also conduct a reverse phone look up to get the true identity of who called you. There are free reverse phone lookup services that support these services.
What are Muscogee County COVID-19 Vaccine Trials Scams?
In these scams, the scammers create fake websites and promotional messages, offering residents $1,000 or more if they accept to participate in a COVID-19 vaccine trial. Typically, these scammers request that you share your Social Security number, bank account details, or credit card details. The promotional messages they send sometimes contain links that download malware. Clicking on the links gives access to your computer, enabling them to steal the account numbers and passwords stored on your device.
Note that legitimate clinical institutions will never ask you to pay them or request your sensitive financial details. If you receive a message telling you to participate in a COVID-19 vaccine trial, do not click on any links, neither share your Social Security number or financial details. If your bank account information is requested for you to receive payment for your participation, ask the company to mail you a check instead. You can also conduct a reverse phone look up to answer the question “who is this number registered to?”
What are Scams Targeted at Older Adults in Muscogee County?
Some artists specifically target elderly residents, trying to defraud them of their hard-earned money because they believe that they are oblivious of these scams. Residents are encouraged to inform their grandparents and elderly persons around them of these scams targeted at them. The Georgia Consumer Protection Division created the Georgia Consumer Protection Guide for Older Adults. Some of the scams highlighted include the following:
- Charitable Giving Scams - This involves scammers impersonating legitimate charitable organizations or creating fake charitable organizations and soliciting donations. Make sure to verify charitable organizations before donating. Report suspected charity scams to the Georgia Secretary of State’s Charities Division by calling 404-654-6021 or via email to charities@sos.ga.gov. Do a free phone number lookup by name, address, or number to find out the true identity of the caller.
- Home Repairs and Improvements Scams - Here, scammers go door-to-door soliciting jobs but end up overcharging consumers, doing a bad job, or taking the consumer’s money without ever completing the repair.
- Identity Theft - This involves fraudsters stealing residents’ personal and financial information to be used for scams. Signs of identity thefts are unexplainable debts, unfamiliar charges on your credit card or bank accounts, or unknown accounts on your credit report. Identity thefts can be reported promptly.
- Medicare Enrollment Scams - Here, fraudsters call posing as Medicare advisors and requesting their targets’ Medicare account numbers for verification. The aim is to steal your Medicare account number to commit fraud on your account.
What are Robocalls and Spam Calls?
Robocalls refer to pre-recorded audio messages sent via autodialers to a target audience to deliver messages to many people at the same time. Robocalls were originally designed to deliver solely informational messages, but in recent times, robocalls have become tools in the hands of scammers. These scammers use them to advertise bogus offers and sometimes steal residents’ personal information. Such robocalls are classified as spam calls. Spam calls are unsolicited calls sent in bulk for advertisement or proselytization. However, some persons use robocalls illegally by including directives for the recipients to speak with live representatives. Such robocalls aim to advertise fake or nonexistent products or services, extort the recipients, and steal sensitive information
Based on the Telephone Consumer Protection Act the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) instated in 1991 robocalls can only be sent to residents that give their prior consent. Unsolicited robocalls are illegal and can be reported to FTC through the online complaint assistant. However, exceptions include:
- Robocalls for informational purposes
- Robocalls for debt collection
- Robocalls sent by political parties, legitimate charitable organizations, and legitimate health institutions
Take these steps if you receive unsolicited robocalls:
- Hang up the moment you perceive that you have picked a robocall. In addition, do not follow the directives given during the call. Some robocalls instruct recipients to press certain numbers to stop receiving robocalls. In most cases, the real intention is to identify active phone numbers and target them with more robocalls, instead of stopping the calls.
- File a complaint with the FTC’s online complaint assistant platform or call 1-888-382-1222 to report over the phone.
- Do a reverse number lookup to identify robocalls and use call-blocking tools to block them. Individuals may also contact their phone network service providers for other call blocking options.
- Use the National Do Not Call Registry to curb robocalls and other unsolicited calls by including your phone number on the registry.
How to Spot and Report Muscogee County Phone Scams?
Residents are encouraged to stay vigilant and cautious when receiving phone calls to avoid falling victim to phone scams. Conducting suspicious phone number lookups when you receive unsolicited calls is a good way to avoid these scams and identify the scammers. The Georgia Consumer Protection Division highlights these red flags of scams:
- Pressure to act immediately without doing any research or verifying information
- Being asked to make payment as a prerequisite for receiving a prize
- Insistence that you pay via cash, gift cards, prepaid cards, or wire transfer
- High-pressure sales schemes or excessively emotional appeals.
- Get-rich-quick offers and other promises that sound too good to be true
- Offers to retrieve the money you previously lost in other scams for a fee
- Use of scare tactics. Examples include telling you a loved one is in danger, that your computer has been hacked, or threatening arrest or deportation if you don’t act immediately
Muscogee County residents can report phone scams to these government agencies:
Muscogee County Sheriff Office - Report a scam to the department by calling the Criminal Investigative Division at (706) 653-4235.
Georgia Department of Law’s Consumer Protection Division - Report a scam to the department through any of these ways:
- Online with the Consumer Complaint Online Form
- By mailing or faxing a completed Consumer Complaint Form to 404-651-9018
- By calling 404-651-8600 or 1-800-869-1123 (toll-free in Georgia, outside of the metro Atlanta calling area). Residents can call between Monday and Thursday, from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm, and on Friday, between 8:30 am and 4:00 pm.
Federal Communications Commission - File a report by completing the online complaint form.
Federal Trade Commission - File a report using the FTC’s online consumer complaint assistant.