What are Racine County Area Codes?
The North American Numbering Plan Administrator (NANPA) established area codes to help streamline telephony processes. Area codes are the first three digits of American phone numbers. Territories covered by the NANPA in North America are divided into different Numbering Plan Areas (NPAs) by these area codes. The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSC) maintains area codes in the state. Currently, only one area code is active in Racine County:
Area Code 262
Area code 262 was put into service in 1999 and created from a split of the 414 NPA. It serves a large part of southeastern Wisconsin, including Racine County. Cities and communities in Racine County within the 262 NPA include Racine, Caledonia, Burlington, Union Grove, Waterford, and Sturtevant.
What are the Best Cell Phone Plans in Racine County?
The four major cell phone carriers in America are well represented in Racine County and provide impressive network coverage. In Racine City, Verizon has 90% coverage, Sprint, 76%, T-Mobile, 64%, while AT&T covers 60% of the city. Racine County residents also enjoy network services by several Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) at affordable rates. Typically, MVNOs run on the infrastructure of the major carriers to provide network service.
From the 2018 National Health Interview Survey, one can deduce that cell phones are the dominant means of telecommunication in Wisconsin. About 54% of the state’s adult population relied on wireless telephony services, while only 4.1% of them still used landlines. The preference for wireless telephony was more glaring among the children (under 18 years) as 60.4% used wireless-only services. In contrast, only 2.0% of them still had landline phones as their only telephony devices.
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) has been embraced by Racine county residents, including businesses, as an alternative to traditional telephony services. It is a technology that uses broadband internet connections to provide telephony services and supports voice calling, text messaging, and video conferencing. Some of its merits are multi-functionality and cost-effectiveness.
What are Racine County Phone Scams?
Racine County phone scams are fraudulent attempts made by unknown callers who aim to extort money or personal information from county residents illegally. Scammers often spoof unsuspecting targets’ caller IDs pretending to be with legitimate organizations and employ varying tricks to rip them off. With free reverse phone lookup applications, however, county residents can uncover the identities of the unknown callers and stay ahead of scammers. Some public agencies protect Racine County residents from phone scams. They include:
- Wisconsin Attorney General’s Office
- Wisconsin Better Business Bureau (BBB)
- Racine County Sheriff’s Office
- Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
- Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
Prevalent scams in Racine County include:
What are Racine County Phishing Scams?
Scammers are contacting Racine County residents via text messages pretending to be officials of legitimate companies to obtain personal information. They usually claim to be with credit card companies, phone companies, and financial institutions. These scammers often attempt to offer valuable assistance to gain their targets’ trust and then obtain confidential information such as PINs, usernames, and passwords. In most cases, they spoof the official phone numbers of entities they impersonate. These scammers usually commit identity and financial theft with whatever information they harvest from their victims. Generally, the rate of success in phishing scams is high. To steer clear of such phishing attacks, never reveal personal details to anyone over the phone, and hang up immediately if you suspect fraud. You can confirm such a caller’s identity using a reverse phone number lookup application. Legitimate organizations will never ask you for confidential information over the phone unless you initiated the call. The FTC provides online resources to help county residents who fall victim to identity theft.
What are Racine County Auto Warranty Scams?
These are scams targeted at unsuspecting car owners in Racine County. Residents receive calls from unknown persons posing as representatives of car dealerships or insurance companies informing them that their auto warranties or insurance will soon expire. Usually, these scams are kick-started with robocalls which prompt targets to press specific numbers to speak with live representatives. The so-called live representatives then request personal and banking information for supposed verifications which potentially exposes county residents to financial and identity theft. No matter how convincing, the FCC urges county residents never to disclose personal information to unverified callers. It is best to end such calls without hesitation and immediately call your insurance or car company using their official phone numbers to substantiate these claims. Applications that offer good reverse phone lookup services can also help identify robocalls and help you avoid this scam.
What are Racine County Fake Check Scams?
Perpetrators of this scam target county residents who provide online retail sales or services. Scammers usually call their targets and request their remote services or purchase their products and then send fake checks for payment. The amounts on these checks are always higher than the actual value of the goods or services purchased. Then, they instruct their victims to wire back the excess. These scams are often hard to crack because these checks usually look exactly like genuine ones. Fraudsters pull this trick successfully because banks are legally mandated to clear check instruments within short periods, and it may take weeks to discover counterfeit checks. Once discovered, the victims are unfortunately left with a huge debt to repay the bank. The FTC urges residents never to wire money to unverified persons and to reject checks as means of payment by strangers. You can report fake checks sent by U.S. Mail to the US Postal Inspection Service by calling (877) 876-2455.
What are Racine County Romance Scams?
Scammers leverage their targets’ romantic desires to steal money and personal data. Typically, they create fake profiles on dating apps or social networking websites to connect with county residents on the same dating platforms. This scam often begins with online chatting during which con artists obtain their marks’ phone numbers. The scammers gain their marks’ trust by calling and engaging them in intense romantic conversations for a couple of days or weeks. They glean personal information from their unsuspecting victims for identity theft and often ask that money be sent to them for different reasons like travel expenses or medical bills. They usually disguise their caller IDs and request payments through odd, untraceable channels. The FTC advises never to reveal personal information or wire money to an unverified lover you have not met in person. If you suspect a romance fraud, end all communications with such a person immediately. You can use an application that offers free phone number lookups by name to authenticate the supposed lovers’ identity.
What are Robocalls and Spam Calls?
Robocalls are automated calls that deliver already recorded messages in mass, usually for telemarketing and political campaign purposes. Scammers are taking advantage of this technology to extort unsuspecting individuals. Robocalls allow them to adopt any identity they want and remain discrete while committing theft. Good reverse phone lookup applications are, however, adept in identifying these scammers. Spam calls relay purposeless, often pre-recorded, messages in bulk to county residents who never subscribed to them. The best ways to respond to robocalls are:
- Hang up promptly once you realize a call is a robocall. Ignore any instruction it passes to avoid unknowingly subscribing to more robocalls.
- Include your phone number in the National Do Not Call Registry to be exempt from unsolicited telemarketing robocalls.
- Verify unknown phone numbers using a reverse phone number application and block the ones that return as robocall numbers.
- File a complaint of robocall abuse with the FTC by calling 1 (888) 382-1222.
How Can You Spot and Report Racine County Phone Scams?
Racine County residents must be well informed and stay vigilant when answering phone calls from unidentified persons to be able to spot phone scams. Scammers are fond of changing their tactics and often conceal their identities through phone number spoofing. Reverse phone lookup services are reliable means of identifying probable phone scams. Some indications of phone scams in Racine County are:
- An unknown caller gives specific and detailed instructions on how payments should be made. Typically, scammers prefer unconventional payment channels such as gift cards, cryptocurrencies, and wire transfers.
- The caller sounds cruel and attempts to obtain information from you with threats of lawsuit or arrest. Legitimate agencies will never use threats to obtain information from residents.
- An unknown caller offers enticing deals and investment opportunities and assures you there is no risk. Such offers should be considered “red flags” because business ventures are naturally interested in making profits and will not offer no-risk deals to their customers.
- A caller offers a short-lived investment opportunity and persuades you to make quick decisions. Legitimate businesses will give you time to research and think over their propositions before you decide.
Several public agencies are saddled with the responsibility of protecting Racine County residents from phone scams. They equally provide platforms for reporting phone scams. These agencies include:
- Wisconsin Attorney General’s Office: Racine County residents can report phone scams to the Consumer Protection and Antitrust Unit of the Attorney General’s Office by calling 1 (800) 422-7128 or 1 (608) 224-4953.
- Racine County Sheriff’s Office: Any resident who is a victim of phone scams in Racine County can report to the County Sheriff’s Office by calling (262) 638-6755. They can also complete the public assistance fraud form online.
- Federal Trade Commission (FTC): Racine County residents can file online complaints of phone scam incidents with the FTC. Residents can also enroll their phone numbers in the National Do Not Call Registry to be exempt from unsolicited telemarketing calls. Any unwanted telemarketing call that comes in 31 days after DNC registry enrollment is a likely scam call and should be reported to the FTC.
- Federal Communications Commission (FCC): Racine County residents can file online complaints about phone scams with the FCC.
- Wisconsin Better Business Bureau (BBB): County residents can report fraudulent businesses to the Wisconsin BBB by calling (414) 847-6000.