What are Rockingham County Area Codes?
An area code is a three-digit prefix appended to a telephone number indicating the geographical area associated with the number. You can find the area code of an area in the United States by using area code lookup tools online. Only one area code serves Rockingham County.
Area Code 603
Area code 603 covers the whole of the State of New Hampshire. It is one of the original 86 codes created by AT&T and the Bell System in 1947. Major cities served by the area code include Manchester, Nashua, Concord, Dover, Rochester, and Keene. Relief planning has started to avoid exhaustion of all possible phone numbers in this area code.
What Are the Best Cell Phone Plans in Rockingham County?
A 2018 survey conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics revealed that 46.0% of persons above the age of 18 in New Hampshire used wireless-only telephony service, while only 4.5% used landline-only service. Among persons below the age of 18, 53.8% used wireless-only telephony service, while 1.2% used landline telephone service exclusively.
Rockingham County residents can purchase cell phone plans from all four major wireless carriers in the United States. Verizon coverage spreads across 92% of Portsmouth, Sprint covers 84%, T-Mobile covers 82%, while AT&T covers 76% of the county.
Rockingham County residents may also purchase cell phone plans from MVNOs operating in the county. MVNOs, an acronym for Mobile Virtual Network Operators, typically offer cheaper plans and a wider variety of phone plans. Although MVNOs lease infrastructure from the major carriers, they can mark down cell phone plans because they do not have to build or maintain their own infrastructure.
VoIP plans are also available from VoIP service providers in Rockingham County - another wireless telephony option for phone users in the county. VoIP, short for Voice over Internet Protocol, is a technology that allows users to leverage on the internet to make and receive phone calls. VoIP service providers do not have to erect new structures such as communication lines and masts, hence, calls made using VoIP are much cheaper than cellular and landline calls.
What Are Rockingham County Phone Scams?
Rockingham County phone scams are fraudulent practices carried out by con artists through phone calls. These practices are perpetrated to defraud unsuspecting county residents or steal personal information that may be later used in identity thefts. These scams often involve false representations and pressure tactics to successfully fleece targets. Phone scammers may impersonate bank officials, the police, tax bureaus, insurance companies, and trusted private entities. You can use free reverse phone lookup tools to verify the identity of the person behind a call. The most common phone scams in Rockingham County are listed below.
What are Rockingham County IRS Scams?
Aggressive and threatening phone calls by con artists impersonating IRS officials and are major threats to taxpayers. Rockingham County has seen a surge of these scams as scam artists threaten police arrest, deportation, license revocation, and other things. There are many variations of IRS scams. The caller may threaten you with arrest or lawsuit to lure you into making a payment. Another scammer may say that you are entitled to a huge refund.
IRS scammers often falsify caller ID numbers to make it appear like the IRS or another agency is calling. The callers use IRS titles and fake badge numbers to appear legitimate. They use the targets’ names, addresses, and other personal information to make the call sound official. Note that the IRS will never:
- call to demand immediate payment without first having mailed you a bill
- demand that you pay taxes without allowing you to question or appeal the amount owed
- require you to use a specific payment method such as a prepaid debit card
- ask for credit or debit card numbers over the phone
- threaten to bring in local police or other law-enforcement groups to have you arrested for not paying
Many IRS scam calls originate outside of the United States. You may conduct a “reverse phone lookup international” search online to verify the source of such calls. A “reverse phone lookup USA” search will help track the origin of a call placed within the United States.
What are Rockingham Debt Collector Scams?
In a debt collector scam, the caller contacts the target and claims to represent the target's bank or credit card company. The caller says the target has been a victim of a recent fraud that has occurred or purports to be a representative from a debt agency trying to collect debt on an overdue account. To fix the problem, the target is told to provide sensitive personal information or bank information. Once the target provides the requested information, the scammer uses the information to perpetrate identity theft or to steal money.
Always take the details provided about the alleged problem and carry out independent research to verify the true state of matters. A legitimate financial institution or debt collection agency will understand your apprehension. While legitimate debt collectors may be pushy at times, their goal is to collect the money owed. Note that reputable financial institutions will not initiate contact with you by telephone to request personal information. You can use a reverse cell phone lookup tool to verify if a caller’s identity matches the name given.
What are Rockingham County Lottery Scams?
In a lottery scam, the con artist contacts and informs you that you have won a lottery, typically from a foreign country. The scammer requests payment to supposedly cover shipment, tax, or processing fee in order for the target to receive the winning. Sometimes, a lottery scammer will make the target believe that for a nominal fee of a few hundreds of dollars, the target will receive a prize or money worth thousands of dollars. Once initial payment is made, the criminal continues to request more and more money for various reasons and will continue to do so until the target stops making payments.
Typically, payment is requested via wire transfer or through money transfer services like MoneyGram or Western Union. The target may also be instructed to purchase prepaid money cards such as a Green Dot MoneyPakCard or a Readydebit Card at the local store. The scammer gives step-by-step instructions on where to find the cards in the store, which specific card to purchase, and what cash amount to load onto the prepaid card.
One easy way to prevent this scam is to ask yourself if you entered the lottery you have supposedly won. Research the lottery to ensure its legitimacy before sending any money to cover shipment, tax, or processing. There are free reverse phone number lookup tools online to help uncover who called and find who a number is registered to.
What are Rockingham County Grandparent Scams?
Grandparent scams are usually targeted at grandparents with an intention to exploit their unwavering generosity and care for their loved ones. These scams are often successful because scammers understand the psychology behind thinking through problems when emotions are high. The scenarios are usually designed to be harrowing and compelling.
Scammers, posing as grandchildren, call and pretend to be in jail, hospital, or stranded overseas in urgent need of money through wire transfers, gift cards, or prepaid debit cards. Sometimes, these fraudsters operate in twos, with the other party posing as a bail bondsman or arresting officer, all in a bid to get the grandparent to believe the story and act impulsively. It is common in grandparent scams for fraudsters to plead with their targets to keep the situation secret from other family members.
What are Robocalls and Spam Calls?
A robocall is an automated phone call delivering a pre-recorded message to a telephone subscriber. Robocalls are perfect for delivering messages or information to a large audience. Telemarketers use robocalls to contact potential and existing customers for sales pitches. Robocalls are also used by advertising agencies and political campaigners to send recorded messages to many citizens. Robocalls are placed using automated dialing announcing devices (ADADs) which can be programmed to select phone numbers for contact from a pre-selected list.
According to the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) of 1991, telemarketers are required to obtain the express consent of telephone subscribers before contacting them through robocalls. An unsolicited robocall is illegal and a spam call. Illegal robocalls are one of the many tools used by scammers to lure Rockingham County residents into giving away sensitive information or personal data. To limit the chances of being fleeced by robocalls placed by scammers, you may use reverse phone lookup tools to verify the identity of incoming calls.
Other steps to take to stop robocalls include:
- Hang up on robocalls. If you answer a call and hear a prerecorded message, hang up immediately. Do not press any button or number. That could lead to you receiving more calls from crooked individuals.
- Avoid answering calls from unknown numbers.
- Do not provide or confirm personal or financial information to anyone over the phone, as the request may be fraudulent.
- Contact your telephone provider. Some providers offer call screening or call blocking products, including services that can help conduct a suspicious phone number lookup or reverse phone lookup.
- Download and install a third-party call-blocking application on your mobile phone, such as Nomorobo, Truecaller, Hiya, and YouMail.
- Report unwanted calls online to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) or call (888) 382-1222.
- Install a good reverse phone lookup tool on your phone to find out who called and who the number is registered to.
- Register your phone number on the National Do Not Call Registry maintained by the FTC. Registration is free and can be done by calling (888) 382-1222 from the number you intend to register.
How to Spot and Report Rockingham County Phone Scams?
Phone scams are becoming a bigger problem than they ever were with some of the most devious scams growing in popularity. Recent technologies such as number spoofing and robocalls have only made these scams more sophisticated and harder to detect. Although many assume that phone scams are nearly always targeted towards the elderly, these scams are getting more intricate and can even trip up younger people.
To appear more believable to their targets, scammers now do a lot of digging on social media sites to obtain information on the background and everyday life of their targets. After obtaining information sufficient to impersonate a trusted organization that the target is familiar with, a scammer may falsify the caller ID to mimic that organization's phone number. Tools such as reverse phone number lookup services are effective in identifying potential phone scams.
Here are some tell-tale signs of phone scams:
- The caller asks you to make an urgent payment by wire transfer, gift cards, or cryptocurrencies. This is a common feature of many phone scams. The scammer insists that you have to pay immediately through gift cards or prepaid debit cards. A reputable organization will not ask you to make payments through these options.
- The caller threatens to revoke your license or arrest you. No reputable organization will threaten you with an arrest, deportation, or license revocation. If a caller threatens you this way, it is a red flag.
- The caller wants you to make an immediate decision. If the caller puts pressure on you to try to coerce you into making a quick decision, ask for more time to reassess your options or to make up your mind. If the caller insists you have to decide on the spot, you may well be on a call to a scammer.
- The caller informs you about an offer, prize, or grant that you did not apply for. Typically, the caller asks you to make a small deposit to access a large amount of money or to claim a prize or grant. Do not take the bait. The caller is only trying to play on your emotions.
Although being aware of the tricks used by scammers will not stop you from being targeted by phone scammers, using tools that perform reverse phone number lookups can further reduce the chances of being scammed.
You can file complaints in Rockingham County with any of the following public bodies if you have been contacted by a scammer:
- Local Police Departments and the Rockingham County Sheriff’s Office: If you receive a scam call in Rockingham County, you can report it to your local police department or the sheriff’s office by calling at (603) 679-2225.
- New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office: New Hampshire residents who have been contacted by a scammer or fallen victim to a phone scam may file formal complaints online or by calling the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Hotline at (888) 468-4454 or by email at DOJ-CPB@doj.nh.gov.
- Federal Communications Commission: If you receive unwanted robocalls and text messages, you can file a report online with the FCC.
- Federal Trade Commission - The FTC protects consumers from deceptive and fraudulent practices. You can file a phone scam report with the FTC by completing the online complaint form.
- The United States Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TITGA): If you have been contacted by an IRS scammer, contact the TITGA by calling the office at (800) 366-4484.