What are DuPage County Area Codes?
Area codes refer to the blocks of three digits at the beginning of phone numbers that identify Numbering Plan Areas (NPAs) established by the North American Numbering Plan (NANP). Area codes in Illinois are under the management of the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC). Two area codes currently serve DuPage County.
Area Code 630
Area code 630 is an Illinois telephone area that currently serves DuPage County and some surrounding counties in Illinois. DuPage County communities under this NPA include Aurora, Wheaton, Bolingbrook, Naperville, Downers Grove, Elmhurst, Lombard, Carol Stream, Bartlett, Hanover Park, and Addison. Others are Glendale Heights, St. Charles, Woodridge, Glen Ellyn, West Chicago, and Batavia.
Area Code 331
Area code 331 is a telephone code introduced in 2007 as an overlay of the 630 area code.
What are the Best Cell Phone Plans in DuPage County?
Landline phone networks are being rapidly replaced by wireless and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephony services in DuPage County. The 2017 Annual Report on Telecommunications Markets in Illinois highlighted the shift in subscribers’ preferences. As of year-end 2001, there were about 9 million landlines reported in Illinois. That number dropped drastically to 4.2 million by year-end of 2016, a decline of about 53%. Within that same period, mobile wireless subscriptions grew from 5.6 million to 13.8 million.
VoIP’s popularity soared alongside wireless telephony services, to the detriment of landlines. VoIP uses broadband internet to offer subscribers a chain of value-added services in addition to traditional telephony services. Compared to landline and wireless phone services, VoIP services make long-distance calls and conference calls more affordable.
The major phone carriers have excellent coverage in Illinois. AT&T leads with 99.7% coverage. Verizon’s coverage in Illinois is 94.8%. T-Mobile’s coverage stands at 86%, while Sprint boasts a coverage of 79.5%.
What are DuPage County Phone Scams?
Scams executed against county residents using such telephony services as live phone calls, automated calls, and text messages are phone scams. The means of committing the frauds might differ, but the goals are the same; to extort money and retrieve sensitive data. The Illinois Attorney General’s Office identified prevalent scams, including the below listed.
What are Imposter Scams?
Scammers take on the identities of people or agencies that their targets are familiar with to execute their cons. Posing as familiar figures earn the scammers the victims’ attention and trust. The different variations this scam often come as include:
- Scammers introduce themselves as tax officials from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and threaten targets over unpaid taxes.
- Scammers claim to be from the local utility companies and threaten to cut off their services if targets do not pay off bogus debts.
- Scammers pose as distant grandchildren, of their targets, in need of urgent funds to get out of emergencies.
Whatever identities they take on, these scammers create panic, hoping the sense of urgency it causes will make the targets to react impulsively.
DuPage County residents need to verify the authenticity of callers’ claims before sending funds to them. When in doubt, hang up the call and contact the IRS, utility company, or the relative in distress directly to verify any claims made. Report incidences of this nature to the Attorney General’s Office or the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
What are Telephone Marketing Scams?
These scam promise rewards or present lucrative opportunities for the targets. The lure of prizes and fantastic opportunities attracts the victims. There are different forms of these scams, such as:
- Victims get messages supposedly from their financial institutions, instructing them to update their records via links provided. These links lead victims to phony websites used to harvest personal information.
- Victims get offers of free travel packages. However, these packages come with hidden costs and never turn out as advertised. Sometimes, the scammers do not even provide any travel package at all.
- Scammers also contact victims and inform them they have won lotteries or sweepstakes usually from foreign countries. To receive the fake winnings, however, the victims have to pay taxes or clearance fees. After payments, though, the victims receive no rewards.
- Scammers offer lucrative business deals that, in their words, will close very soon if victims do not act fast. The closing-window tactic ensures the victims have little or no time to research the business opportunities presented before committing.
Always ignore prompts from unsolicited callers or messages to provide personal information. Try and verify the authenticity of any messages received before acting on them. Paying to redeem a prize or reward makes it a scam. Victims should report telemarketing scams to the FTC.
What are Charity Scams?
For this scam, criminals call up residents and introduce themselves as representatives of charity organizations. They solicit funds on behalf of these charities and divert them to private accounts. Residents should check the registration statuses of charities before making donations to avoid such scams. You can verify a charity’s authenticity by using the Charitable Trust Database Search tool provided by the Attorney General’s Office or dialing (312) 814-2595. A phone number lookup can also help identify if such a caller soliciting donations is from a legitimate charity. Victims should report cases of charity scams to the Attorney General’s Office.
What are Health Products Scams?
Scammers advertise health products that seemingly cure every ailment to their targets. They guarantee refunds if user experiences do not go as expected. Victims pay upfront for these healthcare products but get substandard goods or nothing at all. Authorities warn that there are no cure-all medications or treatments, and residents should be wary of such claims. Report incidences of these scams to the FTC.
Residents need to learn how to conduct reverse phone lookup to identify unknown callers. It helps prevent scams since the “who is this number registered to?” question gets answered.
What are Robocalls and Spam Calls?
Robocalls are automated calls that deliver prerecorded messages to many phone users in a community. Automated dialers with stored numbers randomly place these phone calls. Robocalls are legitimate tools used by telemarketers, but scammers have co-opted them for their activities.
Telephone manufacturers have combined efforts with the government to fight spam calls. Mobile phones now come with features that detect and block suspected spam calls. DuPage County residents can switch on these functions to cut down on spam calls. Network operators also provide call filtering and call blocking services. Residents should make inquiries over the availability of these services.
To reduce the number of robocalls and spam calls getting through to your phone, follow these steps:
- Ignore calls from unknown numbers. Let these calls go to voicemail and return the phone calls of those that left messages. Treat those that did not leave messages as spam calls.
- If you answer a robocall, end the call as soon as you realize what it is.
- Do not follow a robocall’s prompt to press a button to remove your phone from its call list. Doing this will attract more robocalls.
- Inquire about call blocking tools from your telephone carrier and find the most affordable one.
- Download third-party call blocking apps. Many of these apps have free versions.
- Register on the National Do Not Call Registry. Placing your number on the list will keep away genuine telemarketers. Dialing 1 (888) 382-1222 from your phone number will also add it to the list.
- Report robocall abuse to the FCC or the FTC.
How to Spot and Report DuPage County Phone Scams?
Threats, enticements, and imitations are critical to how scammers pull off most of their schemes. The Illinois Department of Innovation and Technology (DoIT) revealed vital red flags that show a transaction is a possible scam:
- Be wary when an unfamiliar caller begins to get overly friendly. It is a ploy to get to know you and fish for information.
- Threats of arrests from supposed representatives of government agencies or utility companies over unpaid taxes or charges are hallmarks of phone scams. Ignore such threats and reach out to the organization directly for clarification.
- Business opportunities with unusually enticing profits and a short time to make decisions are scams.
- Payment requests through untraceable and irreversible channels such as gift cards or money transfers are signs of scams. Scammers prefer receiving money through these means because they get paid instantly and victims cannot seek refunds.
- Regard any robocall received after registering on the National Do Not Call Registry as a scam. Ignore them.
Reporting scam incidents is important to seeking redress and catching phone scammers. It also helps the authorities have a better understanding of how scams work. Government agencies can better educate DuPage County residents on the various forms of these scams and prevent them from happening. The following agencies inform citizens of scams and also receive scam complaints:
The DuPage County Sheriff’s Office has a Special Investigations Unit under the Detective Division specializing in investigating scams. The Sheriff’s Office also has resources on how to prevent and report identity theft. The Detective Division receives reports on scams through the phone number (630) 407-2323 or by email.
The Illinois Attorney General’s Office releases scam alerts periodically. Frauds are reported to the Attorney General’s Office by dialing 1 (800) 386-5438 or filing a consumer complaint form.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) protects consumers’ interests and ensures fair practices in the marketplace. Their guides help residents identify common phone scams and avoid robocalls. The National Do Not Call Registry is under the FTC’s supervision, and it keeps away legitimate telemarketers. It is also possible to register on the Do Not Call list by dialing 1 (888) 382-1222 from the number to be registered. The FTC receives complaints on scams through its complaint assistance page.The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is the regulator of the telecommunications industry. They provide residents with resources on how to identify spoofing and activate call blocking to avoid scams. The FCC, as a regulator, mandated the telephone carriers to improve caller authentication. Tighter caller authentication systems will eradicate spoofing. Residents are to report scam activities to the FCC.