Washington County Reverse Phone Lookup

What are Washington County Area Codes?

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, only one area code serves Washington County – Area code 435.

Area Code 435

Area code 435 was first used on September 21, 1997, and was created from area code 801. It is the area code serving the majority of locations in Utah except for Provo and Salt Lake City. Locations served by this area code include Logan, Tooele, Cedar City, St. George, Washington, Brigham City, and Hurricane.

What are the Best Cell Phone Plans in Washington County?

Considering the busy lives many Washington County residents now live, it is no surprise that wireless telephony service usage has trumped wired telephony service usage for its flexibility and mobility. Estimates from a 2018 survey conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics revealed that 69.0% of Utah residents aged 18 and above used wireless-only telephony service, while 2.6% used landline-only telephony service. Among residents under the age of 18, 71.1% used wireless telephony service exclusively, while only 1.6% used landline telephony service exclusively.

In Washington County, you can find family plans, individual plans, and no-contract plans on offer from the four major Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) and other smaller carriers. These carriers offer multiple features on their plans to attract residents. Regardless of the features on offer, the most important consideration should be confirming that coverage is available in your local area.

In the county seat of St. George, Verizon has the best overall coverage with a score of 94%. T-Mobile has a coverage score of 76%, AT&T has a rated score of 62%, while Sprint has a coverage score of 55%. You can also purchase cell phone plans from smaller carriers also known as Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs). MVNOs rely on the radio networks of other operators to provide wireless services to their users.

Many residents and business owners in Washington County are letting go of their analog PSTN service in favor of VoIP telephony. The major difference between VoIP telephony and cellular or landline telephony is that calls are made through your existing internet connection instead of the traditional phone and cable lines. Leveraging on existing infrastructure, VoIP service providers can hence allow for much cheaper calls on their phone plans.

What are Washington County Phone Scams?

Washington phone scams are fraudulent practices of con artists perpetrated using live calls, text messages, and robocalls to lure Washington County residents into releasing their personal information and money. Phone scams may begin with scammers purchasing "sucker lists" on the black market to target specific residents. Sucker lists contain sensitive information about people who have been previously scammed. By obtaining these lists, con artists can cold call or send text messages to persons therein randomly, knowing that some will take the bait. Common phone scams in Washington County include tech support scams, social security scams, arrest warrant scams, and grandparent scams. Washington County residents may use free reverse phone lookup tools to ascertain the true origins of suspicious phone numbers.

What are Washington County Tech Support Scams?

Tech support scammers may call targets directly and pretend to be representatives of tech companies. They may also lure you into believing that your computer has serious issues through unsolicited pop-up messages randomly displaying on your device. They may even spoof the caller ID so that it displays legitimate support phone numbers from trusted companies. They ask targets to install applications that give them remote access to their computers. Using these accesses, experienced tech scammers can misrepresent normal system messages as signs of problems.

Granted remote access also gives a scammer the opportunity to actually install spyware, malware, and ransomware on the target’s device. They can then steal off information such as bank account information and passwords from the devices or demand huge sums to allow targets access to the files on their computers. Phone lookup applications can help uncover the true identities of tech support scammers.

What are Washington County Social Security Scams?

The social security scam is currently making rounds in Washington County with unsolicited callers contacting residents with information that their social security accounts have been suspended. These con artists claim to represent the Social Security Administration (SSA) and say the accounts were suspended due to fraudulent or suspicious activities related to the accounts. Some scammers even say they are calling to verify targets' Social Security numbers.

These crooked persons demand that targets wire money, send cash, or purchase gift cards, or have their benefits or bank accounts seized. The real SSA will never call to threaten your benefits or ask you to wire money or purchase gift cards. You can use free reverse phone number lookup tools online to find out who called and who a number is registered to.

What are Washington County Arrest Warrant Scams?

Washington County residents have been recently experiencing unsolicited calls from persons claiming to be from the Washington County Sheriff's Office (WCSO) and using names and ranks of actual sheriff's office personnel. Targets are informed by callers that they have missed court appearances and are instructed to send payments or face arrests. They may be asked to obtain prepaid Visa cards and provide the card numbers over the telephone to make payments on their warrants.

Note that the WCSO does not operate by asking residents to send money to stave off arrests. If you have received a call from someone claiming you have an outstanding warrant, contact the Washington County Justice Court at (435) 986-3382 to confirm whether there is an outstanding warrant. Reverse phone number lookup applications can prevent residents from falling victim to arrest warrant scams.

What are Washington County Grandparent Scams?

Washington County grandparent scammers typically target elderly adults or grandparents in Washington County. The target receives a call out of the blue from an individual claiming to be a grandchild who has been involved in an accident or arrested in a faraway location. Needing to get out of the difficult situation, the caller asks the grandparent for urgent financial aid. The grandparent may suspect that the caller sounds different from a known grandchild. In response, the caller claims to be terribly sick in hospital or just recovering from an ailment.

Typically, the con artist pleads with the grandparent to keep the event and conversations secret for fear of embarrassment by other relatives. Financial aids are commonly required through wire transfers, gift cards, and prepaid debit cards. 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 telephone calls placed to telephone users using automatic dialing announcing devices (ADADs) to deliver pre recorded messages. While many people see robocalls as illegal, not all robocalls are illegal. Robocalls can be used by legitimate telemarketers to contact recipients who have given them express permission to do so. It is also legal for government agencies to use robocalls in issuing public service announcements.

However, many unsolicited and unwanted robocalls are sent out by illegitimate telemarketers and scammers in targeting large groups of people. These are scam calls. In 2020, over 341 million robocalls were placed to Utah residents. Between January and April 2021, more than 126 million robocalls have been received by Utahns, an average of 56.8 per resident. You can protect yourself against these spam calls by using reverse phone number lookup tools to identify incoming robocalls.

Washington 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 Washington County Phone Scams?

Every day, crooked individuals attempt to victimize thousands of Washington County residents. When these con artists succeed, the scams can seriously affect the lives of victims and their families. Many fraudulent offers can be identified and prevented before they can cause any damage. You can stay alert and ward off scam attacks by performing free phone number lookups for incoming calls. These tools also allow users to perform phone number lookup by address or name.

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 asks you to pay by wire transfer, internet currency, or with a gift card: Funds transferred using these means are very hard to trace or refund. This makes con artists comfortable receiving money through these means.
• The caller claims you are guaranteed profits, grants, or prizes: Every worthwhile investment comes with a measure of risk. Do not fall for the tricks of scammers willing to promise everything just to get you to sign up for a service or pay an upfront fee.
• The caller threatens to arrest or legal actions: This is common practice among con artists using fear to motivate targets to cooperate. No reputable organization intimidates callers with threats of arrests, fines, imprisonment, or deportation.
• The caller requests personal information that the purported company being represented should have: A scammer may claim to represent an organization you own an account with, and yet ask for account-specific information. Do not release such information if the organization calling should already have the requested information.
• The caller makes frequent grammar mistakes: Many scams are perpetrated by persons outside the shores of the United States who are often not native English speakers. Do not believe what you have been told by someone claiming to represent a reputable agency but cannot speak fluently.

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

• The Washington 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 Washington County Sheriff’s Office at (435) 656-6500. In the county seat of St. George, contact the St. George Police Department at (435) 627-4300.
• The Utah Attorney General’s Office: Washington County residents who have been contacted by a scammer or fallen victim to a phone scam may file formal complaints online to the Attorney General’s Office or call at (801) 366-0260.
• 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.