What are Middlesex County Area Codes?
An area code is a three-digit prefix appended to a telephone number indicating the geographical area associated with the number. An area code can also indicate how long the number has been in use in an area and whether it is a landline or a wireless number. You can find the area code of an area in the United States by using area code lookup tools online.
Two area codes currently serve Middlesex County – Area codes 860 and 959.
Area Code 860
Area code 860 was created from area code 203 and was first put in use on August 28, 1995. It serves northeastern Connecticut and covers Hartford, New Britain, West Hartford, Bristol, and East Hartford. It has a single overlay (area code 959) that serves the same area.
Area Code 959
Area code 959 was created from area code 860 and was first used on August 30, 2014. It is an overlay for area code 860, serving the same area. Other locations served by this area code include Norwich, Torrington, Manchester, Newington, New London, and Wethersfield.
What Are the Best Cell Phone Plans in Middlesex County?
Middlesex County phone users are majorly wireless telephony service users. According to a survey conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics in 2018, 40.8% of Connecticut residents aged 18 and above used wireless-only telephony service, while 6.6% used landline-only telephony service. Among residents under the age of 18, 50.6% used wireless-only telephony service, while only 2.3% were exclusive users of landline telephony service.
When you are searching for a wireless plan, you need to consider how many people will use the plan and the different services that will be required. Nearly all wireless carriers factor three things into each plan: minutes, text messages, data usage in MB or GB. No matter how good the features or price on a cell phone plan looks, it makes no sense to purchase the plan if it does not work in Middlesex County or your local area. Nowadays, all four major Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) have robust coverage in most locations.
In Middlesex County's largest city of Middletown, T-Mobile has the best overall coverage with a coverage score of 94%. Verizon's coverage is rated 88%, Sprint's coverage is rated 66%, while AT&T has a coverage score of 64%.
Other than the four major wireless carriers, Middlesex County residents can also purchase cell phone plans from Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) offering phone plans in the county. MVNOs typically run on the MNOs' networks. With their ability to target specific niches with creative plans not usually on offer from the MNOs, MVNOs make an attractive proposition for thousands of consumers in Middlesex County.
While many businesses in Middlesex County use VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) for their phones, the technology is also available for residential users. Unlike other alternatives, VoIP converts voice into data and is transmitted over the internet. Portability is one of the primary advantages of using a VoIP phone service in Middlesex County. One can use the service anywhere a broadband Internet connection is available, which is useful for those who travel frequently, such as business people. The cell phone plan market in Middlesex County is replete with many VoIP phone plans that can be used to cut down on phone bills.
What Are Middlesex County Phone Scams?
Middlesex County phone scams are fraudulent activities of crooked persons perpetrated using telephones to extort money from county residents or obtain private information from them. Crooked individuals excel at using flattery and charm to ingratiate themselves and gain the trust of their targets. Alternatively, they may choose to threaten or intimidate targets to compel them into action such as transferring funds and giving up sensitive data. Phone scammers are very persistent in their goal of defrauding people. They may impersonate bank officials, the police, tax bureaus, or trusted private entities. You can use free reverse phone lookup tools to verify the identity of the person behind a call. Common phone scams in Middlesex County include IRS scams, employment scams, lottery scams, and government impersonation scams.
What are Middlesex County IRS Scams?
IRS scams are common in Middlesex County. IRS scammers pose as representatives of the Internal Revenue Service and claim that residents owe taxes to the IRS. These phony agents are intent on extorting money for supposed delinquent taxes. In one form of the scam, impersonators call targets and reel out fake IRS badge numbers and names to sound legitimate. In another variation, targets are contacted with recorded phone calls that direct them to call back the impersonators. The scammers often threaten targets with dire consequences if they do not pay up immediately.
Some of the recordings can sound deceptively realistic with fraudsters mimicking the background noise of real call sites. Be aware that the IRS has a long-standing policy of first contacting taxpayers by mail rather than through phone calls. You can confirm if you actually owe any money on federal income taxes by calling the IRS directly at (800) 366-4484.
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 Middlesex County Employment Scams?
An employment scam is a form of advance fee fraud where con artists pose as recruiters or employers and offer attractive employment opportunities that require job seekers to pay money in advance. Scammers perpetrating this scam are known to steal the names of legitimate businesses and organizations to trick job seekers into releasing personal information and defraud them.
For instance, an employment scammer may contact you with an offer of a job opportunity at a reputable company and encourage you to fill out an application form through a link sent to your telephone line by text message. The form typically asks for sensitive personal information such as Social Security number, birth date, bank account information, and other private information that may leave you vulnerable to identity theft. There are free reverse phone number lookup tools online to uncover who called and find who a number is registered to.
What are Middlesex County Lottery Scams?
Perpetrators of the lottery scam in Middlesex County often claim to be from foreign countries. They inform targets of winnings, promising residents huge prizes, trips, or lump-sum payments. Targets are told that they need to pay some transfer fees or taxes to fully claim the prizes. At other times, these crooked persons ask for bank account information for them to directly deposit lump sum payments.
Sometimes, they send checks as part of the winning notice, and the targets are told to deposit them into their bank accounts and return some amount to cover the associated fees and taxes. These checks ultimately bounce, but the transferred funds are gone forever, being drawn from targets’ bank accounts. Phone lookup applications can help uncover the true identities of impersonators.
What are Middlesex County Government Impersonation Scams?
There are many versions of the government impersonation scam, and they all use intimidation tricks. Typically, unsolicited callers inform the targets that charges have been filed, or will soon be filed against them, and threaten to confiscate their properties, freeze their bank accounts, or have them arrested unless payments are made within a short period of time. If the targets question the callers, they become even more aggressive. The fraudsters say that it will cost thousands of dollars in fees or court fees to resolve the matters and then instruct targets to wire "settlement" money or provide payments via prepaid cards or gift cards to avoid arrests. To limit the chance of falling prey to scams, you can use a reverse cell phone lookup tool to verify if a caller’s identity matches the name given.
What are Robocalls and Spam Calls?
Robocalls are automated phone calls made with random auto-dials of telephone numbers through automated dialing announcing devices (ADADs) to pass along pre recorded messages. Many Middlesex County residents consider robocalls annoying and intrusive. Robocalls are quite common among telemarketers as well as government entities issuing public service announcements. Robocalls from telemarketers are legal provided the companies represented have obtained the express permissions of the contacted persons.
However, many robocall users fail to follow this guideline by sending out thousands of robocalls in unsolicited calls. These calls are spam calls. Spam calls are often used by criminals to target thousands of Middlesex County residents in the hope of defrauding them. 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 Middlesex County Phone Scams?
Phone scams are becoming a bigger problem than they ever were with some of the most devious scams Con artists will do anything to obtain your money or sensitive information. They siphon information from data breaches, the dark web, and public sources such as employee directories and social media sites. Using cons, they also try to pry the information directly from their targets. 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 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.
- The caller demands payment today: Scammers often insist on same-day payments and threaten targets with varying penalties if they fail to meet the deadline. While it is not unusual for debt collectors to want to be paid immediately, they would rarely threaten call recipients with immediate punishments.
- The caller does not accept various forms of payment: Scammers usually insist on receiving payment in a single way, like an instant bank transfer. Most legitimate agencies will give you multiple options to choose from.
- The caller is abnormally harassing and abusive: Con artists sometimes use over-the-top, aggressive, and blatant threats. They may threaten targets with fines, arrests, or lawsuits if they do not cooperate.
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 Middlesex County with any of the following public bodies if you have been contacted by a scammer:
- Middlesex County Sheriff’s Office and local police departments: If you receive a scam call in Middlesex County, you can report it to your local police department or the sheriff’s office by calling at (860) 515-5065. In Middletown, you can contact the Middletown Police Department at (860) 347-6941.
- The Connecticut Attorney General’s Office: Connecticut residents who have been contacted by a scammer or fallen victim to a phone scam may file formal complaints online to the Department of Consumer Protection of the Attorney General’s Office or at (860) 808-5420.
- 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.