What are Cumberland County Area Codes?
The transition to the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) to ease phone calls’ switching led to the introduction of area codes. NANP divided different sections of the country into distinct telephone service areas called Numbering Plan Areas (NPAs), with unique area codes representing each NPA. Consequently, telephone numbers registered in each NPA bore the assigned area code, which is placed at the beginning of phone numbers. Identifying area codes can correctly tell the origin and destination of most phone calls. The Maine Public Utilities Commission (MPUC) presides over the area codes in the state.
The only area code currently serving Cumberland County is:
Area Code 207
Area code 207 is one of the 86 original area codes introduced with the emergence of NANP. Cumberland County cities and towns served by the 207 NPA include Portland, South Portland, New Gloucester, Falmouth, Freeport, Scarborough, Gorham, Windham, and Westbrook.
What are the Best Cell Phone Plans in Cumberland County?
Cumberland County is served by the major telephone carriers. U.S. Cellular extends the highest coverage of about 94% in the county, while AT&T boasts coverage of 92%. Verizon covers 82% of the county, while Sprint has a 62% spread.
Landlines are gradually making way for wireless telephony services. Statistics from a 2018 CDC survey revealed that about 47.7% of adult Mainers resided in wireless-only homes. Those that used landline phones exclusively made up 6.7% of the demography. A similar trend was observed among the under-18 population. This indicates that wireless telephony services adoption is becoming widespread in the state.
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) transmits communication over broadband internet and is increasingly being adopted in Cumberland County as an alternative to traditional phone systems. Its adoption is the primary reason for the continued decline in landline usage. Most business corporations in the county find VoIP particularly useful and cost-effective.
What are Cumberland County Phone Scams?
Cumberland County phone scams refer to the deceptive acts by fraudsters to rip off county residents through telephony services. Phone scammers use phone calls and phony text messages to steal Cumberland County residents’ money or gain access to their personal information. They spoof their targets’ Caller IDs to imitate familiar persons or government agencies in a bid to appear legitimate. Reverse phone lookups on unknown phone numbers can reveal unknown callers’ true identities and help residents avoid phone scams. Several government agencies across all levels provide education for Cumberland County residents on common phone scams. The Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office and the Office of the Maine Attorney General (OAG) are some of such agencies. The Consumer Protection Division of the OAG identifies some of the county’s prevalent scams. These include:
What are Advance Fee Loan Scams?
Perpetrators of advance fee loan scams prey on Cumberland County residents who are not qualified to access loans legally, especially those with poor credit scores. Phone scammers contact such residents and promise them access to quick loans on the condition that the targeted residents make some payments upfront. Once the targets make such payments, they end up not receiving the loans and still forfeit the money paid to the fraudsters. Cumberland County residents can perform reverse phone number lookups on unknown numbers to identify persons responsible for such calls and avoid scams. Residents must note that loan agencies that demand payment of fees upfront to access loans are potential fraudsters.
What are Computer Repair Scams?
Fraudsters who set out to commit computer repair scams typically intend to gain remote access to their targets’ computers and, consequently, their personal information. The fraudsters place calls to targeted Cumberland County residents and pretend to be employees of their computer companies to perpetrate this scam. They will inform targeted residents that they noticed some issues on their computers that require urgent fix, else they might lose all their files. The scammers will insist they must gain remote access to such computers immediately as waiting any longer may result in undesirable situations. Once they are granted access, the fraudsters will install malwares and harvest victims’ personal information for identity and financial theft. They may refuse to relinquish control until their victims pay for such fake repair services. Performing phone number lookups on unknown phone numbers can help uncover the identities of these scammers and prevent residents from falling to prey scams. Residents must never engage tech support officials on unsolicited phone calls. They should always hire verified tech officials to avoid identity theft.
What are Lottery and Sweepstakes Scams?
Lottery and sweepstakes scams occur when phone scammers call their targets and notify them of phony winnings from foreign lotteries. These fraudsters, however, inform marks that they can only redeem their prizes after they have made some upfront payments to cover taxes and clearing fees. Cumberland County residents can avoid falling victims by conducting phone number lookups by address to reveal the callers’ identities and locations. Authorities warn residents never to make payments to redeem any alleged winnings.
What are Tax Scams?
Phone scammers pretending to be Internal Revenue Service (IRS) agents place aggressive calls to Cumberland County residents to demand immediate payments of bogus back taxes. The imposters threaten their targets with jail and other extreme actions if they do not make payments. You can use free reverse phone lookup applications to search unknown phone numbers on incoming calls to identify such callers and avoid this scam. Residents who receive these calls should end them immediately and contact the IRS directly through verified phone numbers to confirm the callers’ claims.
What are Grandparents Scams?
Grandparents scams primarily target aged Cumberland County residents. This scam occurs when scammers call their targets and pretend to be their grandchildren and in distress. They typically demand urgent financial assistance to post bails, access medical treatments, or resolve other emergencies. These impersonators usually plead with their marks not to inform their parents. County residents can perform reverse phone lookups on unknown calls to avoid this scam. Authorities warn residents never to send money to supposed distressed relatives without first verifying such claims from other relatives.
What are Robocalls and Spam Calls?
Robocalls are pre-recorded messages usually used by telemarketing companies to promote their goods and services to Cumberland County residents. When residents receive these calls, they listen to robotic voices instead of live humans. However, the sharp increase in the frequency of spam calls placed to county residents and phone scammers’ adaptation of robocalls for phone scams has made them become a menace. While regulatory authorities continue to find ways of curtailing robocalls abuse, county residents can take the following steps to reduce the frequency of robocalls and spam calls:
- Reject calls from unknown numbers. Allow such calls to go into your voice voicemail.
- Hang up on phone calls that turn out to be robocalls without following the voice prompt.
- Note the numbers used to place robocalls and block them with your network provider’s call-blocking tools. You can also download third-party call-blocking applications to block identified robocall numbers.
- Enroll your phone number on the National Do Not Call Registry, a register of residents who have indicated they do not want to receive telemarketing calls. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) manages this register, and legitimate telemarketing organizations do not call phone numbers on it. You can call 1 (888) 382-1222 from your preferred number to have that number registered on the list.
- Lodge complaints of persistent robocall abuse with the FTC.
How Can You Spot and Report Cumberland County Phone Scams?
Phone scammers constantly devise new ways to steal Cumberland County residents’ money and personal information. Performing reverse phone number lookups can prevent residents from falling victims to phone scams. Doing this helps targeted residents to identify the true identities of persons behind calls from unknown numbers and spot potential scam calls. Alternatively, residents can avoid falling victims to phone scams by identifying specific actions taken by fraudsters. Some of these include:
- Phone calls allegedly from government agencies or reputable organizations threatening county residents with arrests, disconnection of services, and other extreme actions if they do not make immediate payments or disclose personal information are mostly scams. Legitimate entities do not threaten residents over the phone.
- The promise of rewards after making initial payments are mostly false. Legitimate prizes do not come with any condition of upfront payments.
- Unsolicited phone calls making promises of credit histories repair or renewal after they make payments upfront are scams. No individual or agency can clean bad credit scores except the subjects of the credit reports pay their obligation in full.
- Seemingly risk-free business opportunities that promise high interests in quick time but also require urgent funding are suspicious. Scammers typically pressure their targets to make funding available immediately to dissuade them from verifying their genuineness.
- Insistence on receiving payments through unusual methods like cryptocurrencies, preloaded debit cards, gift cards, and money transfers are suspicious. These are fraudsters’ favorite ways of accepting payments.
Several agencies educate Cumberland County residents on phone scams to prevent them from falling victims. These agencies provide residents with guides to identify different phone scams and offer platforms for victims to file complaints. Cumberland County residents receive regular scam updates from such public agencies.
The primary law enforcement agency in the county is the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office. The Sheriff’s Office receives tips on phone scams online for quick resolutions. Residents can call (207) 893-2810 to file complaints on phone scams to the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office.
The Office of the Maine Attorney General (OAG) has a Consumer Protection Division that educates county residents by publishing prevalent scams in the state. The OAG’s office also issues a brochure that teaches Cumberland County residents on managing spoofing and robocalls. Residents can make use of the OAG’s online complaint form to lodge phone scam complaints. While the OAG cannot prosecute on behalf of individuals, complaints received will enable the state to make policies that will help curtail phone scams.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is tasked with protecting consumers’ interests and ensuring businesses compete fairly. The body protects county residents by providing guides on managing robocalls, identifying phone scams, blocking unwanted calls. To reduce the frequency of robocalls, the FTC developed the National Do Not Call Registry. This list contains phone numbers of residents who have signified they do not want to receive phone calls from legitimate telemarketers. Registered residents who get unwanted calls despite registration are probably dealing with potential scam calls. Residents can use the FTC’s online complaints form to report phone scams.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulates the telecommunications industry. They also provide residents with resources on identifying phone scams and managing phone spoofing. County residents can file complaints with the FCC by using the online consumer complaints assistant.