What are Gregg County Area Codes?
The North American Numbering Plan is a phone numbering plan which assigns a three-digit number prefix to all phone numbers in North America. This three-digit number prefix, also known as an area code, identifies specific geographical locations in North America. Area codes were created as a means to unify all Numbering Plans Areas in North America. The North American Numbering Plan Administrator manages the allocation of area codes in North America. The Public Utilities Commission of Texas is responsible for ensuring the provision of reliable and safe telecommunications services in the state.
Two active area codes serve Gregg County. They include:
Area Code 903
Area code 903 was brought into service on the 4th of November 1990. This area code serves most of the eastern part of Texas. Area code 903 was created from the split of area code 214. It serves several towns and cities, some of which include Longview, Warren, and White Oak.
Area Code 430
Area code 430 came into service on the 15th of February 2003 and is a service overlay of area code 930. The area code covers the same areas as the 903 area code, making ten-digit dialing compulsory in Gregg County.
What are the Best Cell Phone Plans in Gregg County?
There is a greater preference for wireless phone services to traditional landlines. This preference was highlighted in the 2018 survey titled, Wireless Substitution: State-level Estimates from the National Health Interview Survey. The survey indicated that residents of the State of Texas preferred to use wireless phones to traditional landlines. From the survey, it was discovered that 67.9% of adults in the State of Texas used wireless phone services exclusively, while 2.5% of adults in the state used traditional landlines exclusively. On the other hand, the survey revealed that 76.6% of the minors in the state used wireless phone services exclusively, while only 1.4% of minors used only traditional landlines. The survey also indicated that 3.5% of the minors in Texas and 7.5% of the adults used both wireless phones and traditional landlines.
There are numerous phone service providers in Gregg County, many of which cover below 50% of the county. However, these four major wireless phone providers all cover significant percentages of Gregg County. T-Mobile offers the best wireless coverage in Gregg County, covering 88% of the county. This is closely followed by Sprint that offers wireless coverage of 86%. Finally, AT&T and Verizon each cover 78% and 76% of the county, respectively.
The number of Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) in Gregg County is currently on the rise. These MVNOs operate by leasing infrastructure from the major wireless telephone providers to deliver telephone services to residents of Gregg County. This rise in the number of MVNOs indicates a drift away from plain old telephone services to the more dynamic prospects being offered by these MVNOs. One of such services offered by many of these MVNOs is Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). VoIP, also referred to as internet telephony, is a wireless communication service that leverages internet connections to make voice calls. Many businesses and residents of Gregg County are opting for VoIP services as it provides a more flexible, affordable, and dynamic means of communication for Gregg County residents.
What are Gregg County Phone Scams?
These are phone calls, messages, or emails from real people or autodialers that make false claims to steal Gregg County residents’ money or personal information. Some scammers offer residents money through fictitious lotteries and grants. Scammers often use technologies like Caller ID spoofing to hide their identities and present themselves as legitimate businesses or government agencies. They also use robocalls to automate their calls. Officials in Gregg County recommend that residents be informed about these methods used by phone scammers to avoid falling victim to phone scams. Residents should note that phone number lookup and reverse phone number lookup services are very adept in uncovering masked caller IDs.
What are Gregg County Nursing Board Scams?
In the Gregg County nursing board scam, a scammer impersonates a nursing board staff member and calls a Gregg County resident who is a registered nurse. The scammer uses caller ID spoofing to make their phone number appear l.ike a legitimate nursing board office phone number. During the call, the scammer informs the resident that their nursing license is currently under investigation for malpractice. The goal of the scammer is to obtain as much personal information from the resident as possible. The information obtained will be used for a broader identity theft scam. Sometimes, the scammer demands that the resident pays a fine. This payment request is often made in the form of cash drop-offs or other alternate means of payment. Gregg County residents with nursing licenses should note that the State’s Nursing Board will never notify licensees over the phone of complaints and investigations. Gregg County licensees can employ the use of good reverse phone number lookup services to reveal callers’ identities.
What are Gregg County Jury Duty Scams?
The Gregg County jury duty scam begins when a fraudster using caller ID spoofing technology calls a Gregg County resident. The caller claims to be a deputy with the County Sheriff’s Office. During the call, the caller notifies the resident that there is a warrant out for their arrest. The caller claims that the reason for the arrest is that the resident failed to show up for jury duty. They then tell the resident to pay certain fines and fees to make the charges go away and avoid an arrest. The requested payment method is usually by bitcoin, a cash app, or a cash drop-off. This scam has a high success rate amongst Gregg County residents due to the limited knowledge residents have on jury duty procedures. Residents should note that the Sheriff’s Office will never call them requesting money or informing them of arrest warrants. The County Sheriff’s Office has also informed residents to always verify such claims. They can use phone number lookup services to find out who certain phone numbers are registered to.
What are Gregg County Tech Support Phone Scams?
In the Gregg County tech support scam, a fraudster impersonating a reputable tech company calls a Gregg County resident. During the call, the fraudster informs the resident that there has been a security breach on their computer that might have compromised some of their data. The fraudster proceeds to offer the resident assistance to prevent further data loss. They then ask the resident to grant them access to their computer system to fix the issue. Once access to the computer has been granted, the fraudster steals personal information from the resident's computer system. On some occasions, these fraudsters will send links to the residents and instruct them to download the files to secure their systems. Residents should never download such files and patches, as they would unknowingly grant the scammers backdoor access to their systems. Residents should also use good phone number lookup services to know who called.
What are Robocalls and Spam Calls?
Often associated with political campaigns, telemarketers, and tax-exempt nonprofits organizations, robocalls make use of computerized pre-programmed autodialers to deliver pre-recorded messages. Robocalls are capable of making calls with very little human input. They are effective for use by organizations that conduct market research and polling agencies to reach a large target audience in a very short time. Spam calls, on the other hand, are unsolicited phone calls that are very annoying.
The Telephone Consumer Protection Act sets the provisions of the legality of robocalls, which mandates that robocallers request the recipients’ prior consents before robocalls are sent. However, fraudsters continuously exploit the obscurity and capabilities of robocalls to commit their crimes. This increases the possibility of Gregg County residents becoming victims of their scams..
To deal with unwanted robocalls, Gregg County residents are advised to:
- Ignore calls from unknown and suspicious numbers.
- Register their phone numbers with Texas Do Not Call List
- Terminate calls from unknown numbers. However, if they pick such calls, they should ensure they ignore any prompts to take certain actions.
- Register their phone numbers online with the National Do Not Call Register
- Make use of call blocking solutions to block unwanted calls.
- Make use of phone number lookup and area code lookup services to identify who is calling.
- File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) online or by calling 1-(888)-382-1222
How Can You Spot and Report Gregg County Phone Scams?
In a bid to defraud Gregg County residents, fraudsters are continuously coming up with innovative and enticing offers to get residents' attention. Many times, these fraudsters use caller ID spoofing to hide their identities. They also make use of robocalls to help them simplify the dialing process. While these scam calls can be annoying, frequent, and tiring, residents need to remain vigilant at all times to avoid becoming victims of phone scams.
Residents may also employ the use of technology to protect themselves from phone scams. However, the level of protection offered by technology is limited as the methods used by these phone scammers are constantly changing. Therefore, Gregg County officials constantly highlight the importance of education as the most reliable defense against the activities of phone scammers. Some warning signs of scam calls include:
- Claims of limited-time offers and the use of very aggressive sales tactics to get residents to make impulsive decisions.
- Claims that residents have been specially selected for rewards.
- Requests for personal information over the phone.
- Long pause after the call is answered, enabling the call to be switched from a robocall to a human voice.
- Evasive responses when asked to clarify the purpose of the call or when questions are asked to verify certain information.
- Requests for payments through cash dropoff, bitcoins, or Green Dot.
Gregg County residents should hang up immediately if they discover that they have received scam calls. They should also ensure to report the incident to the relevant government and state agencies that handle these scam calls. Some of the government agencies that handle these scam calls include:
- Office of the Attorney General of Texas - The Consumer Protection Unit of the Office of the Attorney General of Texas receives complaints and investigates cases of phone scams and identity theft. They also educate residents on how to spot and identify phone scams. Complaints and reports can be submitted online or in-person at:
Office of the Attorney General
300 West 15th street
Austin, TX 78701
Residents may also call the Consumer Protection Hotline on (800) 621-0508.
- Longview Police Department - The Longview Police Department deals with reports and complaints of phone scams. These reports can be filed in person at:
The Longview Police Department
302 West Cotton Street
Longview, Texas 75601
Phone: (903) 237 1199
- Federal Trade Commissions - Victims of phone scams and fraud can file complaints online to the FTC. These complaints can be made by phone at 1-877-ID-Theft and 1-877-FTC-HELP.
- Federal Communications Commission (FCC) - Is the premier regulator of communications in the United States. Illegal robocalls and scam calls can be reported online.