What are Lubbock County Area Codes?
Area codes are the three digits at the beginning of all North American telephone numbers. An area code identifies a location as a numbering plan area, within a state and indicates where a phone call originates. Telephone numbering plans are used in telecommunications to assign telephone numbers to subscribers. Area codes are part of the North American Numbering Plan. The Texas Public Utility Commission regulates and maintains the Lubbock County area code.
There is only one area code that covers Lubbock County.
Area Code 806
Area code 806 is the telephone area code in the North American Numbering Plan for Lubbock County. It was created in 1957 as a split from area code 915. It is the telephone area code that serves the cities in Lubbock County. Some of these cities include Abernathy, Idalou, Lubbock, Shallowater, and Wolfforth.
What Are the Best Cell Phone Plans in Lubbock County?
In Lubbock County, the cell phone carriers with the widest coverage are T-Mobile with 92% coverage and AT&T with 90% coverage. Other major phone carriers like Verizon and Sprint also offer good coverage. Verizon offers 84% coverage, while Sprint offers 82% coverage. Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) are also popularly used in Lubbock County because they offer good coverage and are more affordable than the major phone carriers.
According to a National Center of Health Statistics survey in 2018, about 69.9% of Texas adults exclusively used wireless telephone services. In comparison, only 2.5% of Texas adults used landlines as their preferred telephony services. Among children (under 18s), 76.6% preferred wireless-only services, while only 1.2% used landlines. These figures prove that the use of cell phones is more popular than landlines among Lubbock County residents.
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is another service that has experienced an upsurge in usage in Lubbock County. VoIP allows users to make calls over the internet, instead of using traditional telephony services. VoIP is gaining popularity in Lubbock County due to its cost-effectiveness, reliability, and flexibility. Several companies in Lubbock County presently offer VoIP telephony services for both business and personal uses.
Note that phone service quality is likely to drop in rural areas, and in certain areas with a high population density.
What Are Lubbock County Phone Scams
Lubbock County phone scams are unwanted phone calls made by scammers to defraud residents of the county. Phone scams can cause you to lose a lot of money and even your savings. Residents can protect themselves from phone scams by using reverse phone number lookup services to identify and block scammers that contact them.
Some scams perpetrated in Lubbock County include:
What are COVID-19 Scams?
In these scams, scammers call residents, claiming to be officials of the Texas Department of State Health Services. They usually claim to offer ‘’COVID-19’ kits, coronavirus reliefs, care benefits, or COVID-19 treatments or vaccines. However, for you to get the claims, the scammers tell you to share your personal and financial information over the phone. Legitimate government agencies offering treatment or COVID -19 vaccines never request residents’ sensitive information. Anyone requesting your sensitive information is most likely a scammer and is trying to exploit you.
Lubbock County residents can use free reverse lookup services to identify suspicious phone numbers. It is also advisable not to share financial information over the phone
What Are Tech Support Scams?
In this scam, residents receive calls from scammers claiming to be from reputable companies like Microsoft. The scammer tells you that you have a virus or an error on your computer that needs immediate fixing or you lose all your computer data. However, for them to fix it, you must pay a certain amount of money or call the number on the screen to allow them to gain access to your computer. Do not fall for this, a scammer gains access to your computer, they use your personal or financial information for fraudulent purposes. They may also infect your computer with malware or with spyware. This way, they can get your information at any time. If you receive such a call, hang up immediately. Legitimate tech support staff do not contact residents to request money or payments. Use free reverse phone lookup services to identify and block scam callers.
What Are Impersonation Scams?
Impersonation scams involve scammers using the identities of government agencies or businesses to scam Lubbock County residents. They impersonate these entities to get their victims to share personal and financial information over the phone. The most common impersonation scam in Lubbock County is when fraudsters call residents and pose as sergeants of the Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office. They threaten residents with fake outstanding arrest warrants and demand that they send bail money to avoid getting arrested. These are all tactics to get you to part with your money. The Lubbock County Sheriff's Office has advised residents to be wary of these scams, as the Sheriff’s Office does not make such calls.
If you receive a call from a suspected impostor, hang up immediately and contact the government agency or business directly to verify the claims. A good reverse phone lookup service can be used to answer the question “who called me” to reveal the identity of such callers. Note that scammers can call with spoofed Caller IDs to make it look the calls are from the agency they are impersonating. Therefore you must be vigilant when dealing with these calls. Do not share financial information over the phone.
What Are Emergency Scams?
Emergency scams, also known as grandparent scams involve calls from scammers claiming to be a family member in dire need of money. This is usually targeted at the elderly. The scammer tries to convince you by calling with a familiar phone number and manipulating their voice to sound like that of the person that is being impersonated. They also use specific family members’ names to make their lies believable. Then they try to keep you from confirming their stories by asking you not to tell anyone because they are embarrassed about their situation. This is always an indication of a scam. To confirm the caller’s identity, use a free reverse phone number lookup service.
What are Robocalls and Spam Calls?
Robocalls are automated calls that deliver pre-recorded audio messages. Typically, robocalls are used by telemarketers and political parties as well as government agencies in making public service announcements. However, scammers take advantage of these calls by using them to defraud people. In Lubbock County, scammers use robocalls to sell fake products and services. They also prompt residents into divulging personal and financial information.
Phone scammers sometimes use robocalls to mask their identities by displaying false caller ID details. They spoof robocalls and make them look like phone numbers that the targets are familiar with to make them feel comfortable answering these calls. Fraudsters frequently use robocalls because they are cheaper and can reach several people at the same time. Residents can use reverse phone number services to differentiate robocalls from live calls.
The following are ways to avoid falling victim to robocall scams
- Hang up immediately you realize it is a robocall. Do not follow any prompt to press a button, this a ploy to target your phone number for more robocalls.
- Add your telephone number to Texas Do Not Call List to restrict robocalls and other unwanted calls from telemarketers.
- Report illegal robocalls to the Office of the Attorney General with the consumer complaint form or call 1-800-621-0508.
- Add your telephone number to the National Do Not Call Registry to restrict robocalls and other unsolicited sales calls from telemarketers. This will help you to identify scam robocalls. When your number is added to the registry, you will be able to easily spot illegal robocalls and possible phone scams.
How to Spot and Report Lubbock County Phone Scams
Scammers constantly come up with different ways to scam people of their hard-earned money. Therefore, Lubbock County residents must be cautious when dealing with telephone calls from strange numbers. Residents can conduct phone number lookup free to identify scammers. It is also important that they know how to identify scams and report them. Here are some indications of phone scams:
- Phone scammers always try to entice residents with offers that seem too good to be true. However, the intention is actually to scam and not for the recipient's best interest. The use of high-pressure tactics and claims of limited offers are usually indications of scams. Hang up such calls immediately and block the callers’ phone numbers using reverse phone number lookup services.
- You are told that if you do not comply with their requests, you will be arrested. This method of scam is usually used by people claiming to be officers of the Lubbock County Sheriff's office. The office does not demand money from residents or make such threats. Contact the Sheriff’s department to report such calls.
- You are told to confirm your personal or financial information over the phone or to make a payment by dictating your bank information. This is usually a ploy to gain access to your personal information. Hang up such calls immediately. Legitimate businesses or government agencies do not demand your financial information over the phone.
- If the caller claims that you have been specially selected for a lottery, a prize, or an award but you have to make a payment before claiming it. Hang up the call immediately and do not share your personal and financial information with the caller.
- The caller requests payment via cash, gift card, wire transfer, or private courier. Hang up and block the caller’s telephone number. You can block unwanted calls on your phone, using third-party call blocking apps. These apps help in detecting spam calls and blocking suspicious numbers from calling you.
The following government institutions help counter phone scams in Lubbock County:
Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office - Residents who have been victims of scams can contact the Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office to file a report or visit the office in person.
Texas Attorney General’s Office Consumer protection: File a complaint online using the consumer complaint form or by calling 1-800-621-0508
Federal Trade Commission - Investigates consumer fraud complaints. File a complaint using the FTC’s online consumer complaint assistant.
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) - The FCC provides residents with information on ways to identify Caller ID spoofing and enable call blocking. Report a scam complaint using the online complaint form.