What are Boone County Area Codes?
Area codes are assigned to distinct geographical regions known as Numbering Plan Areas (NPAs) in line with the North American Numbering Plan (NANP). They were introduced to streamline the call routing process under the NANP that replaced the dated diverse numbering plans. Boone County has one active area code (859), which is the three-digit numeric code at the beginning of phone numbers registered in the county. The Kentucky Public Service Commission oversees and introduces area codes in the state.
Area Code 859
The 859 NPA code was created from a split of area code 606 in 1999. It is a Kentucky telephone area code that covers the north-central part of the state, and it was activated for service in April 2000. Boone County cities and communities within the 859 NPA include Burlington, Florence, Union, Walton, Francisville, Hebron, Oakbrook, Petersburg, Rabbit Hash, and Verona.
What are the Best Cell Phone Plans in Boone County?
The four principal phone carriers in the U.S. provide strong coverage in Boone County, except for Sprint. AT&T has the best coverage and caters to 99.5% of the county. T-Mobile’s coverage is also strong, with a network spread of 88.1%, while Verizon has a penetration rate of 67.0%. Sprint ranks last with 49.4% network reach. Several smaller carriers known as MVNOs are also present in the county and provide network services for most residents in remote regions. They accomplish this by retailing bulk-purchased network services from the major carriers.
The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), in a 2018 research report, concluded that Boone County residents preferred wireless phone services to landlines services. About 61.9% of adult Kentuckians who used only cell phones contrasted sharply with the 5.7% who relied on landlines exclusively. The same trend played out among Kentuckian minors, as sole users of cell phones accounted for 70.6% of the children population. Meanwhile, only a paltry 2.9% made up the group of landline-only users.
Some Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service providers also operate in Boone County. VoIP uses internet protocols rather than traditional analog systems to make phone calls and offers cheaper call rates to residents with pre-existing internet access. With the majority of Boone’s County residents having access to mobile broadband internet, VoIP continues to enjoy widespread adoption. Florence, the largest city in the county, has approximately 73.5% of consumers with mobile broadband internet access, which drives VoIP adoption among county residents. VoIP Phone services offer a range of other flexible features, including video calls and call forwarding.
What are Boone County Phone Scams?
These are intentional deceptive acts facilitated by telephony services to cheat Boone County residents out of their money or steal confidential information for identity theft. Scammers generally perform these acts with the aid of live phone calls, texts, faxes, and robocalls. However, more recent advances in telephony have enabled scammers to easily use Caller ID spoofing to hide their identities and pose convincingly as legitimate representatives of trusted entities. Services that offer reverse free reverse phone lookups can help Boone County residents spot phone scams and uncover scammers’ identities.
Phone scams that are commonly reported in Boone County include:
What are Boone County Law Enforcement Imposter Scams?
Complaints of this scam predominate among county seniors and other uninformed residents. It involves scammers spoofing official phone numbers of the Boone County Sheriff’s Department and calling their targets to obtain money from unwary residents. These con artists introduce themselves as employees of the Sheriff’s Department and inform their targets of summons or cases filed against them. They then demand immediate payments and request confidential information for supposed verifications to enable them to clear all charges. These imposters often also ask their marks to make payments using prepaid cards such as Green Dot and Google Play cards. The Boone County Sheriff’s Department warns residents to realize they are being scammed when they receive such requests. Reverse phone lookup free services can help residents identify who called and avoid imposter scams.
What are Boone County Virtual Kidnapping Ransom Scams?
Fraudsters target elderly residents in these scams and employ clever timing and fear tactics to terrify them and obtain compliance. They call their targets and inform them that their children have been kidnapped. The scammers then instruct them to pay ransoms immediately and secure their children’s release. They usually use information gleaned from their targets’ social media accounts to convince targets of their claims. The scammers create a sense of urgency and panic by threatening to kill their young hostages if their targets fail to pay quickly. Residents who get these types of calls are advised to stay calm and quickly verify the actual whereabouts of their children. They can also run the callers’ phone numbers through good reverse phone lookup search engines to uncover their identities and unravel these cons. Residents are advised to review their social media privacy settings to manage the kind of information they share publicly. Boone County residents can file reports of these incidents with the Boone County Sheriff’s Office or their local law enforcement agencies.
What are Boone County Technical Support Scams?
In these scams, fraudsters pose as legitimate technical computer professionals in unsolicited phone calls and claim to provide Microsoft/Windows support services. They inform their marks that viruses have been detected on their computers and offer to remove them. They, however, tell their targets to grant them remote access to clean out the virus infections. Once their marks comply, these scammers lock their victims out of such computers and instruct them to pay money to regain access to their PCs.
Sometimes, these scammers use unexpected pop-ups to initiate these scams. The pop-up messages notify computer users of technical problems with their PCs and direct them to call the phone numbers displayed to resolve them. Residents who call such phone numbers risk losing money and compromising their confidential information and may become identity theft victims. Boone County residents can avoid falling victims to these scams by performing free phone number lookups on the callers to find out who called. Reputable computer companies do not initiate phone calls with consumers. Residents who believe they have computer issues should request technical support by calling the official phone numbers obtained from legitimate company websites and never via pop-ups.
What are Boone County Covid-19 Charity Scams?
Boone County residents are warned to stay vigilant regarding scammers claiming to represent legitimate charities and soliciting money over the phone. These scammers capitalize on the generosity of residents and pretend to use requested donations to assist county residents and businesses affected adversely by the coronavirus pandemic. They often sound convincing and are adept at appealing to targets’ emotions and getting them to make donations. Targets who fall for these tricks are told to make their contributions via unconventional payment methods such as gift cards, wire transfers, and cash. To avoid charity scams, Boone County residents should verify whether the charities contacting them are duly registered with the Kentucky AGO. They are encouraged to use reverse phone lookup applications to conduct checks on such unsolicited callers and uncover their actual identities.
What are Robocalls and Spam Calls?
Robocalls are prerecorded messages delivered to several phone users within a short time using automated dialing announcing devices (ADADs). ADADs are designed to automatically dial thousands of selected phone numbers quickly and play recorded messages. Although robocalls are typically delivered with a robotic voice, users can use a simulated human voice to share recorded messages. Legitimate entities such as political and telemarketing organizations originally and still rely heavily on robocalls for campaigns and public announcements. However, federal law allows telemarketing robocalls to be delivered only to consumers who have earlier consented in writing or with whom a prior business relationship exists. Other legitimate uses of robocalls include reminders for doctor appointments, providing school updates, and informing patients of available pharmacy prescriptions.
However, robocalls have become associated with phone scams and are now regarded as efficient scam tools. Phone scammers understand that robocalls are cheap and convenient to deploy from any location. Robocalls also appeal to fraudsters because it affords them the anonymity they crave using phone spoofing. Scammers can also adopt the identities of legitimate entities to trick unsuspecting consumers into answering their calls. Reverse phone lookup free services can detect robocalls and prevent Boone County residents from falling prey to robocall scams.
You can effectively tackle incoming robocalls with these action steps:
- End all robocalls immediately you recognize them and do not respond or answer “yes” to any inquiry in the recording. Scammers record such responses and use them to authorize fraudulent transactions through phone on victims' utility or credit card accounts.
- Exercise caution when answering calls from unfamiliar callers. However, if you answer a robocall, ignore any suggestion to press a key on your phone even if you are promised that complying will prevent future automated calls.
- Confirm if your phone service provider offers a free call-blocking service to help identify, filter, and screen identified robocall numbers. America’s four major carriers provide call-blocking tools that help prevent robocalls, although some charges may apply to activate these services. Network-level blocking is, however, offered at no charge across all carrier networks.
- Join the National Do Not Call Registry. The FTC prohibits legitimate telemarketers from calling registered phone numbers. You can register your phone number(s) for free online or by calling 1 (888) 382-1222. Since scammers generally ignore the DNC list, you can better predict likely robocall scams once you enlist your phone number.
- Submit complaints of all unwanted robocalls to the FTC online or by calling 1 (888) 382-1222. Alternatively, you can notify the FCC of DNC violations by filing consumer complaints online. The FTC uses such reports to identify scam patterns and develop effective robocall-blocking strategies with other law enforcement partners.
How Can You Spot and Report Boone County Phone Scams?
In general, phone scams are hard to detect because fraudsters are committed to crafting out newer and more sophisticated schemes to separate residents from their money. Their quest to remain undetected by law enforcement makes them impersonate familiar businesses by spoofing their targets’ Caller ID information. Phone scam awareness provides Boone County residents with information to avoid scams. It also increases their overall alertness to potential scams. Residents who know how to use reverse phone number lookup tools can spot phone scams before getting scammed. Some of these tell-tale signs of phone scams are:
- The caller advises you to use their verification methods, such as directing you to call the numbers they have provided. They may also instruct you to visit websites they have recommended.
- The caller resorts to emotional appeal in a bid to distract you from suspecting them.
- The caller creates a sense of urgency and wants you to act fast without giving you time to think their offers through.
- The caller asks you to pay fees to enable them to recover the money you have lost in previous scams.
- The caller demands payments via irregular methods. Scammers favor unofficial payment channels because transactions completed through them are usually irrecoverable. Such channels include cryptocurrency, wire transfers, prepaid cards, and money orders.
Boone County residents can acquire consumer protection information from certain government agencies devoted to combating the menace of phone scams. These agencies include:
Boone County Sheriff’s Department: The Sheriff’s Department protects county residents from phone scams by publishing regular scam notifications and alerts. Scammed Boone County residents can file reports of these incidents with the Department by calling (859) 334-2175 or in person at 3000 Conrad Lane, Burlington, KY 41005.
Federal Communications Commission: The FCC regulates all communications in the U.S. They protect residents from illegal robocalls, Caller ID spoofing scams, and other phone fraud. Residents who have lost money or identities to robocall scams and phone spoofing scams can submit complaints via the FCC’s consumer complaint center.
Kentucky Attorney General’s Office: The Office of Consumer Protection strives to promote a safe and competitive commercial environment for consumers in the state. They also provide Boone County residents with consumer alerts to keep them safe from phone scam-related losses. County residents can submit scam reports of deceptive trade acts and phone scams to AGO online or call (888) 432-9257.
Federal Trade Commission: The FTC manages the National Do Not Call Registry and protects registered residents from unwanted robocalls. It also educates consumers on various consumer issues to prevent them from falling victim to phone scams and identity fraud. Residents of Boone County who have received unlawful robocalls or encountered phone scammers can file online complaints with the FTC.