If You Live California, Don’t Answer Calls From These 13 Area Codes

Did you feel personally attacked by BuzzFeed’s trending list of “35 Things Basically Every Single Person on Earth Has Experienced But Would Never Dare Talk About?” So did we! But if you’re guilty of doing the fourth item on their list, you may have saved you some headaches. 

They called it the “Google of Desperation” which is just a playful way of saying that you googled the number that just called you instead of picking up the phone. The sad truth is that in 2024, the probability of the call being a scam is far greater than being an acquaintance or an important appointment reminder.

Truecaller’s U.S. Spam Scorecard estimates that the average person receives at least seven spam calls every month. Multiply that by the amount of Amercians that have some sort of phone service? That works out to an absolutely ridiculous 2.2 billion unwanted calls every month. Those numbers are expected to climb since there has been a significant increase in the number of reported spam calls since January. Truecaller shows that the number of spam calls grew almost 47% from January to February and another 42% from February to March. 

READ MORE: 6 of the Most Common Scams Affecting Idahoans

It’s enough to make you wonder “whatever happened to that Do Not Call List? 11 states maintain their own version of the list, but neither Idaho nor California do. The Idaho Attorney General’s website explains that it is illegal for telephone solicitors to call Idaho phone numbers who signed up for the Federal Trade Commission's National Do Not Registry. California also observes the national list. It’s free to sign-up and once you’re on it, you’re good to go. 

Is This REALLY a Scam Call?

Idaho law DOES allow charities, political campaigns, debt collectors, surveyors, information providers and a business you’ve done business with to call Idaho numbers on the FTC list. California’s Department of Justice has a similar list of actors that are allowed to contact residents with a California number even if they’re on the “Do Not Call” list. If the organization doesn’t fall under one of those umbrellas, they need to register with the Attorney General’s office. 

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Of course, these rules really only matter to companies and organizations that are trying to do things the right way. Scammers don’t care about the rules. They’ll often use a number that looks just familiar enough to get you to answer or call them back. 

Scammers Now Using Domestic Area Codes

In the past, we’ve shared how these crooks try to lure you into a “one ring scam” by using a number with a three-digit area code. It looks like it’s an American number, but it’s the area code for a foreign country so you could be racking up international fees by calling the number back. 

While you should familiarize yourself with those area codes, you also need to be aware that more and more scammers are spoofing legitimate American area codes when making calls. Experts at GoBankingRates say you should NOT pick up calls from these area codes if you don’t know who’s on the other end. Always be skeptical of any caller asking you for personal information or money.