What are Kootenai County Area Codes?
The North American Numbering Plan (NANP) divides telephone service regions in North America into Numbering Plan Areas (NPAs). Area codes are the sequence of three-digit numbers preceding all 10-digit American phone numbers, and they identify each NPA in a state. They also suggest the origins and destinations of phone calls. Only one area code (208) currently serves Kootenai County.
Area Code 208
Area code 208 came into active service in 1947 as one of America’s original 86 area codes. It covers several counties in Idaho, including Kootenai County. In Kootenai County, Coeur d'Alene, Harrison, Post Falls, Bayview, and Hayden are the cities within the 208 NPA.
The Idaho Public Utilities Commission (PUC), through the authority of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), administers area codes in the state.
What are the Best Cell Phone Plans in Kootenai County?
A 2018 CDC Survey reported that adults older than 18 in Idaho who had adopted wireless-only services accounted for 72.2% of their population. In contrast, those who still used landlines-only services made up 3.1% of the adult demographic. In the same survey, it was gathered that about 81.8% of children under 18 years solely used wireless telephony services, while an insignificant 0.7% used landlines exclusively. This report indicates a massive shift in telecommunication preferences from landline services to wireless telephony services by Kootenai County residents.
The major phone carriers in the United States offer excellent network services in Kootenai County. Smaller prepaid carriers, known as Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs), equally provide reliable network services in locations not fully covered by the major carriers. In the City of Hayden, for instance, T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T offer network reach of 96%, 86%, and 66%, respectively. MVNOs operate on the networks of the national phone carriers to resell services to Kootenai County residents at more affordable prices.
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) has become a suitable alternative to traditional services for personal and business use in Kootenai County. It offers residents telephony services such as video calling, voice calls, and text messaging over broadband internet connections at more affordable rates. However, residents who intend to enjoy VoIP telephony services must have internet-enabled devices such as tablets, computers, specialized VoIP phones, and smartphones. Landline phones, connected to Analog Telephone Adapter (ATA), can also make calls over the internet.
What are Kootenai County Phone Scams?
Phone scams are deceptive and illegal practices conducted over the phone to defraud unsuspecting phone users. Kootenai County residents can avoid phone scams using reverse phone lookup applications to ascertain the identities of unknown callers with strange demands. Typically, scammers use telephone services such as text messages, live phone calls, and automated calls, known as robocalls, when preying on their targets. They aim to either steal money or obtain confidential information fraudulently, or both in most cases.
Fraudsters often employ a technology called phone spoofing to manipulate their marks' Caller IDs and display official phone numbers of familiar legitimate businesses and government agencies. When they do so, scammers impersonate the employees of these entities to gain their trust before fleecing them. However, some applications that offer reverse phone lookup free services can identify spoofed phone calls and help residents avoid scams. The Office of the Attorney General, State of Idaho (AG) is primarily responsible for consumer protection in Idaho. The Consumer Protection Division of the AG office enforces laws to protect residents from all kinds of deceptive practices, including phone scams. The Kootenai County Sheriff's Office (KCSO) is at the forefront of combatting phone scams within the county.
The following are some of the prevalent scams in Kootenai County:
What are Kootenai County Arrest Warrant Scams?
The Kootenai County Sheriff's Office (KCSO) warns residents to be aware of arrest warrant scams making the rounds in the county. In these scams, the callers impersonate officers of the KCSO in an attempt to cheat targeted residents out of their money. Although these scams are not new, a lot of residents continue to fall prey. Such attempts can be foiled using phone number lookup services. The scammers often claim their targets have unpaid tickets or failed to appear for jury duty and that there are warrants issued for their arrest. They, however, will offer to cancel the arrest warrants if the targets can pay some amount of money and warn them to keep the arrangement secret. During their conversation, the fraudsters may inquire some information from their targets for supposed verification, but this is only a trick to obtain such details for identity theft. Persons who appear unwilling to comply with these scammers' requests are usually threatened with arrest or jail. Their preferred means of receiving payment include gift cards, wire transfers, prepaid debit cards, and bitcoins. They often demand immediate payment and may stay on the phone until such money is paid.
In most cases, these scammers use phone spoofing to deceive their targets into answering their phones and appear legitimate. Reverse phone number lookup tools are proficient in discovering spoofed phone calls and can prevent residents from falling victim to these scams. Kootenai County residents must know that the Sheriff's Office will never call to solicit money to satisfy any form of legal process or threaten punitive actions over the phone. Although deputies may ask for some limited personal information during investigations over the phone, they will never request those that are confidential.
What are Kootenai County Medicare Scams?
These are scams in which fraudsters impersonate employees of the Medicare Office to rip off unsuspecting Kootenai County residents. These scams have many variations, but the sole aim is to steal marks' personally identifying information and commit identity theft. If an unknown person claiming to be with this office calls you and asks you to provide confidential information for whatever reason, hang up immediately to avoid falling victim to the scam. You may search such a caller's true identity on applications that offer phone number search free services to determine if they are actually with the Medicare Office.
In a prevalent version of medicare scams in Kootenai County, the scammers will call their targets and ask to confirm if they received their new Medicare cards. As anticipated, the naive call recipients will say they have not, opening up the floor for further conversation with these fraudsters. The scammers will request their targets' names, birth dates, social security numbers, and addresses with a promise to track the location of such cards and have them delivered promptly. Residents who are eager to take delivery of medicare cards are more vulnerable to this variant of the scam. They are usually quick to share this information and often do not realize their wrong actions until after some time has passed.
It is important to emphasize that the Medicare Office does not call residents to confirm the delivery of medicare cards. The Medicare Office warns that residents' new cards will always get to them provided their addresses on SSA's file are valid. If you receive this type of call, do not share personal information or send money. Instead, contact the Medicare Office at 1 (800) 633-4227 to verify the caller's claim.
What are Kootenai County Traffic Ticket Scams?
This scam involves fraudsters who call Kootenai County residents randomly, claiming to be with the Kootenai County Sheriff's Office (KCSO) and accusing them of having unpaid traffic charges. The KCSO urges residents to beware of this scam scheme and avoid falling victim. They favor phone spoofing, making their calls appear as coming from the KCSO. If you suspect that a phone call showing as one by the Sheriff's Office is spoofed, search the phone number on applications offering phone search free services to satisfy your curiosity. Doing this will help you ascertain the authenticity of such a call and may prevent you from falling victim to scams.
The scammers often instruct their targets to pay fines right over the phone and threaten that failure to do so promptly will earn them immediate arrests. They typically demand payment by gift cards, wire transfers and sometimes arrange to meet at specific locations to collect cash payment. Residents who receive these types of calls can run the callers' phone numbers through reverse phone lookup applications to retrieve their identifying information. The KCSO cautions that anyone contacted with traffic ticket claims accompanied by fine solicitation should hang up and verify such demands by calling the agency on its official phone numbers. Law enforcement will never call to demand immediate payment of fines or threaten arrest for unpaid traffic tickets over the phone.
What are Kootenai County Social Security Scams?
As with many counties in the United States, social security scams are also prevalent in Kootenai County and have many variations. These scammers often pretend to be with the Social Security Administration (SSA) or local law enforcement to deceive residents and defraud them. Regardless of the version of this scam, the fraudsters want to obtain their targets' Social Security Numbers (SSNs) and other identifying information to commit identity theft. They usually file tax returns with whatever information they get from their victims in an attempt to claim the benefits due to them from the IRS.
In a popular version, the callers will state that the SSNs of targeted county residents have been linked to some grievous crimes being investigated by law enforcement. They usually mention crimes related to money laundering, drug deals, and robbery. The scammers often appear as willing to help their targets and will ask them to share SSNs promptly for supposed verifications. Note that the SSA will never call you to inquire about the information they already have on file. Anyone who calls to request that you confirm your SSN is a potential scammer. Do not share confidential information, including social security numbers, with such callers, especially if you did not initiate the calls. Gather as many details as possible on the caller using a number lookup application and contact the OIG, SSA at 1 (800) 269-0271 to confirm if such a phone call is legitimate. You can also report it to your local law enforcement.
What are Robocalls and Spam Calls?
Phone calls that use auto-dialers to disseminate pre-recorded messages to many phone numbers at the same time are known as robocalls. Spam calls are illegal and mostly unwanted. They usually attempt to sell products and services to residents who have not given consent to receive such calls. Some robocalls are legitimate, while others are not. Illegal robocalls, when employed by scammers, aim to steal money and information from unsuspecting persons. Fraudsters typically like to spoof robocalls in their scam schemes. However, it is possible to identify robocalls, spoofed or not, using free reverse phone lookup tools. You can take the following actions to avoid falling victim to illegal robocalls and spam calls:
- Decline phone calls from phone numbers you do not recognize or have in your contact list.
- Use the call-blocking service provided by your phone carrier or the built-in call-blocking feature of your smartphone to block robocall and spam numbers.
- Hang up the moment you realize a phone call is a robocall.
- Enlist your phone number in the DNC Registry to check robocalls inundation. Adding your phone number to this list is free and makes it illegal for telemarketers to call you after 31 days of registration.
- File complaints of unsolicited calls online with the FTC or call 1 (888) 382-1222. For identified spoofed robocalls, you can file complaints online with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
How Can You Spot and Report Kootenai County Phone Scams?
The best way for Kootenai County residents to avoid phone scams is to develop the ability to spot them while they have not been fleeced. However, identifying scams requires vigilance. Also, you must acquire as much information as possible on trending scams and be cautious when answering phone calls from unknown phone numbers. Residents who receive suspicious phone calls can use free reverse phone lookup services to answer the question "who called me?" Reverse number lookup services are proficient in retrieving information on unknown callers. Signs that a phone call in Kootenai County is a scam call include:
- The caller persistently solicits confidential information not meant to be shared with anyone. Legitimate organizations do not ask consumers to provide such information over the phone.
- The caller poses as a law enforcement officer and threatens you with lawsuits, arrest, or jail for not giving in to their requests. Legitimate law enforcement does not operate in this manner.
- The unknown caller informs you of winning a lottery in a competition you never entered or offers you some gifts but asks you to pay a fee to claim your winnings. Note that you will not win prizes in lotteries whose tickets you did not buy in the first instance. Also, if you must pay to receive a gift, it is most likely a scam scheme.
- The caller asks you to pay via wire transfers, gift cards, and prepaid debit cards. These are unofficial payment methods favored by fraudsters.
Several public agencies provide scam awareness and phone scams education in Kootenai County to keep residents updated on scammers' ever-changing tricks. These agencies encourage residents who are victims of phone scam incidents to report their ordeals for proper investigations. They include:
Federal Communications Commission - Residents who are spoofed robocall scam victims can file complaints online with the FCC. The FCC is committed to combating phone scams. It provides residents with guides on how to stop unsolicited calls and avoid phone scams.
Kootenai County Sheriff's Office - If you fall victim to a phone scam in Kootenai County, report it via email to the KCSO or call (208) 446-1300. Alternatively, you can file a complaint in person at 5500 N. Government Way, Coeur d'Alene, ID 83816.
Federal Trade Commission - Kootenai County residents who fall victim to phone scams can report them to the FTC by calling 1 (888) 382-1222 or online. To stop robocall inundation, the FTC encourages interested residents to register their phone numbers on the DNC Registry.
Office of the Attorney General, State of Idaho - The AG office encourages residents to file reports of phone scam incidents via a dedicated online form.