What are Comanche County Area Codes?
Area codes are those three digits that appear at the beginning of phone numbers. The North American Numbering Plan (NANP) introduced area codes in 1947. Area codes are used to determine the location of outgoing or incoming calls. The Public Utility Division under the Oklahoma Corporation Commission (OCC) is the agency in charge of administering new area codes in Comanche County.
The only area code in Comanche County, Oklahoma is:
Area Code 580
Area code 580 was established on November 1, 1997, from a geographical split of area code 405. Area code 580 covers most of the central and eastern parts of Oklahoma. This includes Comanche County communities such as Elgin, Lawton, and Cache.
What are the Best Cell Phone Plans in Comanche County?
The primary network providers in Comanche County are T-Mobile, Sprint, Verizon, and AT&T. These are also the four major network providers in the US. Verizon has the best coverage with 98%, compared to the other phone carriers. AT&T ranks second with 90% coverage. T-mobile has 70% coverage, while Sprint provides 62% coverage. These service providers offer VoIP services, cell phone services, landline services, and internet services to county residents. Comanche County residents also use Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) services. MVNOs use the wireless network infrastructures of the principal national carriers.
Comanche County residents prefer mobile phones to landlines. This is evident from a report on Wireless Substitution in 2018. According to the report, 61.3% of Oklahoma adults used cell phones only, while 4.8% of adults used landlines only. The preference for mobile phones is even higher for minors below 18 years. 1.9% of minors used only landlines, while 70.2% preferred wireless phones.
VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) phone services are also common in Comanche County. Generally, VoIP sends voice calls as data packets over the internet. This means telephone users can make calls if they have stable internet connections. As such, VoIP phone services are easier to set up than landlines and cell phone services. Innovative features offered by VoIP services include advanced call routings, centralized administrative portals, video conferencing, and more.
What are Comanche County Phone Scams?
Comanche County phone scams are orchestrated by scammers seeking to steal the financial and personal details of phone users residing in the county. Fraudsters involved in phone scams may impersonate respectable government agencies or business entities to make false claims. An example of phone scams is known as voice phishing. Scam callers use voice phishing (vishing) to fraudulently get information such as passwords, credit card numbers, driver licenses, or social security numbers from unsuspecting individuals.
In most cases, con artists use spoofing techniques to mask the true origins of scam calls. Nonetheless, county residents can identify the sources of scam calls by using area code lookups and reverse phone lookups tools. Individuals may also carry out independent research on crooked telemarketers prior to making transactions with them. This can be done by looking up their firms on the Better Business Bureau portal. Comanche county residents can avoid being victims of phone scams by terminating suspicious calls at once. Afterward, report scam calls to approved governmental organizations in the county, state, or country.
Below are some of the most common phone scams in Comanche County.
What are Comanche County COVID-19 Scams?
COVID-19 scams are perpetrated by con artists who claim to provide vaccines or medicare kits in exchange for the banking details or social security numbers of their targets. Also, scammers involved in these scams may pose as government officials offering pandemic relief payments or COVID-19 benefits. Some fraudsters promise massive business loans or constantly notify their targets that certain checks are ready for collection. All these tactics aim to deceive unsuspecting persons. Similar to other fraudulent activities, COVID-19 scams are carried out to get sensitive details that can be used for identity thefts.
County residents can avoid getting scammed by adhering to the instructions provided by the Oklahoma Coronavirus Fraud Resources. Individuals are advised to confirm the authenticity of organizations making the COVID-19 claims. Innovative tools like reverse cell phone lookup apps enable individuals to perform phone number searches for free. Also, it is essential to ignore phone messages requesting payments for COVID-19 vaccines. Individuals should note that most scammers request payment through wire transfers, gift cards, and cryptocurrency wallets. Instead of sharing personal information or making any transactions with strangers, contact the Oklahoma Consumer Protection Unit to report COVID-19 phone scams or call (833) 681-1895. Also, residents can report cases to the National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) by filing online complaints or calling (866) 720-5721.
What are Comanche County Missed Call (One-ring) Scams?
Comanche County missed call scams are otherwise known as “one ring” scams. In these scams, con artists use robocalls to dial residents’ phone numbers hoping they would call back. County residents who call back may risk being connected to telephone lines outside the country. Also, residents who call back may be charged exorbitant fees for connecting. The charges may also include per-minute fees for every minute the scammers keep their targets on the phone. The call-back charges generally end up on individuals’ bills as toll-calling, international calling, or premium services. Variations of these cons depend on the type of deceitful robocalls prodding county residents. Some scam callers may pose as government officials or representatives of reputable institutions to obtain sensitive information from their targets. Other phone scammers may ask individuals to contact phone numbers with strange area codes or inform individuals of ill relatives:
Comanche County residents can avoid missed call scams by following the instructions below:
- Do not return or pick up any unexpected calls from unfamiliar numbers.
- Investigate the area codes of strange numbers before dialing them.
- Ask your phone company to block all outgoing international calls on their phone numbers.
- Use reverse phone lookup international services to confirm the locations of phone numbers.
- County residents are also advised to file complaints with the Internet Crime Complaint Center.
What are Comanche County IRS Imposter Scams?
IRS imposter scams in Comanche County are perpetrated by fraudsters posing as IRS officials who claim county residents owe taxes. Generally, con artists involved in these scams may threaten to deport, arrest, or sue taxpayers who refuse to comply with their demands. It may be difficult to identify IRS scams since most fraudsters use spoofing techniques to make their calls appear to be from real IRS customer care agents. County residents can know who called by performing phone number lookups by address or name.
Victims of IRS imposter scams in Comanche County are usually asked to make payments via prepaid debit cards or bitcoin wallets. Individuals should be aware that the IRS and any authorized government agencies do not accept payments through these channels. Genuine IRS agents are required to contact taxpayers through mails and not on telephone lines. IRS agents who intend to contact individuals over the phone usually first request the taxpayers’ consent through mails. Individuals can prevent IRS scams by terminating calls and calling the IRS on 800-908-4490 or 800-366-4484 to confirm any claims made by scam callers.
If you have been called by a stranger accusing you of owing taxes, do not send the payment.
What are Comanche County Lottery Scams?
In Comanche County lottery scams, deceitful persons pretend to be lottery officials. Usually, the imposters offer rewards and big prizes to unsuspecting persons in exchange for confidential details or payments for processing winnings. These red flags prove that the scam callers are fraudsters because the Oklahoma Lottery Commission does not request private information before paying its winners. Using reverse cell phone lookup apps can help individuals find answers to the questions like “who is this number registered to.” Comanche County residents can confirm any lottery claim within the state by contacting the lottery office (405) 522-7700.
What are Robocalls and Spam Calls?
Robocalls are automated phone calls that deliver prerecorded messages to telephone users. On the other hand, spam calls deliver irrelevant and repeated messages. Generally, all spam calls are considered illegal. However, healthcare providers, politicians, telemarketers, and other education organizations can use robocalls legally. Being a technological innovation that offers caller anonymity, con artists often use robocalls when calling to defraud unsuspecting citizens.
To regulate robocalls, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) established the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) in 1991. In accordance with the Act, telemarketers can only send robocalls when a phone user approves. However, politicians and other agencies that provide essential or educational information are exonerated from that rule. Spam calls and Illegal robocalls may be tough to detect because of the spoofing techniques that the scammers use. These tools are devised to mask the actual identities of the scam callers. In such cases, county residents can avoid getting tricked by using good reverse phone lookup databases to detect fraudulent callers.
The following are other precautions to help prevent falling victims to illegal robocalls or spam calls.
- End phone calls requesting personal or financial information immediately
- Do not adhere to the voice commands given by robocalls
- Endeavor to install free reverse phone number lookup applications to identify the actual callers
- Include telephone numbers in the National Do Not Call Registry to prevent telemarketers from sending robocalls
- Report illegal robocalls and spam calls by filing online complaints with the FTC or calling their offices on 1-888-382-1222
- You can also discover other ways of blocking unwanted calls by reading through the FTC web pages.
How to Spot and Report Comanche County Phone Scams?
Comanche County phone scams have gotten more complicated and challenging to identify. While several phone scams exist, scammers mostly use the same tricks and prey on their targets’ ignorance. Comanche County residents need to learn all they can about how phone scams are perpetrated and the devices necessary to identify scam calls. Individuals should also be aware of certain red flags of phone scammers. Generally, phone scammers:
- Request urgent responses to untrue claims
- Request confidential information such as credit card details or social security numbers
- Make threats to arrest county residents who refuse to obey their rules and demands immediately.
- Promise many rewards and benefits while asking for down payments.
- Request that payments be made through gift cards or bitcoin wallets.
If you perceive any of these red flags, immediately terminate calls and report the incident to appropriate government authorities in Comanche County, such as:
- Comanche County District Attorney Office: Investigates identity theft and fraud victims. Persons who may have disclosed their banking or personal details to scammers can reach the office at:
315 South West 5th Street, Suite 502
Lawton, Oklahoma 73501
Phone: (580) 585-4444
- Comanche County Sheriff’s Office: As the highest-ranking elected law enforcement agency in the county, the Sheriff’s Office is open to residents who want to document cases of phone scams and other fraudulent acts. The location of the office is:
315 South West 5th Street #102
Lawton, Oklahoma 73501
Phone: (580) 353-4280
- Oklahoma Attorney General: Through the Office of the Attorney General, county residents can file complaints about any fraud. The Consumer Protection Unit of the Attorney General responds to all forms of phone scams within the state.
- Federal Trade Commission (FTC): The FTC maintains the National Do Not Call Registry. If you receive any robocall after registering a phone number, then that caller is likely a scammer. Terminate the call and file an online complaint or call the Toll Free Helpline: 1-888-777-3406