What Is a Decatur County Reverse Phone Lookup?
Several online services conduct a phone number lookup. Normally, these services answer questions like "who called me?" or "who is this number signed up to?" While there are free phone number lookup services, the details that are available through these services are plain. At best, a searcher can expect to see details like the registered phone number owner's name and city.
On the other hand, the information obtainable through paid reverse phone search services are in most cases more in-depth. Besides name and city, a search can also show info like the unidentified caller's public records and social media profiles.
What You Can Do With Reverse Phone Search
A reverse phone search can help you recognize unknown callers, which works for spotting scam callers. Yet another use for this service is finding information about lost contacts or when you forget the name of somebody who gave you their contact number.
What Are Decatur County Area Codes?
Decatur County area codes are the special three digits that start every phone number belonging to a resident, company, or government office in Decatur County. A typical Decatur County phone number starts with 731, the area code assigned to the county by the North American Numbering Plan Administrator (NANPA).
NANPA introduced area codes to simplify long-distance phone calls. Today, all North American phone numbers have area codes. These digits differentiate towns and cities as numbering plan areas, or NPAs, for the purpose of making phone calls.
The NANPA assigns area codes in North America, the Tennessee Public Utility Commission oversees the assignment of area codes to towns in Tennessee. There is currently 1 area code that covers Decatur County.
Area Code 731
Phone numbers that begin with 731 tend to belong to somebody in Decatur County. However, Decatur County is among several counties under the 731 NPA. A number starting with 731 may also belong to someone in a bordering municipality under the same NPA.
What Are the Best Cell Phone Providers in Decatur County?
The best phone plan to choose in Decatur County depends on the user's specific location and the provider's phone coverage. Telephone service is normally better in the cities than in the hills and the rural regions. The 3 leading phone service companies in Decatur County are AT&T, Verizon Wireless, and T-Mobile.
Phone service companies in Decatur County have varying coverage levels. AT&T gives the best coverage, followed by Verizon Wireless. T-Mobile has the least range amongst these leading operators, but it is not far from the others.
Major phone service companies also rent out their technology to smaller-sized Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs). In turn, MVNOs leverage this technology to provide cheaper phone plans in Decatur County.
VoIP Phone Service in Decatur County
Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is a service that lets a user make calls utilizing the web instead of standard lines or radio waves.
The service works like a regular phone line and has all the call features a user would generally receive from a traditional phone company along with state-of-the-art call management. VoIP calls are also faster, clearer, more secure, and several times less expensive than regular calls.
What Are Decatur County Phone Scams?
A phone scam is when a person uses a phone call to con another individual to send money or share delicate valuable information over the phone.
In Decatur County, phone scams typically happen when a person receives an unsolicited phone call. The unknown caller uses various ways to convince, trick, or intimidate a person into sending money or revealing sensitive details about themselves.
A lot of phone scams are random, but scams can be targeted when the scammer has some information about the unwary victim.
What Are Decatur County Robocalls and Spam Calls?
Robocalls are automated calls from tools made to reach many people at once and cheaply.
Political organizers and telemarketers trying to reach a mass audience were the common users of robocalls. These entities usually work off a phone list to solicit votes or market an item to numerous people at the same time.
In the case of scammers, the goal is to reach multiple possible victims at once. Scammers do not constantly have the exact same database that advocates and genuine telemarketers have. So, they often use software to make up random numbers and call those numbers automatically.
How to Spot Decatur County Phone Scams
Knowing how to spot and prevent scam calls can help protect personal privacy and money. For starters, consider using spam call detectors on smartphones.
These detectors cross-check inbound calls with a database of well-known scam callers and instantly block the call. Although efficient, these apps are less effective against spoofed caller IDs or when the caller is a human impostor. In this case, keeping an eye out for typical red flags can help spot a phone scam.
Signs of a Phone Scam
The very first warning is when the caller claims to be a government official or a company's staff. Legit employees of public or private businesses do not normally call out of the blues. Instead, they post letters before anything else and call as a last resort.
Another red flag is when the caller wants money or specific information like complete name, social security number, banking information, and passwords. A genuine official or company employee does not require this detailed information to assist you.
And most of all, watch out for threats or suggested urgency during calls. These are scare tactics used to con a person into providing sensitive details.
How to Report Decatur County Phone Scams
Scam calls violate federal laws. If you have received or fallen for a phone scam in Decatur County, report the scam as soon as you can. Doing this helps public agencies hold scammers accountable and, in some cases, assist people get their money back. Public agencies that help Decatur County residents fight phone scams include:
Decatur County Sheriff’s Office
The Decatur County Sheriff's Office is the county's primary law enforcement agency. Residents should submit reports of phone scams to the Sheriff's Office by calling (731) 852-3703. Alternatively, residents can check out the law enforcement agency's building during service hours.
138 East Main Street
427 Decaturville, TN 38329
Phone: (731) 852-3703
Tennessee Attorney General's Office
The Tennessee Attorney General's Office is the state agency that handles consumer protection in Tennessee. Residents who have complaints about their phone scams may file a complaint with the Office online. Alternatively, contact the agency by calling (615) 741-4737 or (800) 342-8385.
Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
The FTC is the federal agency charged with consumer protection. The FTC set up the National Do Not Call Registry to protect residents from unsolicited calls from telemarketers and services.
Putting your number on this registry restricts telemarketers from reaching you in the first place. For further info on call-blocking and preventing scams, visit the FTC resource page. Interested persons may also report scams and robocalls to the FTC by calling 1 (888) 382-1222.
Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
The FCC moderates interstate and international calls in the U.S. and also protects customers from illegal or scam calls. Tips on avoiding unsolicited robocalls and phone scams are offered on the FCC website. Victims of robocall or phone spoofing scams can submit complaints with the FCC.