If You Live in Washington State, Don’t Answer Calls From These 5 Area Codes

At the end of 2023, Time Magazine estimated that Americans receive an estimated 33 million robocalls every day. That adds up to a jaw dropping 50 billion robo calls made each year! Many carriers offer call filters that automatically forward spam calls to voicemail and those numbers are still sky high. Does seeing them make you wonder “whatever happened to that Do Not Call List?”

We’ll save you from Googling the answer to the questions. 11 states maintain their own “Do Not Call” lists, but neither Washington nor Utah are on that list. However, the Washington Secretary of State’s website does say that it is illegal for telephone solicitors to call Washington phone numbers who signed up for the Federal Trade Commission’s National Do Not Call Registry. Their governor signed a bill updating the state’s telemarketing laws to prohibit telemarketers from using automatic dialing and announcing devices. It also made assisting in sending messages using those devices illegal. 

Utah also relies on the federal list but has a Telephone Fraud Protection act that requires telemarketers doing business in Utah to “obtain a bond to help pay for restitution to victims should telephone fraud occur.” 

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Washington's SOS website explains that companies that you already have a relationship with, political campaigns, charities and telephone surveyors are exempt from the “Do Not Call” list and can call residents with any Washington area code. Utah lists their exemptions in the full text of their law.

But you know who doesn’t care about these rules? Scammers. Scammers who are hoping you’ll be curious enough about getting a call from a number that you don’t recognize that you’ll call them back.

Area Codes Scammers Are Most Likely to Use

Washington has six area codes. Utah has three. Would you recognize them if the showed up on your phone without the city listed? Maybe, maybe not.

We know that memorizing phone numbers is a lost are, but there is a handful of area codes to avoid answering calls from. According to SocialCatfish.com, these are the area codes that folks in Washington and Utah should NOT answer phone calls from unless they are expecting a call from someone in these areas.