
Hoosiers Should Avoid Calls From These Area Codes In 2025
If you receive a call from one of these area codes, you definitely don't want to answer the phone.
How many times a week do you think that you get a scam call on your phone? I get them more times than I can count. There is always someone out there trying to trick you into giving them some money. These scammers have gotten very creative throughout the years. While there are countless ways in which people can scam you out of money. It's hard not only to keep up with them, but it has also gotten even harder to decipher what is legitimate and what is a scam.
There's a long list of ways people will try to scam you over the phone. Over the years, scammers have gotten really good at tricking people. They are able to alter the information that you see on your phone when a call comes in. This technique, known as "spoofing," is the reason that some unsuspecting individuals fall victim to common scams. Most phone providers will give you a heads-up when you are getting a call from a suspected scammer by displaying "Scam Likely" underneath the number when you receive a call. Even then, that doesn't mean that it can detect all scam calls.

Here's the thing though...let's say you get a call from a number that looks legit, and you don't get to the phone in time. Whether they leave a voicemail or not, you call back. That's how the scammers get you. For some scammers, the goal isn't to get you to answer the phone. It's to get you to call back. The sad thing about this is that if you do call that number back, you don't even have to say or do anything because the person on the other end of the phone already got what they needed.
If you call back, the risk you face is that your phone will be connected to a phone number located outside the United States. That means that you'll be charged for an international call or premium call, and you'll be charged for every minute the scammer can keep you on the phone. Those charges will then be added to your phone bill.
In case you were wondering, calling back the perpetrators will generally cost you an extra $30 if the call is to the Caribbean, but you could be looking at hundreds of dollars added to your bill if you call back One-Ring Scammers from India and several Asian nations. So what's something that you can look out for to help identify scammers? Let's take a look.
Don't Answer Calls From These Area Codes!
While it's hard to identify sometimes if a call you receive is a scam call, the good news is that scams operate in many known area codes, so you can avoid being the next victim simply by watching for known scam area codes. Go Banking Rates listed a handful of area codes that Hoosiers should absolutely not answer when they receive a call. Here are 19 area codes you should never answer if you don’t know who’s on the other end of the line, according to Go Banking Rates:
- 216: Cleveland, Ohio
- 218: Northern Minnesota
- 232: Sierra Leone
- 234: Nigeria
- 242: Bahamas
- 268: Antigua and Barbuda
- 284: British Virgin Islands
- 332: New York City
- 347: New York City
- 355: Albania
- 375: Belarus
- 469: Dallas, Texas
- 649: Turks and Caicos Islands
- 646: Manhattan
- 657: La Palma, California
- 712: Western Iowa
- 829: Dominican Republic
- 868: Trinidad and Tobago
- 876: Jamaica
Now that you know that piece of information, keep it handy the next time you get a call from a number that you don't recognize. If you're getting way too many scam calls, click here to find out how to make them stop.
LOOK: The biggest scams today and how you can protect yourself from them
How To Set Up Sound Recognition On Your iPhone
Gallery Credit: Travis Sams
How to Set a Contact as an Emergency Bypass on Your iPhone
Gallery Credit: Melissa Awesome