219 Area Code: Gary, Indiana
Area code 219 serves Gary, Merrillville and Valparaiso, Indiana in the Eastern and Central time zone, in service since 1948. Consumers have filed 3,222 unwanted-call complaints against 2,455 different 219 numbers, 358 of them with the FTC in the last 30 days. Look up the exact number that called you below.
Area code 219 at a glance
- State
- Indiana
- Main cities
- Gary, Merrillville, Valparaiso, Crown Point, Hammond, Michigan City + 38 more
- Counties
- Lake County, Porter County, LaPorte County, Jasper County + 4 more
- Local time
- —Eastern—Central
- In service since
- 1948
- Local dialing
- 10 digits (area code + number)
- Exchanges
- 45 rate centers, 495 prefixes
Sources: NANPA area code and central office code records (refreshed weekly); cities and counties matched from US Census Bureau and USGS place names.
Most-reported 219 numbers
Ranked by FTC Do Not Call complaints this month, then all-time FTC and FCC complaints. Only numbers with enough complaints for a full report page are listed. Click one for what it was reported for and where.
What calls from 219 numbers are about
1,200 FTC Do Not Call complaints about 219 numbers since Jul 24. The most common named subject is impostor calls (people pretending to be a government agency, a business or family), at 17% of complaints (86% of those were recorded messages). Overall, 74% of callers who answered said the call was a robocall.
FTC complaint subjects
- Other / unspecified45438%
- Impostor (government, business, family)20417%
- Medical & prescriptions16314%
- Debt reduction14912%
- Dropped call / no message1089%
- No subject given615%
- Warranties & protection plans303%
FCC complaints by call type, last 2 years
- Prerecorded Voice8546%
- Live Voice6636%
- Text Message3318%
18% of recent FCC complaints about 219 numbers are about text messages, not calls.
When 219 spam calls come in
32% of complaints that give a call time describe calls between 9am and 12pm. 95% came Monday to Friday, most on Wednesdays, the pattern of call-center robocall campaigns that run on business hours. Times are as consumers reported them to the FTC.
By hour of the day
By day of the week
Is it getting worse?
391 FTC complaints about 219 numbers in the last four weeks, down 1% on the four weeks before. FCC complaints about 219 numbers peaked in 2015 (421); the FTC's daily Do Not Call data has carried most of the volume since mid-2026.
FTC complaints per week
FCC complaints per year
Years shown as '15 to '26; the current year is partial.
Who gets these calls
51% of the FTC complaints about 219 numbers came from people whose own phone number also starts with 219, and 62% from Indiana. Calls that look local to the person receiving them are the signature of neighbor spoofing: robocallers display a number from your own area code because you're more likely to answer.
Where complainants live
- Indiana74962%
- Illinois424%
- Florida353%
- California333%
- Iowa303%
What people with 219 numbers report
People whose own number starts with 219 filed 870 FTC complaints since Jul 24. 71% were about calls showing another 219 number. The most common named subject was impostor calls (people pretending to be a government agency, a business or family).
Area codes on the calls they reported
- 219 (same code)61471%
- 574192%
- 833 (toll-free)172%
- 708162%
- 855 (toll-free)152%
Busiest 219 prefixes this month
FTC complaints in the last 30 days, grouped by the first six digits. When one prefix collects complaints about many different numbers, a campaign is usually cycling through that block. The carrier is who NANPA assigned the prefix to, not who made the calls.
| Prefix | Complaints | Numbers | Carrier | Exchange |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (219) 283-xxxx | 9 | 8 | Onvoy (Sinch) | La Porte |
| (219) 352-xxxx | 9 | 8 | Onvoy (Sinch) | Highland |
| (219) 202-xxxx | 9 | 8 | Fbn Indiana, INC. | Wheatfield |
| (219) 409-xxxx | 8 | 7 | Onvoy (Sinch) | Valparaiso |
| (219) 244-xxxx | 8 | 2 | MCImetro (Verizon Business) | Lake Station |
Carriers operating in 219
NANPA has assigned 495 219 prefixes (NPA-NXX central-office codes) across 45 rate centers: 33% to wireless carriers, 63% to landline and VoIP operators; 80% are pooled blocks shared by several carriers. 10 prefixes were assigned in the last 12 months (newest 2026-09-04). The carrier holding a prefix is who the number was issued through. It says nothing about who is calling, since caller ID is routinely spoofed.
| Carrier | Type | Prefixes | Rate centers | Newest assignment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ameritech (AT&T) | Incumbent landline (ILEC) | 92(19%) | 14 | 2013-10-18 |
| AT&T Mobility (New Cingular Wireless PCS) | Wireless | 52(11%) | 15 | 2026-09-02 |
| Onvoy (Sinch) | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 50(10%) | 22 | 2026-08-21 |
| T-Mobile USA | Wireless | 49(10%) | 9 | 2024-09-09 |
| Verizon Wireless (Cellco Partnership) | Wireless | 44(9%) | 15 | 2025-01-22 |
| Frontier Communications | Incumbent landline (ILEC) | 41(8%) | 14 | 2005-05-05 |
| Level 3 (Lumen) | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 23(5%) | 15 | 2021-04-26 |
| Fractel, LLC | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 21(4%) | 20 | 2021-05-20 |
| Fbn Indiana, INC. | Unclassified | 18(4%) | 18 | 2006-06-14 |
| Metro by T-Mobile (MetroPCS) | Wireless | 14(3%) | 6 | 2014-07-02 |
| Bandwidth.com | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 11(2%) | 9 | 2021-10-26 |
| Brightspeed of Indiana, LLC | Incumbent landline (ILEC) | 11(2%) | 11 | — |
Largest rate centers (exchanges) by prefixes: Gary (74), Merrillville (53), Valparaiso (31), Crown Point (29), Hammond (27), Michigan City (26), East Chicago (22), Portage (22), La Porte (21), Highland (17). Source: NANPA Central Office Code Utilized Assignments (public, refreshed weekly).
What to do about calls from 219 numbers
Before you call back
- Impostor (government, business, family) is the top named complaint here. Hang up and call the agency, bank or relative back on a number you already know. Government agencies don't demand payment by gift card, wire transfer or crypto. Read about Social Security impostor calls and fake bank fraud calls.
- Look up the full number above. A missed call from 219 with no voicemail is usually a robocall; anyone who needs you will leave a message.
- If it looks like a neighbor's number, it may be spoofed. See calls from your own area code.
- Block repeat callers: iPhone, Android, or your carrier's free filter (Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile).
Report it in Indiana
- Unwanted sales calls and robocalls: donotcall.gov (FTC). Scams and fraud: ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
- Spoofing, texts and call-blocking problems: FCC consumer complaints.
- State complaints: Indiana Attorney General.
- Indiana is one of the states that maintains its own Do Not Call registry alongside the federal National Do Not Call Registry, so telemarketers calling Indiana numbers are expected to check both lists. Registering on the federal list at donotcall.gov is free and never expires; the state list is administered separately and may have its own registration process and renewal period.
Your FTC and FCC reports are published (without your name or number) in the datasets this page is built from. How to report unwanted calls.
Area code 219: questions answered from the data
Where is area code 219?
Area code 219 serves Gary, Merrillville and Valparaiso, Indiana, covering Lake County, Porter County and LaPorte County and 5 more counties. It has been in service since 1948.
What time zone is area code 219 in?
Area code 219 spans Eastern and Central time. Most of it is in the Eastern zone (UTC−5, or UTC−4 during daylight saving time). The current local time in each zone is shown at the top of this page.
What are calls from 219 numbers usually about?
Since Jul 24, consumers filed 1,200 FTC Do Not Call complaints about 219 numbers. The most common named subject was impostor calls (people pretending to be a government agency, a business or family): 17% of complaints, 86% of them recorded messages. Across all subjects, 74% of callers who answered the question said the call was a robocall.
When do 219 spam calls happen?
32% of the complaints that give a call time describe calls between 9am and 12pm, and 95% came on weekdays, most often on Wednesday. Times are as consumers reported them.
Are calls from 219 numbers really local?
Not necessarily. 51% of the FTC complaints about 219 numbers came from people whose own phone number also starts with 219, and 62% from Indiana. Calls that look local to the person receiving them are the signature of neighbor spoofing: robocallers display a number from your own area code because you're more likely to answer.
Are 219 robocalls increasing?
In the four weeks to Oct 15, consumers filed 391 FTC complaints about 219 numbers, 1% fewer than the four weeks before.
How do I report a 219 scam call in Indiana?
Report unwanted sales calls and robocalls to the FTC at donotcall.gov, and scams to ReportFraud.ftc.gov. The FCC takes complaints at consumercomplaints.fcc.gov. In Indiana, the Indiana Attorney General also handles consumer complaints about scam calls. Reports feed the public data this page is built from.
Other Indiana area codes
Sources: FTC Do Not Call complaints (unverified consumer reports), published every weekday and available here from Jul 24; FCC Consumer Complaint Data, public record, imported nightly; NANPA numbering records. A number appearing here means consumers reported calls that displayed it. Caller ID can be spoofed.