224 Area Code: Northbrook, Illinois
Area code 224 serves Northbrook, Arlington Heights and Des Plaines, Illinois in the Central time zone, in service since 2002. Consumers have filed 3,116 unwanted-call complaints against 2,634 different 224 numbers, 492 of them with the FTC in the last 30 days. Look up the exact number that called you below.
Area code 224 at a glance
- State
- Illinois
- Main cities
- Northbrook, Arlington Heights, Des Plaines, Elgin, Waukegan, Algonquin + 34 more
- Counties
- Cook County, Lake County, Kane County, McHenry County + 1 more
- Local time
- —Central
- In service since
- January 5, 2002
- Overlay of
- 847
- Local dialing
- 10 digits (area code + number)
- Exchanges
- 41 rate centers, 596 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 224 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 224 numbers are about
1,292 FTC Do Not Call complaints about 224 numbers since Jul 24. The most common named subject is debt-relief pitches, at 19% of complaints (87% of those were recorded messages). Overall, 66% of callers who answered said the call was a robocall.
FTC complaint subjects
- Other / unspecified55943%
- Debt reduction24719%
- Impostor (government, business, family)13110%
- Dropped call / no message12910%
- No subject given1139%
- Medical & prescriptions363%
- Home improvement & cleaning242%
FCC complaints by call type, last 2 years
- Prerecorded Voice8544%
- Live Voice6835%
- Text Message4021%
21% of recent FCC complaints about 224 numbers are about text messages, not calls.
When 224 spam calls come in
31% of complaints that give a call time describe calls between 10am and 1pm. 95% came Monday to Friday, most on Tuesdays, 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?
481 FTC complaints about 224 numbers in the last four weeks, up 5% on the four weeks before. FCC complaints about 224 numbers peaked in 2015 (261); 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
Only 44% of the FTC complaints about 224 numbers came from Illinois residents; the most came from California, Florida and Texas. 224 numbers are being used for nationwide campaigns, so the area code says little about where the caller is.
Where complainants live
- Illinois57144%
- California927%
- Florida736%
- Texas595%
- New York363%
What people with 224 numbers report
People whose own number starts with 224 filed 1,093 FTC complaints since Jul 24. 20% were about calls showing another 224 number. The most common named subject was debt-relief pitches.
Area codes on the calls they reported
- 224 (same code)22320%
- 312595%
- 877 (toll-free)595%
- 833 (toll-free)555%
- 888 (toll-free)535%
Likely campaigns using 224 numbers
Groups of numbers that drew the same FTC complaint in the same pattern over the last 60 days. The grouping is statistical and doesn't identify who is calling.
Busiest 224 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (224) 788-xxxx | 19 | 18 | Level 3 (Lumen) | Antioch |
| (224) 379-xxxx | 18 | 15 | Onvoy (Sinch) | Park Ridge |
| (224) 777-xxxx | 14 | 14 | PAETEC (Windstream) | Hampshire |
| (224) 888-xxxx | 14 | 13 | Level 3 (Lumen) | Cary |
| (224) 255-xxxx | 13 | 13 | AT&T Mobility (New Cingular Wireless PCS) | Winnetka |
Carriers operating in 224
NANPA has assigned 596 224 prefixes (NPA-NXX central-office codes) across 41 rate centers: 54% to wireless carriers, 46% to landline and VoIP operators; 98% are pooled blocks shared by several carriers. 15 prefixes were assigned in the last 12 months (newest 2026-09-02). 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| T-Mobile USA | Wireless | 140(23%) | 18 | 2026-06-16 |
| AT&T Mobility (New Cingular Wireless PCS) | Wireless | 92(15%) | 14 | 2026-09-02 |
| Verizon Wireless (Cellco Partnership) | Wireless | 76(13%) | 7 | 2025-08-18 |
| Onvoy (Sinch) | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 67(11%) | 33 | 2026-04-16 |
| Ameritech (AT&T) | Incumbent landline (ILEC) | 34(6%) | 19 | 2014-05-08 |
| Fractel, LLC | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 29(5%) | 20 | 2021-10-27 |
| Level 3 (Lumen) | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 19(3%) | 15 | 2014-10-01 |
| Teleport Communications America, LLC | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 19(3%) | 13 | 2023-06-29 |
| Bandwidth.com | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 17(3%) | 16 | 2022-09-02 |
| Comcast (Xfinity Voice) | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 16(3%) | 14 | 2021-08-10 |
| First Communications, LLC | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 11(2%) | 9 | 2023-10-18 |
| Metro by T-Mobile (MetroPCS) | Wireless | 11(2%) | 5 | 2026-06-15 |
Largest rate centers (exchanges) by prefixes: Arlington Heights (72), Northbrook (72), Des Plaines (48), Elgin (44), Waukegan (38), Algonquin (36), Deerfield (20), Barrington (19), Elk Grove (18), Wheeling (15). Source: NANPA Central Office Code Utilized Assignments (public, refreshed weekly).
What to do about calls from 224 numbers
Before you call back
- Debt reduction is the top named complaint here. Don't pay upfront fees for debt relief; the FTC's Telemarketing Sales Rule bans them. Talk to your lender or a nonprofit credit counselor instead. Read about debt-relief robocalls.
- Look up the full number above. A missed call from 224 with no voicemail is usually a robocall; anyone who needs you will leave a message.
- Block repeat callers: iPhone, Android, or your carrier's free filter (Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile).
Report it in Illinois
- 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: Illinois Attorney General.
- Illinois formally adopted the FTC's National Do Not Call Registry as its own state list rather than running a separate one, so a single free registration at donotcall.gov covers you. State authorities can still enforce against telemarketers who ignore it, in addition to any federal penalty.
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 224: questions answered from the data
Where is area code 224?
Area code 224 serves Northbrook, Arlington Heights and Des Plaines, Illinois, covering Cook County, Lake County and Kane County and 2 more counties. It has been in service since January 5, 2002.
What time zone is area code 224 in?
Area code 224 is in the Central time zone (UTC−6, or UTC−5 during daylight saving time). The current local time is shown at the top of this page.
What are calls from 224 numbers usually about?
Since Jul 24, consumers filed 1,292 FTC Do Not Call complaints about 224 numbers. The most common named subject was debt-relief pitches: 19% of complaints, 87% of them recorded messages. Across all subjects, 66% of callers who answered the question said the call was a robocall.
When do 224 spam calls happen?
31% of the complaints that give a call time describe calls between 10am and 1pm, and 95% came on weekdays, most often on Tuesday. Times are as consumers reported them.
Are calls from 224 numbers really local?
Not necessarily. Only 44% of the FTC complaints about 224 numbers came from Illinois residents; the most came from California, Florida and Texas. 224 numbers are being used for nationwide campaigns, so the area code says little about where the caller is.
Are 224 robocalls increasing?
In the four weeks to Oct 20, consumers filed 481 FTC complaints about 224 numbers, 5% more than the four weeks before.
How do I report a 224 scam call in Illinois?
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 Illinois, the Illinois Attorney General also handles consumer complaints about scam calls. Reports feed the public data this page is built from.
Overlay and nearby 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.