240 Area Code: Washington suburbs (Maryland), Maryland
Area code 240 serves Washington suburbs (Maryland), Laurel and Frederick, Maryland in the Eastern time zone, in service since 1997. Consumers have filed 5,590 unwanted-call complaints against 4,313 different 240 numbers, 420 of them with the FTC in the last 30 days. Look up the exact number that called you below.
Area code 240 at a glance
- State
- Maryland
- Main cities
- Washington suburbs (Maryland), Laurel, Frederick, Gaithersburg, Hagerstown, Ashton + 40 more
- Counties
- Montgomery County, Frederick County, Prince George's County, Charles County + 5 more
- Local time
- —Eastern
- In service since
- June 1, 1997
- Overlay of
- 301
- Overlay code
- 227 (2023)
- Local dialing
- 10 digits (area code + number)
- Exchanges
- 63 rate centers, 785 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 240 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 240 numbers are about
1,411 FTC Do Not Call complaints about 240 numbers since Jul 24. The most common named subject is debt-relief pitches, at 16% of complaints (83% of those were recorded messages). Overall, 61% of callers who answered said the call was a robocall.
FTC complaint subjects
- Other / unspecified59142%
- Debt reduction22516%
- Impostor (government, business, family)18413%
- Dropped call / no message16812%
- No subject given675%
- Home improvement & cleaning514%
- Medical & prescriptions363%
FCC complaints by call type, last 2 years
- Prerecorded Voice13341%
- Live Voice11836%
- Text Message7623%
23% of recent FCC complaints about 240 numbers are about text messages, not calls.
When 240 spam calls come in
31% of complaints that give a call time describe calls between 10am and 1pm. 91% came Monday to Friday, most on Thursdays, 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?
479 FTC complaints about 240 numbers in the last four weeks, down 9% on the four weeks before. FCC complaints about 240 numbers peaked in 2018 (657); 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
54% of the FTC complaints about 240 numbers came from Maryland residents, but only 29% from people with 240 numbers themselves. The calls are mostly regional rather than aimed at 240 phones specifically.
Where complainants live
- Maryland76054%
- Virginia675%
- California614%
- Florida604%
- Texas473%
What people with 240 numbers report
People whose own number starts with 240 filed 2,259 FTC complaints since Jul 24. 18% were about calls showing another 240 number. The most common named subject was debt-relief pitches.
Area codes on the calls they reported
- 240 (same code)41118%
- 833 (toll-free)1406%
- 888 (toll-free)1215%
- 877 (toll-free)974%
- 866 (toll-free)894%
Likely campaigns using 240 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 240 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (240) 680-xxxx | 12 | 12 | Peerless Network | Frederick |
| (240) 824-xxxx | 11 | 10 | Onvoy (Sinch) | Frostburg |
| (240) 873-xxxx | 10 | 10 | Onvoy (Sinch) | Buckeystown |
| (240) 208-xxxx | 8 | 8 | Peerless Network | La Plata |
| (240) 896-xxxx | 8 | 7 | Boost Subscriberco L.L.C. | Hagerstown |
Carriers operating in 240
NANPA has assigned 785 240 prefixes (NPA-NXX central-office codes) across 63 rate centers: 38% to wireless carriers, 61% to landline and VoIP operators; 93% are pooled blocks shared by several carriers. The newest assignment was 2023-07-25. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Omnipoint Communications Cap Operations, LLC | Wireless | 117(15%) | 17 | 2023-05-05 |
| Verizon Wireless (Cellco Partnership) | Wireless | 85(11%) | 16 | 2023-01-09 |
| AT&T Mobility (New Cingular Wireless PCS) | Wireless | 69(9%) | 15 | 2023-07-25 |
| PAETEC (Windstream) | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 63(8%) | 20 | 2012-04-05 |
| Level 3 (Lumen) | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 59(8%) | 34 | 2021-12-10 |
| Onvoy (Sinch) | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 56(7%) | 40 | 2023-02-22 |
| Verizon (landline) | Incumbent landline (ILEC) | 48(6%) | 17 | 2020-03-19 |
| MCImetro (Verizon Business) | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 46(6%) | 29 | 2019-05-20 |
| Peerless Network | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 42(5%) | 30 | 2019-09-25 |
| Bandwidth.com | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 35(4%) | 27 | 2022-10-18 |
| Core Communications, INC.- Md | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 32(4%) | 30 | 2018-06-12 |
| Metro by T-Mobile (MetroPCS) | Wireless | 21(3%) | 11 | 2022-12-01 |
Largest rate centers (exchanges) by prefixes: Washington suburbs (Maryland) (249), Frederick (43), Gaithersburg (40), Laurel (39), Hagerstown (33), Waldorf (26). Source: NANPA Central Office Code Utilized Assignments (public, refreshed weekly).
What to do about calls from 240 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 240 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 Maryland
- 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: Maryland Attorney General.
- Maryland 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 240: questions answered from the data
Where is area code 240?
Area code 240 serves Washington suburbs (Maryland), Laurel and Frederick, Maryland, covering Montgomery County, Frederick County and Prince George's County and 6 more counties. It has been in service since June 1, 1997.
What time zone is area code 240 in?
Area code 240 is in the Eastern time zone (UTC−5, or UTC−4 during daylight saving time). The current local time is shown at the top of this page.
Which area codes overlay 240?
227 (in service 2023) serves the same area as 240. New numbers there can be issued with any of these codes, and local calls need all 10 digits. A spoofed call can display any of them.
What are calls from 240 numbers usually about?
Since Jul 24, consumers filed 1,411 FTC Do Not Call complaints about 240 numbers. The most common named subject was debt-relief pitches: 16% of complaints, 83% of them recorded messages. Across all subjects, 61% of callers who answered the question said the call was a robocall.
When do 240 spam calls happen?
31% of the complaints that give a call time describe calls between 10am and 1pm, and 91% came on weekdays, most often on Thursday. Times are as consumers reported them.
Are calls from 240 numbers really local?
Not necessarily. 54% of the FTC complaints about 240 numbers came from Maryland residents, but only 29% from people with 240 numbers themselves. The calls are mostly regional rather than aimed at 240 phones specifically.
Are 240 robocalls increasing?
In the four weeks to Oct 15, consumers filed 479 FTC complaints about 240 numbers, 9% fewer than the four weeks before.
How do I report a 240 scam call in Maryland?
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 Maryland, the Maryland 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.