251 Area Code: Mobile, Alabama
Area code 251 serves Mobile, Foley and Atmore, Alabama in the Central time zone, in service since 2001. Consumers have filed 2,766 unwanted-call complaints against 2,435 different 251 numbers, 351 of them with the FTC in the last 30 days. Look up the exact number that called you below.
Area code 251 at a glance
- State
- Alabama
- Main cities
- Mobile, Foley, Atmore, Jackson, Fairhope, Bay Minette + 35 more
- Counties
- Mobile County, Baldwin County, Escambia County, Monroe County + 5 more
- Local time
- —Central
- In service since
- June 18, 2001
- Split from
- 334
- Local dialing
- 10 digits (area code + number)
- Exchanges
- 42 rate centers, 528 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 251 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 251 numbers are about
1,414 FTC Do Not Call complaints about 251 numbers since Jul 24. The most common named subject is debt-relief pitches, at 33% of complaints (90% of those were recorded messages). Overall, 72% of callers who answered said the call was a robocall.
FTC complaint subjects
- Other / unspecified54238%
- Debt reduction47233%
- Impostor (government, business, family)937%
- Dropped call / no message826%
- Medical & prescriptions755%
- No subject given735%
- Warranties & protection plans262%
FCC complaints by call type, last 2 years
- Prerecorded Voice10852%
- Live Voice7938%
- Text Message2010%
10% of recent FCC complaints about 251 numbers are about text messages, not calls.
When 251 spam calls come in
30% of complaints that give a call time describe calls between 12pm and 3pm. 91% came Monday to Friday, most on Mondays, 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?
346 FTC complaints about 251 numbers in the last four weeks, down 31% on the four weeks before. FCC complaints about 251 numbers peaked in 2017 (188); 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 38% of the FTC complaints about 251 numbers came from Alabama residents; the most came from Florida, Texas and Illinois. 251 numbers are being used for nationwide campaigns, so the area code says little about where the caller is.
Where complainants live
- Alabama53838%
- Florida1017%
- Texas957%
- Illinois514%
- New York504%
What people with 251 numbers report
People whose own number starts with 251 filed 1,571 FTC complaints since Jul 24. 31% were about calls showing another 251 number. The most common named subject was debt-relief pitches.
Area codes on the calls they reported
- 251 (same code)48831%
- 833 (toll-free)886%
- 877 (toll-free)815%
- 888 (toll-free)715%
- 866 (toll-free)624%
Likely campaigns using 251 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 251 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.
Carriers operating in 251
NANPA has assigned 528 251 prefixes (NPA-NXX central-office codes) across 42 rate centers: 30% to wireless carriers, 69% to landline and VoIP operators; 75% are pooled blocks shared by several carriers. 6 prefixes were assigned in the last 12 months (newest 2026-09-18). 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BellSouth (AT&T) | Incumbent landline (ILEC) | 87(16%) | 12 | 2017-02-07 |
| AT&T Mobility (New Cingular Wireless PCS) | Wireless | 72(14%) | 13 | 2026-08-12 |
| Onvoy (Sinch) | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 66(13%) | 28 | 2025-04-28 |
| Verizon Wireless (Cellco Partnership) | Wireless | 38(7%) | 11 | 2024-11-26 |
| Brightspeed of Southern Alabama | Incumbent landline (ILEC) | 29(5%) | 1 | — |
| Eliska Wireless Ventures Subsidiary I, LLC | Wireless | 29(5%) | 5 | 2023-01-04 |
| PAETEC (Windstream) | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 19(4%) | 11 | 2022-03-28 |
| Level 3 (Lumen) | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 17(3%) | 10 | 2021-08-04 |
| Mcc Telephony of The South, LLC | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 17(3%) | 10 | 2024-08-08 |
| Onvoy (Sinch) | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 17(3%) | 16 | 2025-06-27 |
| Frontier Communications | Incumbent landline (ILEC) | 15(3%) | 13 | — |
| Fractel, LLC | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 11(2%) | 9 | 2020-09-23 |
Largest rate centers (exchanges) by prefixes: Mobile (233), Foley (73), Atmore (16), Jackson (15), Fairhope (14), Bay Minette (13), Brewton (12), Evergreen (10), McIntosh (10), Belle Fontaine (8). Source: NANPA Central Office Code Utilized Assignments (public, refreshed weekly).
What to do about calls from 251 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 251 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 Alabama
- 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: Alabama Attorney General.
- Alabama 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 251: questions answered from the data
Where is area code 251?
Area code 251 serves Mobile, Foley and Atmore, Alabama, covering Mobile County, Baldwin County and Escambia County and 6 more counties. It has been in service since June 18, 2001. It was split from area code 334.
What time zone is area code 251 in?
Area code 251 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 251 numbers usually about?
Since Jul 24, consumers filed 1,414 FTC Do Not Call complaints about 251 numbers. The most common named subject was debt-relief pitches: 33% of complaints, 90% of them recorded messages. Across all subjects, 72% of callers who answered the question said the call was a robocall.
When do 251 spam calls happen?
30% of the complaints that give a call time describe calls between 12pm and 3pm, and 91% came on weekdays, most often on Monday. Times are as consumers reported them.
Are calls from 251 numbers really local?
Not necessarily. Only 38% of the FTC complaints about 251 numbers came from Alabama residents; the most came from Florida, Texas and Illinois. 251 numbers are being used for nationwide campaigns, so the area code says little about where the caller is.
Are 251 robocalls increasing?
In the four weeks to Oct 20, consumers filed 346 FTC complaints about 251 numbers, 31% fewer than the four weeks before.
How do I report a 251 scam call in Alabama?
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 Alabama, the Alabama Attorney General also handles consumer complaints about scam calls. Reports feed the public data this page is built from.
Other Alabama 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.