253 Area Code: Tacoma, Washington
Area code 253 serves Tacoma, Auburn and Kent, Washington in the Pacific time zone, in service since 1997. Consumers have filed 4,083 unwanted-call complaints against 3,223 different 253 numbers, 399 of them with the FTC in the last 30 days. Look up the exact number that called you below.
Area code 253 at a glance
- State
- Washington
- Main cities
- Tacoma, Auburn, Kent, Puyallup, Des Moines, Gig Harbor + 3 more
- Counties
- Pierce County, King County
- Local time
- —Pacific
- In service since
- April 27, 1997
- Split from
- 206
- Local dialing
- 10 digits (area code + number)
- Exchanges
- 10 rate centers, 509 prefixes
Sources: NANPA area code and central office code records (refreshed weekly); cities and counties matched from US Census Bureau and USGS place names.
Reported 253 numbers
No single 253 number has enough complaints yet for a full report page, so none are listed. Look up the exact number that called you: the lookup works on every US number, whether or not it has complaint history.
What calls from 253 numbers are about
1,213 FTC Do Not Call complaints about 253 numbers since Jul 24. The most common named subject is debt-relief pitches, at 14% of complaints (75% of those were recorded messages). Overall, 59% of callers who answered said the call was a robocall.
FTC complaint subjects
- Other / unspecified53244%
- Debt reduction17214%
- Dropped call / no message15313%
- Home improvement & cleaning988%
- Impostor (government, business, family)837%
- No subject given665%
- Medical & prescriptions403%
FCC complaints by call type, last 2 years
- Live Voice9245%
- Prerecorded Voice8541%
- Text Message2814%
14% of recent FCC complaints about 253 numbers are about text messages, not calls.
When 253 spam calls come in
31% of complaints that give a call time describe calls between 10am and 1pm. 94% 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?
392 FTC complaints about 253 numbers in the last four weeks, up 5% on the four weeks before. FCC complaints about 253 numbers peaked in 2015 (484); 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
71% of the FTC complaints about 253 numbers came from Washington residents, but only 45% from people with 253 numbers themselves. The calls are mostly regional rather than aimed at 253 phones specifically.
Where complainants live
- Washington85971%
- Oregon373%
- Florida363%
- California333%
- Texas192%
What people with 253 numbers report
People whose own number starts with 253 filed 1,443 FTC complaints since Jul 24. 38% were about calls showing another 253 number. The most common named subject was debt-relief pitches.
Area codes on the calls they reported
- 253 (same code)54938%
- 2061027%
- 360665%
- 425564%
- 833 (toll-free)403%
Busiest 253 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (253) 563-xxxx | 12 | 12 | Onvoy (Sinch) | Des Moines |
| (253) 676-xxxx | 11 | 10 | Ton80 Communications, LLC | — |
| (253) 214-xxxx | 8 | 8 | MCImetro (Verizon Business) | Des Moines |
| (253) 357-xxxx | 8 | 8 | Telnyx LLC | Tacoma |
| (253) 201-xxxx | 8 | 7 | Onvoy (Sinch) | Tacoma |
Carriers operating in 253
NANPA has assigned 509 253 prefixes (NPA-NXX central-office codes) across 10 rate centers: 34% to wireless carriers, 66% to landline and VoIP operators; 60% are pooled blocks shared by several carriers. 5 prefixes were assigned in the last 12 months (newest 2026-03-20). 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qwest (CenturyLink / Lumen) | Incumbent landline (ILEC) | 141(28%) | 9 | 2012-06-07 |
| T-Mobile USA | Wireless | 78(15%) | 5 | 2026-01-20 |
| Onvoy (Sinch) | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 49(10%) | 9 | 2023-04-14 |
| Verizon Wireless (Cellco Partnership) | Wireless | 48(9%) | 4 | 2024-03-29 |
| AT&T Mobility (New Cingular Wireless PCS) | Wireless | 35(7%) | 8 | 2026-03-20 |
| Electric Lightwave LLC dba Allstream | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 30(6%) | 7 | 2012-10-03 |
| Level 3 (Lumen) | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 29(6%) | 8 | 2019-01-29 |
| Teleport Communications America, LLC | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 15(3%) | 9 | 2001-05-25 |
| Comcast (Xfinity Voice) | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 13(3%) | 8 | 2019-02-15 |
| MCImetro (Verizon Business) | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 12(2%) | 4 | 2022-02-14 |
| CenturyLink (Lumen) | Incumbent landline (ILEC) | 8(2%) | 1 | — |
| MCImetro (Verizon Business) | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 7(1%) | 5 | 2002-09-12 |
Largest rate centers (exchanges) by prefixes: Tacoma (228), Auburn (83), Kent (44), Puyallup (27), Des Moines (23), Gig Harbor (20), Sumner (15), Graham (13), Roy (5). Source: NANPA Central Office Code Utilized Assignments (public, refreshed weekly).
What to do about calls from 253 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 253 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 Washington
- 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: Washington Attorney General.
- Washington does not run its own Do Not Call registry and has not formally adopted the federal list as a state list. The federal National Do Not Call Registry at donotcall.gov still applies to you — register there, free, and it never expires.
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 253: questions answered from the data
Where is area code 253?
Area code 253 serves Tacoma, Auburn and Kent, Washington, covering Pierce County and King County. It has been in service since April 27, 1997. It was split from area code 206.
What time zone is area code 253 in?
Area code 253 is in the Pacific time zone (UTC−8, or UTC−7 during daylight saving time). The current local time is shown at the top of this page.
What are calls from 253 numbers usually about?
Since Jul 24, consumers filed 1,213 FTC Do Not Call complaints about 253 numbers. The most common named subject was debt-relief pitches: 14% of complaints, 75% of them recorded messages. Across all subjects, 59% of callers who answered the question said the call was a robocall.
When do 253 spam calls happen?
31% of the complaints that give a call time describe calls between 10am and 1pm, and 94% came on weekdays, most often on Thursday. Times are as consumers reported them.
Are calls from 253 numbers really local?
Not necessarily. 71% of the FTC complaints about 253 numbers came from Washington residents, but only 45% from people with 253 numbers themselves. The calls are mostly regional rather than aimed at 253 phones specifically.
Are 253 robocalls increasing?
In the four weeks to Oct 20, consumers filed 392 FTC complaints about 253 numbers, 5% more than the four weeks before.
How do I report a 253 scam call in Washington?
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 Washington, the Washington Attorney General also handles consumer complaints about scam calls. Reports feed the public data this page is built from.
Other Washington 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.