256 Area Code: Huntsville, Alabama
Area code 256 serves Huntsville, Decatur and Anniston, Alabama in the Central time zone, in service since 1998. Consumers have filed 4,655 unwanted-call complaints against 3,974 different 256 numbers, 835 of them with the FTC in the last 30 days. Look up the exact number that called you below.
Area code 256 at a glance
- State
- Alabama
- Main cities
- Huntsville, Decatur, Anniston, Gadsden, Cullman, Florence + 84 more
- Counties
- Madison County, Morgan County, Marshall County, Calhoun County + 17 more
- Local time
- —Central
- In service since
- March 23, 1998
- Split from
- 205
- Overlay code
- 938 (2010)
- Local dialing
- 10 digits (area code + number)
- Exchanges
- 92 rate centers, 786 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 256 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 256 numbers are about
2,169 FTC Do Not Call complaints about 256 numbers since Jul 24. The most common named subject is impostor calls (people pretending to be a government agency, a business or family), at 19% of complaints (75% of those were recorded messages). Overall, 66% of callers who answered said the call was a robocall.
FTC complaint subjects
- Other / unspecified1,00546%
- Impostor (government, business, family)41119%
- Medical & prescriptions22510%
- Dropped call / no message1979%
- Debt reduction1437%
- No subject given633%
- Warranties & protection plans382%
FCC complaints by call type, last 2 years
- Live Voice9545%
- Prerecorded Voice8842%
- Text Message2612%
12% of recent FCC complaints about 256 numbers are about text messages, not calls.
When 256 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?
825 FTC complaints about 256 numbers in the last four weeks; leaving out the concentrated source below, complaints are down 11% on the four weeks before. FCC complaints about 256 numbers peaked in 2017 (420); the FTC's daily Do Not Call data has carried most of the volume since mid-2026.
Data note: 195 of the last four weeks' 256 complaints (24%) came from one place, Sylacauga, AL (callers' own phones in area code 256), up from 12 in the comparison period. That pattern usually means one or a few very active filers, so trend figures here leave it out.
FTC complaints per week
FCC complaints per year
Years shown as '15 to '26; the current year is partial.
Who gets these calls
76% of the FTC complaints about 256 numbers came from people whose own phone number also starts with 256, and 78% from Alabama. 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.
These shares include Sylacauga, AL, flagged under “Is it getting worse?” as an unusually concentrated source.
Where complainants live
- Alabama1,70278%
- New York904%
- Georgia573%
- California311%
- Tennessee301%
What people with 256 numbers report
People whose own number starts with 256 filed 3,184 FTC complaints since Jul 24. 52% were about calls showing another 256 number. The most common named subject was debt-relief pitches.
Area codes on the calls they reported
- 256 (same code)1,64752%
- 2051053%
- 833 (toll-free)1013%
- 877 (toll-free)552%
- 888 (toll-free)502%
Busiest 256 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (256) 999-xxxx | 58 | 54 | Bandwidth.com | Scottsboro |
| (256) 410-xxxx | 30 | 30 | Powertel Birmingham Licenses, INC. | Moulton |
| (256) 936-xxxx | 14 | 14 | Airus, INC. | Huntsville |
| (256) 215-xxxx | 9 | 9 | BellSouth (AT&T) | Alexander City |
| (256) 808-xxxx | 9 | 8 | Nuso, LLC | Huntsville |
Carriers operating in 256
NANPA has assigned 786 256 prefixes (NPA-NXX central-office codes) across 92 rate centers: 36% to wireless carriers, 62% to landline and VoIP operators; 74% are pooled blocks shared by several carriers. The newest assignment was 2025-05-15. 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) | 180(23%) | 42 | 2019-02-19 |
| AT&T Mobility (New Cingular Wireless PCS) | Wireless | 114(15%) | 31 | 2025-05-15 |
| Verizon Wireless (Cellco Partnership) | Wireless | 84(11%) | 30 | 2023-05-25 |
| PAETEC (Windstream) | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 58(7%) | 42 | 2010-02-15 |
| Powertel Birmingham Licenses, INC. | Wireless | 50(6%) | 17 | 2021-12-17 |
| Level 3 (Lumen) | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 42(5%) | 26 | 2023-03-24 |
| Onvoy (Sinch) | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 34(4%) | 28 | 2021-09-03 |
| Metro by T-Mobile (MetroPCS) | Wireless | 24(3%) | 17 | 2016-10-03 |
| Bandwidth.com | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 16(2%) | 10 | 2023-01-24 |
| Brightspeed of Alabama, LLC - Northern | Incumbent landline (ILEC) | 16(2%) | 16 | — |
| CenturyLink (Lumen) | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 16(2%) | 4 | 2012-07-09 |
| Peoples Tel. CO., INC. | Incumbent landline (ILEC) | 12(2%) | 11 | 2013-02-26 |
Largest rate centers (exchanges) by prefixes: Huntsville (158), Decatur (50), Anniston (43), Gadsden (37), Cullman (36), Florence (29), Athens (26), Alexander City (18), Guntersville (18), Scottsboro (18). Source: NANPA Central Office Code Utilized Assignments (public, refreshed weekly).
What to do about calls from 256 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 256 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 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 256: questions answered from the data
Where is area code 256?
Area code 256 serves Huntsville, Decatur and Anniston, Alabama, covering Madison County, Morgan County and Marshall County and 18 more counties. It has been in service since March 23, 1998. It was split from area code 205.
What time zone is area code 256 in?
Area code 256 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.
Which area codes overlay 256?
938 (in service 2010) serves the same area as 256. 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 256 numbers usually about?
Since Jul 24, consumers filed 2,169 FTC Do Not Call complaints about 256 numbers. The most common named subject was impostor calls (people pretending to be a government agency, a business or family): 19% of complaints, 75% of them recorded messages. Across all subjects, 66% of callers who answered the question said the call was a robocall.
When do 256 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 256 numbers really local?
Not necessarily. 76% of the FTC complaints about 256 numbers came from people whose own phone number also starts with 256, and 78% from Alabama. 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 256 robocalls increasing?
In the four weeks to Oct 20, consumers filed 825 FTC complaints about 256 numbers. Leaving out one town that filed an unusual share of them, that is 11% fewer than the four weeks before.
How do I report a 256 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.
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.