479 Area Code: Fort Smith, Arkansas
Area code 479 serves Fort Smith, Bentonville and Fayetteville, Arkansas in the Central time zone, in service since 2002. Consumers have filed 3,043 unwanted-call complaints against 2,746 different 479 numbers, 322 of them with the FTC in the last 30 days. Look up the exact number that called you below.
Area code 479 at a glance
- State
- Arkansas
- Main cities
- Fort Smith, Bentonville, Fayetteville, Rogers, Springdale, Russellville + 66 more
- Counties
- Benton County, Washington County, Sebastian County, Pope County + 10 more
- Local time
- —Central
- In service since
- January 19, 2002
- Split from
- 501
- Local dialing
- 7 digits allowed
- Exchanges
- 74 rate centers, 568 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 479 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 479 numbers are about
1,695 FTC Do Not Call complaints about 479 numbers since Jul 24. The most common named subject is impostor calls (people pretending to be a government agency, a business or family), at 21% of complaints (79% of those were recorded messages). Overall, 81% of callers who answered said the call was a robocall.
FTC complaint subjects
- Other / unspecified75645%
- Impostor (government, business, family)35821%
- No subject given20312%
- Medical & prescriptions1217%
- Dropped call / no message986%
- Debt reduction795%
- Warranties & protection plans362%
FCC complaints by call type, last 2 years
- Live Voice8254%
- Prerecorded Voice4731%
- Text Message2215%
15% of recent FCC complaints about 479 numbers are about text messages, not calls.
When 479 spam calls come in
34% 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?
319 FTC complaints about 479 numbers in the last four weeks, down 44% on the four weeks before. FCC complaints about 479 numbers peaked in 2018 (282); 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
84% of the FTC complaints about 479 numbers came from people whose own phone number also starts with 479, and 83% from Arkansas. 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.
Where complainants live
- Arkansas1,41583%
- Oklahoma503%
- Texas332%
- California191%
- Florida141%
What people with 479 numbers report
People whose own number starts with 479 filed 2,660 FTC complaints since Jul 24. 53% were about calls showing another 479 number. The most common named subject was impostor calls (people pretending to be a government agency, a business or family).
Area codes on the calls they reported
- 479 (same code)1,42053%
- 501693%
- 870632%
- 833 (toll-free)542%
- 866 (toll-free)371%
Likely campaigns using 479 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 479 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 479
NANPA has assigned 568 479 prefixes (NPA-NXX central-office codes) across 74 rate centers: 36% to wireless carriers, 63% to landline and VoIP operators; 77% are pooled blocks shared by several carriers. 21 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AT&T Mobility (New Cingular Wireless PCS) | Wireless | 118(21%) | 25 | 2026-09-09 |
| Southwestern Bell (AT&T) | Incumbent landline (ILEC) | 88(15%) | 10 | 2017-01-19 |
| Verizon Wireless (Cellco Partnership) | Wireless | 52(9%) | 20 | 2026-09-18 |
| Onvoy (Sinch) | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 52(9%) | 32 | 2026-09-17 |
| Brightspeed of Northwest Arkansas, LLC | Incumbent landline (ILEC) | 51(9%) | 37 | 2001-06-12 |
| T-Mobile USA | Wireless | 27(5%) | 10 | 2023-02-03 |
| Comcast (Xfinity Voice) | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 25(4%) | 21 | 2019-07-02 |
| Level 3 (Lumen) | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 22(4%) | 13 | 2019-11-25 |
| Teleport Communications America, LLC | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 17(3%) | 6 | 2023-02-22 |
| Bandwidth.com | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 8(1%) | 7 | 2025-11-20 |
| Windstream | Incumbent landline (ILEC) | 8(1%) | 5 | 2017-10-09 |
| Windstream | Incumbent landline (ILEC) | 8(1%) | 6 | 2009-12-17 |
Largest rate centers (exchanges) by prefixes: Fort Smith (89), Bentonville (68), Fayetteville (61), Rogers (61), Springdale (31), Russellville (24), Alma (12), Mena (12), Van Buren (12), Siloam Springs (11). Source: NANPA Central Office Code Utilized Assignments (public, refreshed weekly).
What to do about calls from 479 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 479 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 Arkansas
- 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: Arkansas Attorney General.
- Arkansas 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 479: questions answered from the data
Where is area code 479?
Area code 479 serves Fort Smith, Bentonville and Fayetteville, Arkansas, covering Benton County, Washington County and Sebastian County and 11 more counties. It has been in service since January 19, 2002. It was split from area code 501.
What time zone is area code 479 in?
Area code 479 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 479 numbers usually about?
Since Jul 24, consumers filed 1,695 FTC Do Not Call complaints about 479 numbers. The most common named subject was impostor calls (people pretending to be a government agency, a business or family): 21% of complaints, 79% of them recorded messages. Across all subjects, 81% of callers who answered the question said the call was a robocall.
When do 479 spam calls happen?
34% 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 479 numbers really local?
Not necessarily. 84% of the FTC complaints about 479 numbers came from people whose own phone number also starts with 479, and 83% from Arkansas. 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 479 robocalls increasing?
In the four weeks to Oct 20, consumers filed 319 FTC complaints about 479 numbers, 44% fewer than the four weeks before.
How do I report a 479 scam call in Arkansas?
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 Arkansas, the Arkansas Attorney General also handles consumer complaints about scam calls. Reports feed the public data this page is built from.
Other Arkansas 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.