516 Area Code: Nassau County, New York
Area code 516 serves Nassau County, Farmingdale and Selden, New York in the Eastern time zone, in service since 1951. Consumers have filed 7,549 unwanted-call complaints against 5,505 different 516 numbers, 547 of them with the FTC in the last 30 days. Look up the exact number that called you below.
Area code 516 at a glance
- State
- New York
- Main cities
- Nassau County, Farmingdale, Selden + 1 more
- Counties
- Nassau County, Suffolk County
- Local time
- —Eastern
- In service since
- 1951
- Split from
- 914
- Overlay code
- 363 (2023)
- Codes split off
- 631 (1999)
- Local dialing
- 10 digits (area code + number)
- Exchanges
- 15 rate centers, 783 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 516 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 516 numbers are about
1,543 FTC Do Not Call complaints about 516 numbers since Jul 24. The most common named subject is lotteries, prizes & sweepstakes, at 14% of complaints (37% of those were recorded messages). Overall, 58% of callers who answered said the call was a robocall.
FTC complaint subjects
- Other / unspecified59038%
- Lotteries, prizes & sweepstakes22114%
- Debt reduction18512%
- No subject given16110%
- Dropped call / no message1329%
- Impostor (government, business, family)1278%
- Medical & prescriptions473%
FCC complaints by call type, last 2 years
- Prerecorded Voice20350%
- Live Voice15639%
- Text Message4311%
11% of recent FCC complaints about 516 numbers are about text messages, not calls.
When 516 spam calls come in
28% of complaints that give a call time describe calls between 12pm and 3pm. 92% 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?
543 FTC complaints about 516 numbers in the last four weeks, up 14% on the four weeks before. FCC complaints about 516 numbers peaked in 2018 (978); 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 41% of the FTC complaints about 516 numbers came from New York residents; the most came from California, Florida and Texas. 516 numbers are being used for nationwide campaigns, so the area code says little about where the caller is.
Where complainants live
- New York63541%
- California956%
- Florida856%
- Texas644%
- Pennsylvania543%
What people with 516 numbers report
People whose own number starts with 516 filed 1,818 FTC complaints since Jul 24. 22% were about calls showing another 516 number. The most common named subject was debt-relief pitches.
Area codes on the calls they reported
- 516 (same code)39222%
- 631694%
- 833 (toll-free)654%
- 929523%
- 877 (toll-free)523%
Busiest 516 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (516) 842-xxxx | 16 | 16 | Vonage | Nassau County |
| (516) 696-xxxx | 15 | 14 | Cablevision Lightpath, INC. | Nassau County |
| (516) 862-xxxx | 12 | 12 | Vonage | Nassau County |
| (516) 344-xxxx | 11 | 7 | Omnipoint Communications, INC. | Nassau County |
| (516) 774-xxxx | 11 | 3 | Onvoy (Sinch) | Nassau County |
Carriers operating in 516
NANPA has assigned 783 516 prefixes (NPA-NXX central-office codes) across 15 rate centers: 40% to wireless carriers, 58% to landline and VoIP operators; 62% are pooled blocks shared by several carriers. 3 prefixes were assigned in the last 12 months (newest 2026-08-11). 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Verizon (landline) | Incumbent landline (ILEC) | 208(27%) | 12 | — |
| Omnipoint Communications, INC. | Wireless | 95(12%) | 7 | 2023-10-12 |
| AT&T Mobility (New Cingular Wireless PCS) | Wireless | 88(11%) | 5 | 2026-08-11 |
| Verizon Wireless (Cellco Partnership) | Wireless | 78(10%) | 2 | 2019-08-29 |
| Onvoy (Sinch) | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 42(5%) | 11 | 2025-12-18 |
| Cablevision Lightpath, INC. | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 39(5%) | 10 | 2023-02-28 |
| MCImetro (Verizon Business) | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 39(5%) | 11 | 2012-04-24 |
| Bandwidth.com | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 28(4%) | 10 | 2025-01-07 |
| Spok, INC. | Wireless | 28(4%) | 7 | 2001-05-09 |
| Metro by T-Mobile (MetroPCS) | Wireless | 22(3%) | 8 | 2017-09-20 |
| Level 3 (Lumen) | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 20(3%) | 7 | 2022-10-12 |
| PAETEC (Windstream) | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 18(2%) | 8 | 2009-04-28 |
Largest rate centers (exchanges) by prefixes: Nassau County (701), Farmingdale (29). Source: NANPA Central Office Code Utilized Assignments (public, refreshed weekly).
What to do about calls from 516 numbers
Before you call back
- Lotteries, prizes & sweepstakes is the top named complaint here. Legitimate prizes never require a fee, tax or gift card to collect.
- Look up the full number above. A missed call from 516 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 New York
- 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: New York Attorney General.
- New York 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 516: questions answered from the data
Where is area code 516?
Area code 516 serves Nassau County, Farmingdale and Selden, New York, covering Nassau County and Suffolk County. It has been in service since 1951. It was split from area code 914.
What time zone is area code 516 in?
Area code 516 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 516?
363 (in service 2023) serves the same area as 516. 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 516 numbers usually about?
Since Jul 24, consumers filed 1,543 FTC Do Not Call complaints about 516 numbers. The most common named subject was lotteries, prizes & sweepstakes: 14% of complaints, 37% of them recorded messages. Across all subjects, 58% of callers who answered the question said the call was a robocall.
When do 516 spam calls happen?
28% of the complaints that give a call time describe calls between 12pm and 3pm, and 92% came on weekdays, most often on Wednesday. Times are as consumers reported them.
Are calls from 516 numbers really local?
Not necessarily. Only 41% of the FTC complaints about 516 numbers came from New York residents; the most came from California, Florida and Texas. 516 numbers are being used for nationwide campaigns, so the area code says little about where the caller is.
Are 516 robocalls increasing?
In the four weeks to Oct 20, consumers filed 543 FTC complaints about 516 numbers, 14% more than the four weeks before.
How do I report a 516 scam call in New York?
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 New York, the New York Attorney General also handles consumer complaints about scam calls. Reports feed the public data this page is built from.
Other New York 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.