518 Area Code: Albany, New York
Area code 518 serves Albany, Schenectady and Glens Falls, New York in the Eastern time zone, in service since 1947. Consumers have filed 7,160 unwanted-call complaints against 5,712 different 518 numbers, 494 of them with the FTC in the last 30 days. Look up the exact number that called you below.
Area code 518 at a glance
- State
- New York
- Main cities
- Albany, Schenectady, Glens Falls, Troy, Colonie, Plattsburgh + 129 more
- Counties
- Albany County, Warren County, Schenectady County, Saratoga County + 15 more
- Local time
- —Eastern
- In service since
- 1947
- Overlay code
- 838 (2017)
- Local dialing
- 10 digits (area code + number)
- Exchanges
- 135 rate centers, 775 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 518 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 518 numbers are about
2,271 FTC Do Not Call complaints about 518 numbers since Jul 24. The most common named subject is debt-relief pitches, at 40% of complaints (93% of those were recorded messages). Overall, 79% of callers who answered said the call was a robocall.
FTC complaint subjects
- Debt reduction90340%
- Other / unspecified80535%
- No subject given1728%
- Impostor (government, business, family)1245%
- Dropped call / no message1085%
- Lotteries, prizes & sweepstakes462%
- Medical & prescriptions432%
FCC complaints by call type, last 2 years
- Prerecorded Voice70879%
- Live Voice13815%
- Text Message526%
Live-voice calls are from a person; prerecorded calls are robocalls.
When 518 spam calls come in
29% of complaints that give a call time describe calls between 11am and 2pm. 87% came Monday to Friday, most on Tuesdays. Times are as consumers reported them to the FTC.
By hour of the day
By day of the week
Is it getting worse?
493 FTC complaints about 518 numbers in the last four weeks, down 19% on the four weeks before. FCC complaints about 518 numbers peaked in 2018 (908); 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 33% of the FTC complaints about 518 numbers came from New York residents; the most came from Florida, California and Texas. 518 numbers are being used for nationwide campaigns, so the area code says little about where the caller is.
Where complainants live
- New York74233%
- Florida2069%
- California1647%
- Texas1456%
- Pennsylvania763%
What people with 518 numbers report
People whose own number starts with 518 filed 1,817 FTC complaints since Jul 24. 29% were about calls showing another 518 number. The most common named subject was debt-relief pitches.
Area codes on the calls they reported
- 518 (same code)52029%
- 833 (toll-free)573%
- 838563%
- 888 (toll-free)402%
- 855 (toll-free)322%
Likely campaigns using 518 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 518 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (518) 777-xxxxcampaign | 29 | 29 | Onvoy (Sinch) | Sharon Springs |
| (518) 819-xxxx | 12 | 12 | Level 3 (Lumen) | Catskill |
| (518) 535-xxxxcampaign | 10 | 10 | Bandwidth.com | Delanson |
| (518) 721-xxxx | 8 | 8 | Tvc Albany, INC. dba Firstlight Fiber | Claverack |
| (518) 871-xxxxcampaign | 8 | 7 | PAETEC (Windstream) | Saratoga Springs |
Carriers operating in 518
NANPA has assigned 775 518 prefixes (NPA-NXX central-office codes) across 135 rate centers: 20% to wireless carriers, 76% to landline and VoIP operators; 77% are pooled blocks shared by several carriers. The newest assignment was 2024-12-06. 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) | 216(28%) | 84 | 2009-04-17 |
| PAETEC (Windstream) | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 59(8%) | 19 | 2014-05-09 |
| Verizon Wireless (Cellco Partnership) | Wireless | 58(7%) | 7 | 2024-02-12 |
| AT&T Mobility (New Cingular Wireless PCS) | Wireless | 45(6%) | 14 | 2024-12-06 |
| Tc Systems, INC. | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 35(5%) | 26 | 2017-03-01 |
| Tvc Albany, INC. dba Firstlight Fiber | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 33(4%) | 30 | 2014-05-05 |
| Twc Ip Enabled Services, LLC | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 27(3%) | 25 | 2017-01-27 |
| Frontier Communications | Incumbent landline (ILEC) | 26(3%) | 22 | 2017-02-10 |
| Level 3 (Lumen) | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 26(3%) | 21 | 2017-04-04 |
| Onvoy (Sinch) | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 25(3%) | 20 | 2024-03-20 |
| Metro by T-Mobile (MetroPCS) | Wireless | 23(3%) | 6 | 2002-06-10 |
| Level 3 (Lumen) | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 21(3%) | 14 | 2009-09-17 |
Largest rate centers (exchanges) by prefixes: Albany (200), Schenectady (50), Glens Falls (45), Colonie (34), Troy (34), Plattsburgh (31), Saratoga Springs (21), Amsterdam (14), Hudson (13), Gloversville (11). Source: NANPA Central Office Code Utilized Assignments (public, refreshed weekly).
What to do about calls from 518 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 518 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 518: questions answered from the data
Where is area code 518?
Area code 518 serves Albany, Schenectady and Glens Falls, New York, covering Albany County, Warren County and Schenectady County and 16 more counties. It has been in service since 1947.
What time zone is area code 518 in?
Area code 518 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 518?
838 (in service 2017) serves the same area as 518. 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 518 numbers usually about?
Since Jul 24, consumers filed 2,271 FTC Do Not Call complaints about 518 numbers. The most common named subject was debt-relief pitches: 40% of complaints, 93% of them recorded messages. Across all subjects, 79% of callers who answered the question said the call was a robocall.
When do 518 spam calls happen?
29% of the complaints that give a call time describe calls between 11am and 2pm, and 87% came on weekdays, most often on Tuesday. Times are as consumers reported them.
Are calls from 518 numbers really local?
Not necessarily. Only 33% of the FTC complaints about 518 numbers came from New York residents; the most came from Florida, California and Texas. 518 numbers are being used for nationwide campaigns, so the area code says little about where the caller is.
Are 518 robocalls increasing?
In the four weeks to Oct 20, consumers filed 493 FTC complaints about 518 numbers, 19% fewer than the four weeks before.
How do I report a 518 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.
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.