531 Area Code: Omaha, Nebraska
Area code 531 serves Omaha, Lincoln and Aurora, Nebraska in the Central time zone, in service since 2011. Consumers have filed 841 unwanted-call complaints against 749 different 531 numbers, 172 of them with the FTC in the last 30 days. Look up the exact number that called you below.
Area code 531 at a glance
- State
- Nebraska
- Main cities
- Omaha, Lincoln, Aurora + 99 more
- Counties
- Douglas County, Lancaster County, Platte County, Hamilton County + 39 more
- Local time
- —Central
- In service since
- March 26, 2011
- Overlay of
- 402
- Local dialing
- 10 digits (area code + number)
- Exchanges
- 105 rate centers, 265 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 531 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 531 numbers are about
444 FTC Do Not Call complaints about 531 numbers since Jul 24. The most common named subject is debt-relief pitches, at 20% of complaints (87% of those were recorded messages). Overall, 69% of callers who answered said the call was a robocall.
FTC complaint subjects
- Other / unspecified19444%
- Debt reduction8920%
- Medical & prescriptions5713%
- Impostor (government, business, family)4410%
- No subject given194%
- Dropped call / no message194%
- Warranties & protection plans61%
FCC complaints by call type, last 2 years
- Prerecorded Voice3044%
- Live Voice2537%
- Text Message1319%
19% of recent FCC complaints about 531 numbers are about text messages, not calls.
When 531 spam calls come in
30% of complaints that give a call time describe calls between 2pm and 5pm. 91% 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?
171 FTC complaints about 531 numbers in the last four weeks, down 1% on the four weeks before. FCC complaints about 531 numbers peaked in 2017 (68); 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 44% of the FTC complaints about 531 numbers came from Nebraska residents; the most came from California, Texas and New York. 531 numbers are being used for nationwide campaigns, so the area code says little about where the caller is.
Where complainants live
- Nebraska19744%
- California215%
- Texas194%
- New York174%
- Virginia164%
What people with 531 numbers report
People whose own number starts with 531 filed 174 FTC complaints since Jul 24. 57% were about calls showing another 531 number. The most common named subject was medical & prescriptions.
Area codes on the calls they reported
- 531 (same code)9957%
- 4023017%
- 833 (toll-free)32%
- 855 (toll-free)32%
- 27221%
Likely campaigns using 531 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 531 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 531
NANPA has assigned 265 531 prefixes (NPA-NXX central-office codes) across 105 rate centers: 35% to wireless carriers, 63% to landline and VoIP operators; 100% are pooled blocks shared by several carriers. 8 prefixes were assigned in the last 12 months (newest 2026-09-10). 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Onvoy (Sinch) | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 64(24%) | 47 | 2025-09-24 |
| Verizon Wireless (Cellco Partnership) | Wireless | 23(9%) | 16 | 2025-09-26 |
| AT&T Mobility (New Cingular Wireless PCS) | Wireless | 23(9%) | 23 | 2024-12-11 |
| Teleport Communications America, LLC | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 18(7%) | 1 | 2025-10-23 |
| Aerial Communications, INC. | Wireless | 17(6%) | 11 | 2026-02-05 |
| UScellular | Wireless | 15(6%) | 7 | 2025-03-21 |
| Level 3 (Lumen) | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 10(4%) | 9 | 2023-01-18 |
| Allo Communications LLC | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 9(3%) | 5 | 2025-09-03 |
| Bandwidth.com | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 7(3%) | 7 | 2022-02-01 |
| Commio, LLC | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 7(3%) | 7 | 2024-01-17 |
| Metro by T-Mobile (MetroPCS) | Wireless | 7(3%) | 5 | 2025-03-27 |
| Comcast (Xfinity Voice) | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 6(2%) | 2 | 2021-01-29 |
Largest rate centers (exchanges) by prefixes: Omaha (83), Lincoln (25), Aurora (10), Fremont (5), Columbus (4), South Sioux City (4), Ainsworth (3), Creston (3), Howells (3), Norfolk (3). Source: NANPA Central Office Code Utilized Assignments (public, refreshed weekly).
What to do about calls from 531 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 531 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 Nebraska
- 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: Nebraska Attorney General.
- Nebraska 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 531: questions answered from the data
Where is area code 531?
Area code 531 serves Omaha, Lincoln and Aurora, Nebraska, covering Douglas County, Lancaster County and Platte County and 40 more counties. It has been in service since March 26, 2011.
What time zone is area code 531 in?
Area code 531 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 531 numbers usually about?
Since Jul 24, consumers filed 444 FTC Do Not Call complaints about 531 numbers. The most common named subject was debt-relief pitches: 20% of complaints, 87% of them recorded messages. Across all subjects, 69% of callers who answered the question said the call was a robocall.
When do 531 spam calls happen?
30% of the complaints that give a call time describe calls between 2pm and 5pm, and 91% came on weekdays, most often on Wednesday. Times are as consumers reported them.
Are calls from 531 numbers really local?
Not necessarily. Only 44% of the FTC complaints about 531 numbers came from Nebraska residents; the most came from California, Texas and New York. 531 numbers are being used for nationwide campaigns, so the area code says little about where the caller is.
Are 531 robocalls increasing?
In the four weeks to Oct 20, consumers filed 171 FTC complaints about 531 numbers, 1% fewer than the four weeks before.
How do I report a 531 scam call in Nebraska?
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 Nebraska, the Nebraska 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.