781 Area Code: Waltham, Massachusetts
Area code 781 serves Waltham, Lexington and Burlington, Massachusetts in the Eastern time zone, in service since 1997. Consumers have filed 3,231 unwanted-call complaints against 2,716 different 781 numbers, 341 of them with the FTC in the last 30 days. Look up the exact number that called you below.
Area code 781 at a glance
- State
- Massachusetts
- Main cities
- Waltham, Lexington, Burlington, Woburn, Lynn, Dedham + 34 more
- Counties
- Middlesex County, Norfolk County, Plymouth County, Essex County + 1 more
- Local time
- —Eastern
- In service since
- September 1, 1997
- Split from
- 617
- Overlay code
- 339 (2001)
- Local dialing
- 10 digits (area code + number)
- Exchanges
- 40 rate centers, 769 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 781 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 781 numbers are about
1,005 FTC Do Not Call complaints about 781 numbers since Jul 24. The most common named subject is debt-relief pitches, at 26% of complaints (90% of those were recorded messages). Overall, 71% of callers who answered said the call was a robocall.
FTC complaint subjects
- Other / unspecified37237%
- Debt reduction26626%
- Impostor (government, business, family)9910%
- Dropped call / no message929%
- No subject given707%
- Home improvement & cleaning636%
- Warranties & protection plans111%
FCC complaints by call type, last 2 years
- Live Voice15855%
- Prerecorded Voice10436%
- Text Message269%
Live-voice calls are from a person; prerecorded calls are robocalls.
When 781 spam calls come in
29% of complaints that give a call time describe calls between 10am and 1pm. 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?
393 FTC complaints about 781 numbers in the last four weeks, up 28% on the four weeks before. FCC complaints about 781 numbers peaked in 2017 (322); 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 39% of the FTC complaints about 781 numbers came from Massachusetts residents; the most came from Florida, California and Texas. 781 numbers are being used for nationwide campaigns, so the area code says little about where the caller is.
Where complainants live
- Massachusetts39139%
- Florida778%
- California576%
- Texas485%
- Illinois343%
What people with 781 numbers report
People whose own number starts with 781 filed 1,544 FTC complaints since Jul 24. 17% were about calls showing another 781 number. The most common named subject was debt-relief pitches.
Area codes on the calls they reported
- 781 (same code)26217%
- 877 (toll-free)946%
- 888 (toll-free)866%
- 833 (toll-free)856%
- 855 (toll-free)795%
Likely campaigns using 781 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 781 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 781
NANPA has assigned 769 781 prefixes (NPA-NXX central-office codes) across 40 rate centers: 17% to wireless carriers, 82% to landline and VoIP operators; 78% are pooled blocks shared by several carriers. 2 prefixes were assigned in the last 12 months (newest 2026-03-13). 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) | 225(29%) | 40 | 2013-01-22 |
| MCImetro (Verizon Business) | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 92(12%) | 31 | 2023-05-03 |
| PAETEC (Windstream) | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 69(9%) | 28 | 2015-08-03 |
| Level 3 (Lumen) | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 59(8%) | 32 | 2004-09-02 |
| Tc Systems, INC. | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 57(7%) | 33 | 2021-05-26 |
| Metro by T-Mobile (MetroPCS) | Wireless | 43(6%) | 25 | 2021-09-23 |
| Verizon Wireless (Cellco Partnership) | Wireless | 42(5%) | 14 | 2026-03-13 |
| Comcast (Xfinity Voice) | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 35(5%) | 29 | 2001-09-05 |
| Bandwidth.com | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 34(4%) | 12 | 2010-02-09 |
| Omnipoint Miami E License, LLC | Wireless | 32(4%) | 13 | 2023-05-05 |
| Rcn Telecom Services, INC. | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 26(3%) | 26 | 2001-05-30 |
| AT&T Mobility (New Cingular Wireless PCS) | Wireless | 15(2%) | 8 | 2024-12-18 |
Largest rate centers (exchanges) by prefixes: Waltham (72), Lexington (56), Burlington (41), Lynn (38), Woburn (38), Dedham (35), Needham (33), Braintree (31), Canton (24), Medford (24). Source: NANPA Central Office Code Utilized Assignments (public, refreshed weekly).
What to do about calls from 781 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 781 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 Massachusetts
- 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: Massachusetts Attorney General.
- Massachusetts is one of the states that maintains its own Do Not Call registry alongside the federal National Do Not Call Registry, so telemarketers calling Massachusetts numbers are expected to check both lists. Registering on the federal list at donotcall.gov is free and never expires; the state list is administered separately and may have its own registration process and renewal period.
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 781: questions answered from the data
Where is area code 781?
Area code 781 serves Waltham, Lexington and Burlington, Massachusetts, covering Middlesex County, Norfolk County and Plymouth County and 2 more counties. It has been in service since September 1, 1997. It was split from area code 617.
What time zone is area code 781 in?
Area code 781 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 781?
339 (in service 2001) serves the same area as 781. 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 781 numbers usually about?
Since Jul 24, consumers filed 1,005 FTC Do Not Call complaints about 781 numbers. The most common named subject was debt-relief pitches: 26% of complaints, 90% of them recorded messages. Across all subjects, 71% of callers who answered the question said the call was a robocall.
When do 781 spam calls happen?
29% of the complaints that give a call time describe calls between 10am and 1pm, and 92% came on weekdays, most often on Wednesday. Times are as consumers reported them.
Are calls from 781 numbers really local?
Not necessarily. Only 39% of the FTC complaints about 781 numbers came from Massachusetts residents; the most came from Florida, California and Texas. 781 numbers are being used for nationwide campaigns, so the area code says little about where the caller is.
Are 781 robocalls increasing?
In the four weeks to Oct 15, consumers filed 393 FTC complaints about 781 numbers, 28% more than the four weeks before.
How do I report a 781 scam call in Massachusetts?
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 Massachusetts, the Massachusetts 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.