803 Area Code: Columbia, South Carolina
Area code 803 serves Columbia, Rock Hill and Orangeburg, South Carolina in the Eastern time zone, in service since 1947. Consumers have filed 5,333 unwanted-call complaints against 4,709 different 803 numbers, 599 of them with the FTC in the last 30 days. Look up the exact number that called you below.
Area code 803 at a glance
- State
- South Carolina
- Main cities
- Columbia, Rock Hill, Orangeburg, Aiken, North Augusta, Sumter + 68 more
- Counties
- Richland County, Aiken County, Orangeburg County, Fairfield County + 17 more
- Local time
- —Eastern
- In service since
- 1947
- Overlay code
- 839 (2020)
- Local dialing
- 10 digits (area code + number)
- Exchanges
- 82 rate centers, 784 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 803 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 803 numbers are about
2,150 FTC Do Not Call complaints about 803 numbers since Jul 24. The most common named subject is impostor calls (people pretending to be a government agency, a business or family), at 29% of complaints (83% of those were recorded messages). Overall, 77% of callers who answered said the call was a robocall.
FTC complaint subjects
- Other / unspecified69933%
- Impostor (government, business, family)62329%
- Debt reduction24711%
- Medical & prescriptions1969%
- Dropped call / no message1457%
- No subject given964%
- Home improvement & cleaning462%
FCC complaints by call type, last 2 years
- Live Voice11943%
- Prerecorded Voice11240%
- Text Message4717%
17% of recent FCC complaints about 803 numbers are about text messages, not calls.
When 803 spam calls come in
28% of complaints that give a call time describe calls between 3pm and 6pm. 94% came Monday to Friday, most on Tuesdays, 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?
583 FTC complaints about 803 numbers in the last four weeks, down 20% on the four weeks before. FCC complaints about 803 numbers peaked in 2017 (480); 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
64% of the FTC complaints about 803 numbers came from people whose own phone number also starts with 803, and 69% from South Carolina. 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
- South Carolina1,49469%
- Florida603%
- North Carolina543%
- Georgia512%
- California482%
What people with 803 numbers report
People whose own number starts with 803 filed 3,008 FTC complaints since Jul 24. 46% were about calls showing another 803 number. The most common named subject was debt-relief pitches.
Area codes on the calls they reported
- 803 (same code)1,38046%
- 833 (toll-free)1023%
- 864873%
- 866 (toll-free)592%
- 855 (toll-free)582%
Likely campaigns using 803 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 803 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 803
NANPA has assigned 784 803 prefixes (NPA-NXX central-office codes) across 82 rate centers: 35% to wireless carriers, 60% to landline and VoIP operators; 68% are pooled blocks shared by several carriers. 2 prefixes were assigned in the last 12 months (newest 2026-09-11). 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BellSouth (AT&T) | Incumbent landline (ILEC) | 173(22%) | 31 | 2017-04-18 |
| Verizon Wireless (Cellco Partnership) | Wireless | 111(14%) | 24 | 2021-03-17 |
| AT&T Mobility (New Cingular Wireless PCS) | Wireless | 80(10%) | 27 | 2026-04-20 |
| T-Mobile USA | Wireless | 44(6%) | 10 | 2012-10-10 |
| PAETEC (Windstream) | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 40(5%) | 24 | 2010-06-17 |
| Level 3 (Lumen) | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 32(4%) | 24 | 2017-10-12 |
| Onvoy (Sinch) | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 29(4%) | 21 | 2023-07-27 |
| Frontier Communications | Incumbent landline (ILEC) | 23(3%) | 13 | 2017-10-12 |
| Bandwidth.com | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 21(3%) | 16 | 2021-12-14 |
| Twc Ip Enabled Services, LLC | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 20(3%) | 15 | 2018-05-11 |
| Farmers Tel. Coop., INC. | Incumbent landline (ILEC) | 18(2%) | 11 | — |
| Windstream | Incumbent landline (ILEC) | 16(2%) | 4 | 2015-06-16 |
Largest rate centers (exchanges) by prefixes: Columbia (251), Rock Hill (42), Orangeburg (38), Aiken (32), North Augusta (25), Sumter (20), Camden (19), Lancaster (16), Barnwell (15), Newberry (15). Source: NANPA Central Office Code Utilized Assignments (public, refreshed weekly).
What to do about calls from 803 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 803 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 South Carolina
- 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: South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs.
- South Carolina 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 803: questions answered from the data
Where is area code 803?
Area code 803 serves Columbia, Rock Hill and Orangeburg, South Carolina, covering Richland County, Aiken County and Orangeburg County and 18 more counties. It has been in service since 1947.
What time zone is area code 803 in?
Area code 803 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 803?
839 (in service 2020) serves the same area as 803. 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 803 numbers usually about?
Since Jul 24, consumers filed 2,150 FTC Do Not Call complaints about 803 numbers. The most common named subject was impostor calls (people pretending to be a government agency, a business or family): 29% of complaints, 83% of them recorded messages. Across all subjects, 77% of callers who answered the question said the call was a robocall.
When do 803 spam calls happen?
28% of the complaints that give a call time describe calls between 3pm and 6pm, and 94% came on weekdays, most often on Tuesday. Times are as consumers reported them.
Are calls from 803 numbers really local?
Not necessarily. 64% of the FTC complaints about 803 numbers came from people whose own phone number also starts with 803, and 69% from South Carolina. 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 803 robocalls increasing?
In the four weeks to Oct 20, consumers filed 583 FTC complaints about 803 numbers, 20% fewer than the four weeks before.
How do I report an 803 scam call in South Carolina?
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 South Carolina, the South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs 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.