Scam Calls from Area Code 701

Debt-reduction robocalls define area code 701, North Dakota's only area code, accounting for 172 of the 582 total complaints logged against numbers in this code — nearly three times the volume of the next-largest category. The pitch is familiar: prerecorded messages targeting credit card balances, mortgages, and student loans. FCC records show prerecorded delivery overwhelmingly dominates, with 65 prerecorded complaints against just 19 live-caller complaints. Number 701-394-3873 is the clearest example, drawing 13 complaints specifically tagged to debt reduction.

Medical and prescription scam calls generated 48 complaints, the second-largest identified category. Two numbers cluster tightly around this activity: 701-248-1446 with 7 complaints and 701-248-1428 with 6 — the sequential numbering suggesting they may operate from the same dialing infrastructure. Impersonation calls — callers pretending to be government agencies, businesses, or family members — added 31 more complaints, though no specific companies or agencies were named in the underlying records.

Lottery and sweepstakes calls, while a smaller slice at 17 complaints, produced one of the two highest-complaint individual numbers in this code. 701-660-0675 logged 15 complaints, tying with 701-380-5716, which carries 15 complaints of its own. Three additional high-volume numbers — 701-407-2091 at 12 complaints, 701-773-7544 at 7, and 701-433-9098 at 7 — have no categorized complaint type on record.

Complaints trace to receivers in Bismarck, Fargo, Belfield, and Grand Forks in North Dakota, but also reach California and Texas, and one reported location falls in Oxford, Mississippi — well outside the 701 footprint. Activity began in February 2026 and remains ongoing as of June 2026.

At rank 269 out of 358 area codes overall, 701 is not among the most complained-about codes nationally, but it sits at rank 37 of 47 among its geographic peer group, meaning the debt-reduction volume in particular is elevated relative to comparable codes. With 257 distinct numbers generating 582 complaints in roughly four months, the churn rate per number is moderate — a pattern consistent with rotating spoofed or provisioned lines used to sustain high prerecorded-call volume while staying ahead of individual-number blocking.