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617 area code: who called me?
- Area code
- 617
- Serves
- Boston, MA
- State
- Massachusetts
- Time zone
- Eastern
- International format
- +1 617 …
617 is the area code for Boston, Massachusetts. It was created in 1947, and 857 is an overlay.
Boston
617 covers Boston and nearby communities. 857 was added in 2001, so calls require ten digits. The area is on Eastern time.
With several universities in the area, a 617 number may belong to a student who later moved. The code does not tell you where the caller is today.
Besides Boston itself, the code covers nearby communities such as Cambridge, home to Harvard and MIT, and Brookline. Hospitals, universities and biotech firms all make a lot of calls from these numbers.
Students and hospital staff
Boston has more than a hundred thousand students, and international students in particular are targeted by callers who claim to be from a consulate, immigration or the police and demand money. Real consulates do not demand payment by phone.
Hospitals and research institutions also use many 617 numbers, so a genuine call from this code is common. If you are unsure, ring the organization's main number and ask for the person.
Does the area code show where the caller is?
Not reliably. Scammers and call centers use spoofing to display a local area code because people are more likely to answer. People also keep their number when they move, so a 617 number can belong to someone anywhere.
That is why the full number matters more than the code. If someone has already reported it, you will see it below.
Reported 617 numbers
Nobody has reported a number from this area code yet.