Area code 240 covers Germantown and surrounding communities in Maryland.
Updated 8 October 2026
Area code 240 is in Maryland, shown here with Germantown marked.
Now in Germantown
Eastern Time · UTC−5, UTC−4 in summer
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Eastern Time
Where you are—
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Callback window
Typical business hours, 9 to 5 Monday to Friday.
Typical business hours, 9 to 5 Monday to Friday, shown as the blue arc. A guide to when a real Germantown office is likely to answer. It says nothing about who called you.
Source: North American Numbering Plan Administrator, retrieved 8 October 2026.
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Is area code 240 a scam?
No. Area code 240 is a legitimate area code serving Germantown since 1997. Scammers spoof caller ID to display 240 numbers, which is why complaints exist against a code that is itself genuine.
Neighbour spoofing is the reason a local-looking number is not a guarantee. A caller anywhere in the world can display a 240 number, and the number they display may belong to a real business in Germantown that has nothing to do with the call.
The callerAnywhere in the worldSets the caller ID their equipment sends.
What is displayed(240) 359-4113May belong to a real Germantown business.
Your phoneLooks localA nearby code and prefix make you likelier to answer.
485Area code 240 had 485 different numbers reported for spam calls in the 30 days to 8 October 2026.
169thArea code 240 ranks 169th of 331 US geographic area codes by spam complaint volume.
59%Of the 524 complaints about area code 240 in the 30 days to 8 October 2026, 59% were reported as a recorded message or robocall.
14%The most reported subject on area code 240 is reducing your debt (credit cards, mortgage, student loans), appearing in 14% of its complaints in the 30 days to 8 October 2026.
Why am I getting text messages from area code 240?
Texts from 240 numbers follow the same pattern as calls — mostly local businesses and services. Treat any text asking for payment or credentials as suspect regardless of the code.
The common patterns are a wrong-number opener that turns into conversation, an unsolicited job offer, and a crypto or investment tip. Do not reply, do not follow the link, and forward the message to 7726 (SPAM) to report it to your carrier.
Pattern 1Wrong-number openerTurns into conversation.
Pattern 2Unsolicited job offerDo not reply, do not follow the link.
Pattern 3Crypto or investment tipTreat any payment ask as suspect.
Report it7726Forward the message. It spells SPAM on a keypad.
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Area codes that overlay 240
Area code 240 shares its geographic footprint with one other code: 301. Overlays are laid over an existing area rather than splitting it, so all local calls require the full ten-digit number.
Area code 240 covers Germantown and the rest of Maryland's Montgomery County corridor, one of the denser business geographies on the East Coast. Germantown sits about 28 miles from Washington, D.C. along Interstate 270, a stretch known for biotech firms, federal contractors, and Department of Energy offices, including the DOE facility in Germantown itself. The town is Maryland's third-largest community, with 91,249 residents at the 2020 census, and its economy leans on the federal government, life sciences labs clustered along the I-270 corridor, and the professional services firms that support both.
Who lives in the 240 region
The people behind the numbers skew educated and international. Median household income in Germantown was $117,546 in 2024, and 36.8% of residents were born outside the United States, per Data USA. Spanish, Chinese, and West African languages are all present in meaningful numbers across Montgomery County, so a business calling into the 240 region should not assume every conversation starts in English. Black, White, and Asian residents each make up roughly a fifth to a quarter of the population, which makes Germantown one of the more evenly mixed communities in the state.
What a 240 number signals to a caller
Business here runs on Washington time and Washington habits. Callers describe a professional, appointment-driven culture where voicemail gets screened and unknown numbers often go unanswered on the first attempt. A number in area code 240 or 301 signals a local Maryland presence to customers who deal daily with federal agencies and contractors, and that local signal matters in a market where out-of-area calls are treated with caution.
Area code 240 serves Germantown and surrounding communities in Maryland. It is in the Eastern Time zone.
What state is area code 240 in?
Area code 240 is in Maryland. It is not in Omaha — those are area code 402.
Is area code 240 toll free?
No. Area code 240 is a geographic area code serving Germantown, Maryland. The toll-free codes are 800, 833, 844, 855, 866, 877, 888, and a call to a 240 number is charged at your normal rate.
Why am I getting calls from 240?
Calls displaying a 240 number come from businesses and individuals in the Germantown area, and from anywhere at all when caller ID is spoofed to look local. 485 240 numbers were reported to the FTC in the 30 days to 8 October 2026.
How do I block calls from area code 240?
Both iOS and Android can silence calls from unknown numbers, and every major US carrier offers free call-blocking. Blocking the whole of area code 240 is rarely worth it, because spoofed numbers change constantly and you would lose legitimate calls from Germantown.