FTC Claims Spam Phone Calls Are Down Over 50% Since 2021

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) claims unwanted spam telemarketing phone calls are down more than 50 percent since 2021. The federal agency cites people registering with the Do Not Call (DNC) list as one of the main reasons for the reduction.

Other reasons the FTC says spam telemarketing phone calls have gone down include the agency’s Operation Stop Scam Calls, a new rule banning impersonation of a government or business, and expanding the Telemarketing Sales Rule, which also covers AI-enabled scam calls.

According to a new FTC report, this is the third straight year that the complaint volume about spam phone calls has gone down more than 33,000 over the past fiscal year. More than 253 million phone numbers are now on the National Do Not Call (DNC) Registry.

“Illegal calls remain a scourge, but the FTC’s strategy to pursue upstream players and equip the agency to confront emerging threats is showing clear signs of success,” said Sam Levine, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “In the years to come, it will be critical we continue this progress by confronting not only telemarketers but those firms who knowingly profit from scam calls.”

Reports of unwanted telemarketing calls down more than 50% since 2021.

FTC releases annual Do Not Call Registry Data Book showing total reports about unwanted calls decreased further in 2024: https://t.co/341hJMmISR

— FTC (@FTC) November 15, 2024

The FTC’s 16th annual report also reveals “complaints unwanted calls about medical and prescription issues topped the list, with more than 170,000 reports — more than half of which were robocalls.” Spam calls about debt-reduction, the third-most reported topic, however, saw an increase of more than 85 percent from last year.

Reports about imposters was the second-most commonly reported topic, despite the FTC’s new Impersonation Rule. Complaints about spam calls for energy, solar, and utilities; home improvement and cleaning; warranties and protection plans; and vacation and time shares were also high on the list.

The five states reporting the most DNC complaints per 100,000 people over the past fiscal year were Delaware, Ohio, Arizona, Illinois, and North Carolina.

The Federal Trade Commission states in its report that consumers can register multiple phone numbers on the Do Not Call Registry by registering online at donotcall.gov or calling a toll‐free number (888‐382‐1222) from the telephone numbers they wish to register. Telemarketers and sellers must remove numbers added to the Registry from their call lists at least every 31 days. If companies make unwanted calls to consumers on the DNC list they may be reported to the FTC at those same points of contact.

Now we just need the FTC to follow through on the promise it made in 2021 about shutting down all of the robotexts we are inundated with, especially during election years.