I keep getting robocalls and sales calls. How do I stop them?

What the National Do Not Call Registry does

• Free, and it never expires. Register a home or cell number at DoNotCall.gov, or call 1-888-382-1222 (TTY 1-866-290-4236) from the phone you want to register. Your registration does not expire.FTC · 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(c)(2)
• Sales calls should stop within 31 days. Your number should show up on the Registry the next day, but it can take up to 31 days for sales calls to stop.FTC: Do Not Call Registry FAQs
• No sales calls before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. Telemarketers can't call you before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. your local time, unless you agreed to it.16 C.F.R. § 310.4(c)
• Ask a company to stop, and it must. Even a company you have done business with has to stop sales calls once you ask it not to call. Under the FCC's rules it must honor your request within a reasonable time, no more than 10 business days. Write down the date you asked.16 C.F.R. § 310.4(b)(1)(iii)(A) · 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(d)(3)

Who can still call you when your number is on the Registry. The FTC's rules still allow:

• Political calls.
• Charities.
• Debt collectors. See what debt collectors can and can't do.
• Purely informational calls, such as a service appointment reminder.
• Surveys.

These calls can't also include a sales pitch. Companies you have recently done business with, or have given written permission to call you, can still make sales calls until you ask them to stop.

When is a robocall or robotext illegal?

A robocall is a call that plays a recorded message instead of a live person. The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (47 U.S.C. § 227) and the FCC's rules decide when a caller needs your consent first.

• Sales robocalls need your written permission. A prerecorded or autodialed call that sells something generally needs your prior express written consent: a signed agreement, which can be electronic, naming the number the calls may go to. You can't be required to agree in order to buy anything.47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(a)(2)-(3), (f)(9) · 16 C.F.R. § 310.4(b)(1)(v)
• Other robocalls to a cell phone need your consent too. Calls to a cell phone made with an autodialer or a prerecorded voice need your prior express consent, unless they are for an emergency or fall under an exemption.47 U.S.C. § 227(b)(1)(A) · 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(a)(1)
• Texts count. The FCC treats texts sent with an autodialer like robocalls, so they need your consent too, and its Do Not Call rules also cover telemarketing texts to cell phones.47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(a)(10), (e) · FCC DA 26-12
• A recorded message must say who is calling. It must identify the business or person responsible at the start and give a phone number. A recorded sales message must also offer an automated way to opt out, by voice or key press, right after that.47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(b)
• You can take your consent back. You can revoke consent in any reasonable way. Replying “stop”, “quit”, “end”, “revoke”, “opt out”, “cancel” or “unsubscribe” to a text, using the opt-out on a call, or using the website or number the caller gives for opt-outs all count. The caller must honor it within 10 business days.47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(a)(10)

Not every robocall is illegal. The FTC says purely informational messages, like your cable company confirming a service appointment, and calls to collect a debt aren't illegal, but robocalls that sell services to lower your debt are. Your state might also have its own rules for robocalls.

What to say when a sales or scam call comes in

If it's a robocall you never agreed to, don't talk to it and don't press any buttons. Pressing numbers to reach a person or to be taken off the list will probably only lead to more robocalls. Hang up.

How to stop unwanted calls, step by step

1. 1Register your number, free. At DoNotCall.gov, or by calling 1-888-382-1222 from the phone you want to register. If you register online, click the link in the confirmation email within 72 hours.
2. 2Give it 31 days. Your number should show up the next day, but sales calls can take up to 31 days to stop.
3. 3Turn on call blocking. Check what blocking and call-labeling services your phone company offers, your phone's built-in settings, and call-blocking apps with good expert reviews. On a traditional landline, a call-blocking device can help.
4. 4Hang up on illegal robocalls. Don't press any numbers, and don't trust caller ID.
5. 5Tell companies to stop. Ask any company that calls you to put you on its do-not-call list, and write down the date.
6. 6Report the call. Use DoNotCall.gov if you didn't lose money, or ReportFraud.ftc.gov if you lost money or know who called.

How to report unwanted calls and texts

Report to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The DoNotCall.gov form takes unwanted sales calls once your number has been on the Registry for 31 days, and robocalls whether or not you are registered. It also takes text messages. Include:

• The number that received the call.
• The number on your caller ID, even if you think it was faked.
• Any number you were told to call back.
• The date and time of the call, if you know it.

The FTC can't answer each report, but it uses them to find the people behind illegal calls, and it releases reported numbers each business day to phone companies working on call blocking. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) also takes informal consumer complaints about robocalls, Do Not Call violations and spoofed caller ID.

Scam calls: what never to do

• Never pay a caller who insists on a gift card, wire transfer, cryptocurrency or payment app. Only scammers demand that.
• Never give your Social Security number or other sensitive information to someone who called you. Government agencies won't call out of the blue to ask for it.
• Never pay to collect a prize. If you have to pay for it, it isn't a prize.
• Don't decide on the spot. Honest businesses give you time and written information before you commit.
• Don't trust caller ID. Scammers can make any name or number show up.
• Don't pay someone who offers to get back money you already lost. It is probably a fake refund scam.

Already paid? Act quickly. Contact the company or bank behind the card, transfer, gift card, payment app or cryptocurrency you used, tell them it was fraud, and ask them to reverse it. Depending on how you paid, you might get your money back. If you gave out your Social Security number, go to IdentityTheft.gov.

Call blocking and spoofed caller ID

Spoofing is when a caller fakes the name or number on your caller ID, for example to look like a government agency or a local number. In “neighbor spoofing”, the number matches your area code and often the first six digits of your own number.

• Your phone company may block unwanted calls. FCC rules let phone companies block calls that reasonable analytics identify as unwanted, if you can opt out and there is no extra line-item charge. They may also block calls highly likely to be illegal without an opt-out, but must tell customers they do it.47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(k)(3), (k)(11)
• You can ask what was blocked. If your phone company blocks calls through an opt-in or opt-out analytics program, it must send you, free and within 3 business days of your request, a list of the calls to your number it blocked in the previous 28 days.47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(k)(10)
• Faking caller ID to cheat you is illegal. It is unlawful to knowingly send misleading or inaccurate caller ID information, for calls or texts, with intent to defraud, cause harm or wrongfully obtain anything of value.47 U.S.C. § 227(e)(1)
• Hiding a number is not the same thing. The law does not stop anyone from blocking their own caller ID from showing.47 U.S.C. § 227(e)(2)

Can I sue over robocalls or Do Not Call violations?

The TCPA gives you a private right of action. You can bring it in an appropriate court of your state, if the state's laws or court rules permit it.

• Robocall violations. You can ask the court to stop the violation, and recover your actual money loss or $500 for each violation, whichever is greater, or both.47 U.S.C. § 227(b)(3)
• Do Not Call violations. If you received more than one call within any 12 months by or for the same company in violation of the Do Not Call rules, you can recover your actual money loss or up to $500 for each violation, whichever is greater. A company that shows it carefully set up and followed reasonable procedures to prevent such calls has a defense.47 U.S.C. § 227(c)(5)
• Willful or knowing violations. If the court finds the company broke the rules willfully or knowingly, it may increase the award up to three times that amount.47 U.S.C. § 227(b)(3), (c)(5)

Unwanted calls checklist

• My number is on the Do Not Call Registry. I checked at DoNotCall.gov.
• It has been at least 31 days since I registered.
• Call blocking or call labeling is on for my phone.
• I hang up on robocalls without pressing any buttons.
• I asked each company that called to stop, and wrote down the date.
• I reported the calls with the number called, the caller ID, any callback number, and the date and time.
• I never pay a caller by gift card, wire transfer, cryptocurrency or payment app.
• I keep screenshots and a call log in case I talk to a lawyer.

Common questions

Official sources

1. FTC: National Do Not Call Registry FAQs consumer.ftc.gov
2. FTC: Robocalls consumer.ftc.gov
3. FTC: How to block unwanted calls consumer.ftc.gov
4. FTC: Phone scams consumer.ftc.gov
5. National Do Not Call Registry donotcall.gov
6. National Do Not Call Registry: report unwanted calls donotcall.gov
7. 47 U.S.C. § 227: Restrictions on use of telephone equipment (TCPA) govinfo.gov
8. 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200: FCC rules on telemarketing and robocalls (10-1-25 edition) govinfo.gov
9. 16 C.F.R. § 310.4: Telemarketing Sales Rule, abusive practices (1-1-26 edition) govinfo.gov
10. FCC Order DA 26-12 (Jan. 6, 2026): status of the consent-revocation rule docs.fcc.gov
11. FCC: Report to Congress on robocalls and caller ID spoofing (Dec. 2024) docs.fcc.gov

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