Robocall Information for Customers

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a robocall?

A robocall is an automated telephone call delivering a recorded message. The term robocall is often used to reference other types of calls made by spammers, spoofers, scammers and more.

• Spammers can be individuals or organizations that place automated phone calls in a manner that is in willful non-compliance with state and federal laws governing the use of auto-dialers.
• Spoofers can be individuals or organizations that knowingly transmit misleading or inaccurate Caller ID information. These calls may be placed manually or through an auto-dialer. Spoofers often use various methods to mask their telephone number in order to show a completely different number--often a number that may be local or familiar to you.
• Scammers can be individuals or organizations that disregard state and federal laws to make calls with the intent of committing identity theft or other types of fraudulent behavior.

Are robocalls legal?

• If you answer the phone and hear a recorded message instead of a live person, it's a robocall. If you’re getting a lot of robocalls trying to sell you something, odds are the calls are illegal. Many are also probably scams.
• Here’s what you need to know about robocalls and what you can do about them.
• A robocall trying to sell you something is illegal unless a company has your written permission to call you that way. To get your permission, the company has to be clear it’s asking to call you with robocalls, and it can’t make you agree to the calls to get a product or service. If you give permission, you have the right to change your mind later.
• A few types of robocalls are allowed under FTC rules without your permission, like political calls about candidates running for office or charities asking for donations. Keep reading for more examples.

Why do I get so many robocalls?

• It’s cheap and easy for scammers and telemarketers to make robocalls over the internet from anywhere in the world.

What kinds of robocalls are allowed without my permission?

Under FTC rules, some robocalls don’t require your permission:

• Messages that are purely informational. Robocalls about your flight being cancelled, reminding you about an appointment, or letting you know about a delayed school opening fall into this category, as long as the caller doesn’t also try to sell you something.
• Debt collection calls. A business contacting you to collect a debt can use robocalls to reach you. But robocalls that try to sell you services to reduce your debt are illegal and are almost certainly scams.
• Political calls.
• Calls from some health care providers. This includes a robocall from a pharmacy reminding you to refill a prescription.
• Messages from charities. Charities can make these calls themselves. But if a charity hires someone to make robocalls on its behalf, the robocalls can only go to members of the charity or prior donors. They also must include an automated option to let you stop future calls.

What should I do if I get an illegal robocall?

• Hang up. Don't press any numbers. The recording might say that pressing a number will let you speak to a live operator or remove you from their call list, but it might lead to more robocalls, instead.
• Report the call to the FTC at DoNotCall.gov. Report the number on your caller ID and any number you’re told to call back, which helps us track down the scammers behind the call. Even if you think the number on your caller ID is fake, report it. The FTC analyzes complaint data and trends to identify illegal callers based on calling patterns.
• The FTC takes the phone numbers you report and releases them to the public each business day. This helps phone carriers and other partners that are working on call-blocking solutions. Your reports also help law enforcement identify the people behind illegal calls.

Why doesn’t the Do Not Call Registry stop robocalls?

• The National Do Not Call Registry is designed to stop sales calls from real companies that follow the law. The Registry is a list that tells telemarketers what numbers not to call. The FTC does not and cannot block calls. Scammers don’t care if you’re on the Registry.
• Even though the Registry can’t stop all of the unwanted calls you’re getting, being on the Registry could make it easier for you to spot scam calls. If a caller is ignoring the Registry or making an illegal robocall, hang up. There’s a good chance it’s a scam.

For more information on robocalls, visit the Federal Trade Commission Consumer Information site https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0259-robocalls