Still Getting Unwanted Calls? What the Do Not Call Registry Can — and Can't — Do

The National Do Not Call Registry is operated by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

You can register your home or cell phone number for free.

The Registry tells legitimate telemarketers that your number generally shouldn't be used for sales calls.

You can register at DoNotCall.gov or by calling 1-888-382-1222 from the phone number you want to register.

If you register online, you'll receive an email with a link that you need to click within 72 hours to complete the registration.

Once registered, your number doesn't expire.

The FTC says your number should appear on the Registry the next day, although it can take up to 31 days for sales calls to stop.

This is where many people misunderstand the Registry.

The Do Not Call Registry is not a call-blocking service.

It doesn't technically prevent your phone from ringing.

Instead, it tells legitimate telemarketers that your number is off limits for most sales calls.

Scammers don't care.

The FTC specifically warns that the Registry won't stop scammers making illegal calls.

That's why being on the Registry doesn't mean every unwanted call you're receiving is a violation of the Registry — and it certainly doesn't mean the program has failed.

Here's the interesting part.

If you've registered your number and legitimate telemarketing calls decrease, an unexpected sales call becomes easier to question.

It doesn't prove the caller is a scammer.

But it gives you another reason to stop and ask:

Why is this person calling me?

And that's a useful habit.

The FTC recommends hanging up on suspicious calls rather than engaging with them.

Being on the Registry doesn't mean nobody can legally call you.

Certain categories of calls are exempt, including:

• Political calls
• Charitable calls
• Debt-collection calls
• Purely informational calls
• Surveys that don't include a sales pitch

There is also an important exception for companies you've recently done business with.

Generally, a company with an established business relationship can make certain telemarketing calls for up to 18 months after your last purchase, payment, or delivery.

If you made an inquiry or application to a company, it can generally contact you for up to three months.

But there's an important wrinkle:

You can tell an individual company not to call you.

If you specifically ask a company to put you on its own Do Not Call list, that request must be honored even when an existing business relationship would otherwise allow the call.

So if a company you actually do business with keeps calling you, don't just say, “I'm on the National Do Not Call Registry.”

Tell the company directly:

“Put me on your company-specific Do Not Call list.”

Then keep a record of when you made the request.

This is particularly important.

If you receive a prerecorded sales call — a robocall — and you haven't given the company written permission to make that kind of call, the FTC says the call is illegal.

And that applies whether your number is on the Do Not Call Registry or not.

If you receive an illegal robocall:

• Hang up.
• Don't press a number to “be removed from the list.”
• Don't press a number to speak with someone.
• And don't call the number back.

The FTC warns that interacting with unwanted robocalls can lead to more unwanted calls.

There's another reason the Registry isn't enough.

Scammers can spoof caller ID.

That means the number displayed on your phone may not belong to the person actually calling you.

It can look like a local number.

It can look like a government agency.

It can even appear to be a legitimate company.

So don't assume a familiar-looking number is trustworthy.

If someone claims to be from your bank, Medicare, Social Security, Amazon, Microsoft, the IRS, or another organization, don't use the phone number they give you.

Hang up and contact the organization using a phone number or website you already know is legitimate.

This isn't about assuming older people are gullible.

Quite the opposite.

It's about recognizing that some scams deliberately create urgency and authority.

The caller may say your Social Security number has been compromised.

Your bank account is under attack.

Your computer has a virus.

Your Medicare coverage is about to be canceled.

Someone has stolen your identity.

You owe money.

Your grandchild is in trouble.

Or you need to move your money immediately to keep it safe.

The FTC reported that losses reported by adults 60 and older to certain impersonation scams increased more than fourfold from 2020 to 2024. Reported losses of more than $100,000 increased eightfold over that period.

The safest response to an unexpected call involving money or personal information is remarkably simple:

Stop. Hang up. Verify independently.

If you've been registered for more than 31 days and you're still receiving unwanted sales calls, you can report them.

The FTC asks for information such as:

• Your phone number
• The number shown on caller ID
• Any number the caller told you to call
• The date and time of the call

Even if you think the caller ID number was spoofed, report it anyway.

The FTC says these reports help it identify patterns and pursue illegal callers. Reported numbers are also shared with industry partners working on call-blocking and call-labeling technology.

During fiscal year 2025, consumers filed more than 2.6 million Do Not Call complaints with the FTC.

The Do Not Call Registry shouldn't be your entire strategy.

The FTC recommends combining it with your phone's own call-blocking and call-labeling features.

Many phones can automatically silence, block, or identify certain unwanted calls.

Your wireless carrier may also offer call-blocking or call-filtering tools.

Think of it as layers:

Do Not Call Registry → phone/carrier blocking → your own skepticism.

No single layer catches everything.

The National Do Not Call Registry isn't a magic switch that makes unwanted calls disappear.

But it is free, your registration doesn't expire, and it can reduce legitimate telemarketing calls.

More importantly, knowing what the Registry doesn't do is just as important as knowing what it does.

It doesn't stop scammers.

It doesn't make caller ID trustworthy.

It doesn't prevent every robocall.

And it doesn't mean you should answer an unexpected call simply because the number looks familiar.

The best protection is still a combination of technology and judgment.

Let the Registry reduce the legitimate sales calls. Let your phone block what it can. And when an unexpected caller wants your money or personal information, slow down.

Register your number. But don't let the Registry give you a false sense of security.

The Do Not Call Registry can reduce legitimate telemarketing, but scammers can ignore it.

If an unexpected caller creates urgency, asks for money, requests personal information, or claims there's a crisis with your bank account, Social Security, Medicare, computer, or family member, hang up and verify independently.

A quieter phone is nice.

A skeptical owner of that phone is even better.