To report calls to the FTC, use one of three channels: file at DoNotCall.gov if you just want to report an unwanted sales call or robocall, file at ReportFraud.ftc.gov if you lost money or have details about the caller, or call 1-888-382-1222 to report through an automated phone system.1Federal Trade Commission. National Do Not Call Registry FAQs All three feed the same law enforcement database, and the whole process takes about five minutes once you have the basic call details in front of you.
Which Website to Use
DoNotCall.gov is the right portal for a plain unwanted call. Its form is short and asks about the number that called, whether it was a live person or a recording, and what the caller was pitching.
ReportFraud.ftc.gov is the right portal if you actually lost money to a phone scam, or if you know something specific about the company or person behind the call.2Federal Trade Commission. ReportFraud.ftc.gov Its questionnaire is longer and captures financial losses, payment methods, and identifying details investigators can trace. Both sites are free, both accept anonymous reports, and both send your data to the same enforcement database.3Federal Trade Commission. ReportFraud.ftc.gov FAQs
One timing rule affects Do Not Call complaints specifically. If your report is that a telemarketer called a number on the Do Not Call Registry, your number must have been registered for at least 31 days before the call.4Federal Trade Commission. National Do Not Call Registry Robocall complaints can be filed regardless of whether your number is on the registry.
What to Have Ready Before You File
You don’t need every detail to submit a report. Partial reports are accepted, and you can file anonymously.3Federal Trade Commission. ReportFraud.ftc.gov FAQs More detail simply makes the report more useful. The form will ask for:
- The phone number shown on your caller ID. Report it even if you suspect it was spoofed.
- Any callback number the caller gave you. The FTC releases these numbers daily to companies that build call-blocking tools.5Federal Trade Commission. How to Stop Calls From Fake Numbers
- The date and time of the call, which your phone log usually captures automatically.
- Whether it was a live person or a recorded message. Prerecorded sales calls placed without your prior written consent violate the Telemarketing Sales Rule regardless of whether your number is on the registry.6eCFR. 16 CFR Part 310 – Telemarketing Sales Rule
- What the caller was pitching, chosen from categories like debt reduction, home security, warranties, or vacation offers.
- Any company name or personal name the caller used. Write it down right after the call while it’s fresh.
Spoofed caller IDs are common. That isn’t a reason to skip the report. The FTC identifies operations by matching patterns across thousands of reports, and fabricated numbers still leave a trail investigators can work with.
How to Report by Phone
Call 1-888-382-1222 from any phone. An automated system walks you through keypad entries covering the same information the online form collects, then confirms receipt.1Federal Trade Commission. National Do Not Call Registry FAQs
For TTY access, call 1-866-290-4236. To report in a language other than English, call (877) 382-4357 and press 3 for an interpreter. The line supports Mandarin, Tagalog, Vietnamese, French, Arabic, Korean, Russian, Portuguese, Polish, and many other languages.7Federal Trade Commission. New Help for Spotting, Avoiding, and Reporting Scams in Multiple Languages
Calls the Registry Doesn’t Cover
Some categories of callers fall outside the Telemarketing Sales Rule’s Do Not Call provisions, which means a report about them will not trigger enforcement.8Federal Trade Commission. Q&A for Telemarketers & Sellers About DNC Provisions in TSR These include:
- Political organizations and campaigns.
- Charities calling on their own behalf to solicit donations.
- Calls made solely to conduct a survey or poll. If the “survey” turns into a sales pitch, though, the call is covered.
- Companies you have an existing business relationship with.
You can still ask any individual company on this list to put you on its own internal do-not-call list, and it must honor that request.
What Happens After You Report
Your report enters the Consumer Sentinel Network, a secure database the FTC describes as an “investigative cyber tool” available to federal, state, local, and international law enforcement agencies.9Federal Trade Commission. Consumer Sentinel Network Thousands of agencies can search this data for patterns and build cases from it.
The FTC will not personally resolve your complaint or follow up with you. Reports are aggregated. When enough of them cluster around a single operation, the agency can pursue civil penalties of up to $53,088 per violation of the Telemarketing Sales Rule, along with injunctions and asset freezes.10Federal Trade Commission. Complying With the Telemarketing Sales Rule The immediate practical effect is the daily release of reported numbers to the companies building call-blocking tools, so your report starts working against the caller before any enforcement action lands.5Federal Trade Commission. How to Stop Calls From Fake Numbers
If You Want Compensation, You Have to Sue
An FTC report will not put money in your pocket. For personal compensation, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act gives you a private right of action. You can sue the caller in state court and recover $500 in damages per illegal call, tripled to $1,500 per call if the court finds the violations were willful.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 47 U.S. Code 227 – Restrictions on Use of Telephone Equipment
The numbers add up against repeat offenders. Twenty illegal robocalls from the same operation could support a claim of $10,000 to $30,000. Detailed records matter here: dates, times, the numbers that called, and saved voicemails. Attorneys who handle TCPA cases often work on contingency because the statutory damages are predictable enough to justify the litigation.