August 1, 2017

by

Amy Hebert

Consumer Education Specialist, FTC

Tired of getting unwanted calls like illegal robocalls? We don’t even need to ask, right? Maybe you’ve wondered if filing a complaintactually makes a difference?

Your complaints are vital to the work we do (more on that in a minute). But today we’ve got another great reason to keep those complaints coming.

Now, when you report illegal calls, we will take the phone numbers you complain about and release them each business day. This helps telecommunications carriers and other industry partners that are working on call blocking solutions.

Here’s why that matters: many call blocking tools rely on blacklists. Those are databases of phone numbers that have been reported as the source of illegal calls. In addition to the number, the data the FTC releases will include the date and time a person got the unwanted call, the general subject matter (debt reduction, warranties, home security, etc.), and whether it was a robocall. Companies will be able to use this information to help identify which calls should be blocked or flagged. Even if a scammer fakes caller ID information — so the number you see isn’t the scammer’s real number — reporting it can make a difference. Call blocking technologies also can help prevent this kind of spoofed traffic.

This is just one of many steps the FTC is taking to stop illegal robocalls and other scam calls. The FTC will continue to go after the scammers behind illegal calls. Your complaints help us and other law enforcement agencies do that.