FTC Issues Biennial Report to Congress on the National Do Not Call Registry

"The Federal Trade Commission issued its biennial report to Congress on the National Do Not Call (DNC) Registry that shows the number of consumers who have placed their telephone numbers on the Registry over the past two years has reached more than 249 million.

The report also notes that the FTC has received more than two million Do Not Call complaints in fiscal year (FY) 2023 with people overwhelmingly reporting these violations came via robocalls, as opposed to live telemarketing.

Imposter scam, medical needs and prescription scam calls led the list of commonly reported call topics in FY 2023, followed by calls related to reducing debt and energy, solar, and utilities. In response to the consistently high number of complaints from the public about impersonator scams, the FTC recently continued its rulemaking initiative to combat business and government impersonation fraud. A data spotlight issued in June 2023 found that bogus bank fraud warnings were the most common form of text message scam reported to the agency, and that many of the most common text scams impersonate well-known businesses..."
Do Not Call Registry 

FTC Releases FY 2018 National Do Not Call Registry Data Book and Mini Site

"The Federal Trade Commission today issued the National Do Not Call Registry Data Book for Fiscal Year 2018. The FTC’s National Do Not Call (DNC) Registry lets consumers choose not to receive most legal telemarketing calls. The data show that the number of active registrations on the DNC Registry has increased significantly over the past year, while the total number of consumer complaints decreased for the first time in five years.

Now in its tenth year, the Data Book contains a wealth of information about the DNC Registry for FY 2018 (from October 1, 2017 to September 30, 2018). The Data Book provides the most recent information available on robocall complaints, the types of calls consumers reported to the FTC, and a complete state-by-state analysis.

FY 2018 Registration and Complaint Data

According to the Data Book, at the end of FY 2018, the DNC Registry contained 235,302,818 actively registered phone numbers, up from 229,816,164 at the end of FY 2017. The number of consumer complaints about unwanted telemarketing calls significantly decreased, from 7,157,337 in FY 2017 to 5,780,172 in FY 2018...."
Do Not Call

National Do Not Call Registry Data Book for Fiscal Year 2017

"he National Do Not Call Registry Data Bookcontains statistical data about phone numbers on the Registry, telemarketers and sellers accessing phone numbers on the Registry, and complaints consumers submit to the FTC about telemarketers allegedly violating the Do Not Call rules. Statistical data on Do Not Call (DNC) complaints is based on unverified complaints reported by consumers, not on a consumer survey..."
Do Not Calll Registry

FTC Issues The FY 2011 National Do Not Call Registry Data Book

"The Federal Trade Commission today issued the National Do Not Call Registry Data Book for Fiscal Year 2011. The FTC's National Do Not Call Registry provides consumers with an easy way to stop unwanted telemarketing calls. In its third year of publication, the Data Book contains a wealth of information about the Registry for FY 2011, including:

The number of active registrations and consumer complaint figures since the Registry began in 2003;
FY 2011 complaint figures by month and complaint type;
FY 2011 registration and complaint figures for all 50 states and the District of Columbia by population;
The number of entities accessing the Registry by fiscal year; and
An appendix on registration and complaint data by consumer state and area code..."

FTC Approves Two Reports to Congress on the National Do Not Call Registry
"he Federal Trade Commission, as required by The Do-Not-Call Registry Fee Extension Act of 2007, has approved two reports to Congress: a biennial report focusing on the use of the Do Not Call Registry by both consumers and businesses, as well as the impact that new technologies have had on the Registry, and a one-time report on enforcement efforts and consumers’ perceptions of the Registry’s effectiveness.

As detailed in the first report, the Do Not Call Registry now has more than 191 million active registrations, and more than 18 million new phone numbers were registered in Fiscal Year (FY) 2009. During that time, approximately 45,000 sellers, telemarketers, and exempt organizations such as charities subscribed to access the Registry, paying fees totaling more than $15.5 million. In addition, during FY 2009, the FTC implemented a new procedure for tracking disconnected and reassigned phone numbers, which addresses problems that may arise as a result of new telecommunications technologies and the ease of transporting numbers from one telephone service provider to another..."

FTC Submits Do Not Call Report to Congress for FY 2007
"...The report – the fourth and final submission required by the Act – contains information on the following topics: 1) the effectiveness of the Registry; 2) the number of consumers who have placed their telephone numbers on the Registry; 3) the number of entities paying fees to access the Registry and the amount of the fees; 4) the progress of coordinating the operation and enforcement of the Registry with similar registries maintained by the states; 5) the progress of coordinating the operation and enforcement of the Registry with enforcement activities of the Federal Communications Commission under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act; and
6) FTC enforcement of the Registry under the Telemarketing Sales Rule."

In the Matter of Rules and Regulations Implementing the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991: Report and Order
"In this Report and Order (Order), we amend the Commission’s rules under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA)1 to require sellers and/or telemarketers to honor registrations with the National Do-Not-Call Registry so that registrations will not automatically expire based on the current five year registration period..."

FTC: Do Not Call Registrations Permanent
"Telephone numbers placed on the National Do Not Call Registry will remain on it permanently due to the Do-Not-Call Improvement Act of 2007, which became law in February 2008. More than 157 million phone numbers are on the National Do Not Call Registry.

Under the Act, the Federal Trade Commission will continue to remove telephone numbers that have been disconnected and reassigned to other customers. Consumers can delete their telephone numbers from the registry at any time by calling 1-888-382-1222 (TTY 1-866-290-4236) – the call must be made from the telephone number they wish to delete."

The Truth About Cell Phones and the Do Not Call Registry
"The Federal Trade Commission today reiterated that despite the claims made in e-mails circulating on the Internet, consumers should not be concerned that their cell phone numbers will be released to telemarketers in the near future, and that it is not necessary to register cell phone numbers on the National Do Not Call (DNC) Registry to be protected from most telemarketing calls to cell phones.

The truth about cell phones and the DNC Registry is:
* Contrary to the e-mail, cell phone numbers are NOT being released to telemarketers, and you will NOT soon be getting telemarketing calls on your cell phone.
* There is NO deadline by which you must register your cell phone number on the Registry..."