Where to Report Scam Calls and What Happens Next
You got a scam call. Here is where to report it, what to write down first, and how to block the calls that keep coming.
The phone rings, and the voice on the other end wants something. Maybe it was a recording selling a car warranty. Maybe it was a live person claiming to be from the government. You hung up, and now you want to know where to report scam calls. This page walks through it: what to write down, where the report goes, and what to do about the calls that keep coming. The FTC says it has stopped people responsible for billions of robocalls.
What counts as a scam call worth reporting
The FTC says a robocall plays a recorded message to you rather than connecting you with a real person. Some robocalls break the law and some do not. Calls that only share information are legal. So are calls to collect a debt. But a robocall that tries to sell you something is illegal. The company must have your written permission to call you that way. And the FTC says if someone is robocalling you without permission, there is a good chance it is a scam.
Scammers make robocalls because they are cheap and easy. Anyone can make them over the internet from anywhere in the world. Some pretend to be from the government. They bring up your Social Security number, taxes, or Medicare. Many people report robocalls about car warranties, debt relief, or credit repair. Robocalls that sell services to lower your debt are illegal. They are almost always scams.
Live scammers count too. So do spoofed numbers, where the caller ID shows a number that is not really theirs.
What to capture before you report
Scam calls fade from memory fast. Before that happens, the FTC says to write down the number on your caller ID, even if you think it is fake. The FTC says to report it anyway. Not all scam calls will get flagged by caller ID, but the number you saw is still useful.
The FTC also says to report the exact date and time of the call if you know it. If the caller gave a name, a company, or a number to call back, write that down too. The FTC uses details like names or numbers you are told to call back to track down scammers.
Where to report a scam call
Two FTC sites take these reports, and each fits a different situation.
DoNotCall.gov is one of them. The FTC says apps can report a call at DoNotCall.gov. If you lost money to the scammer, the app reports at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
ReportFraud.ftc.gov is the other. The FTC says to report FTC impersonation scams there. Its guide also says to report a scammer at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. For more on how that site works, see report fraud FTC gov.
Not sure where your scam belongs? USAGov says you can answer a few questions to learn which government agency can help with a scam. The questions also show you how to report a scam to the right place.
How the FTC uses what you send in
A lot of people think reports vanish into a void. They do not. The FTC says reporting the information helps it track down the scammers behind the call. Your reports also help police find the people behind illegal calls.
The FTC posts the illegal callers' phone numbers you report. It shares them with the public each business day. Those numbers help phone companies and other partners. They use them to build call-blocking and call-labeling tools. The FTC has stopped people behind billions of robocalls. It also works with police agencies on robocalls and caller ID spoofing. The FTC can also use scam reports to build cases against scammers. It also uses them to warn people about scams and to show what is going on in your community.
Why the Do Not Call Registry alone will not stop scammers
The National Do Not Call Registry exists to stop sales pitches from honest businesses that obey the rules. It works by giving law-abiding telemarketers a list of numbers they must leave alone. Scammers do not care if you are on it. The FTC says signing up will not keep scammers from breaking the law and calling you anyway.
The Registry still has value, though. The FTC says being on it could reduce the number of calls you get and make it easier to spot scam calls. A call that ignores the Registry stands out more when the lawful sales calls have stopped.
Cut down the calls you keep getting
Reporting is one piece of the response. The FTC says your best defense against unwanted calls is call blocking and call labeling. Call blocking can help stop robocalls from scammers, though some robocalls might still get through. It can also reduce the number of unwanted calls you get.
One more habit from the FTC: when an illegal robocall reaches you, hang up. Calling the number back is a mistake. Skip the option to talk to a person or get taken off the list. The FTC says pressing numbers will probably just bring more robocalls.
Call-blocking options for your kind of phone
Cell phones, home phones that make calls over the internet, and landlines each have their own call-blocking options. If you are not sure what phone service you have, check with your phone provider. Some phone provider services are free, but others might charge you a fee.
Internet-based call-blocking services block unwanted calls. They work on phones that use the internet. Some of those are free, and some charge you each month. Your phone provider might recommend a specific service, which might charge a fee. Some internet-based services and phone apps require that all calls are routed through their service.
Want blocking details for your own phone company? The FTC says to go to the Federal Communications Commission's Call Blocking Resources for links.
What call-blocking apps can do
Some call-blocking apps are free, but others charge a fee. Before you download one, check what it does and what it asks for.
Apps usually let you choose how to respond to calls they flag as scams. They can block calls based on the geographic location or area code of the incoming call. They let you create lists of numbers to block, or lists of numbers to let through. Some can send a prewritten text message to the caller.
Two things are worth checking before you install. Some apps access your contacts list, so know whether that is important to you. And an app's privacy policy should explain how it gets and uses your information.
One caution from the FTC: call-blocking services might block some calls you want to get. If you are expecting calls from a doctor or a school, check how the app handles numbers you trust.
If you lost money or gave out information
If the call got more than your attention, reporting it is only the first step. If you lost money, report at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. If you gave out personal information, see our page on the FTC identity theft report. And if you want to go deeper on the number that called you, see how to report scam phone number.
You cannot stop every scam call. But you can report the one you got, write down what happened, and make the next one less likely to get through.