Telemarketing Calls in the US
Telemarketing is regulated in the US by the FTC and FCC under the Telemarketing Sales Rule and TCPA. Most cold-calling marketers must respect the National Do Not Call Registry within 31 days of you registering. Calls about charities, political candidates, surveys, debt collection, and existing business relationships are exempt — which is why you'll still get some.
Common signs
- A live agent reading from a script, with background call-center noise.
- Pitch starts with "you've been selected" or "you may qualify for".
- Offers tied to home warranties, solar, life insurance, auto warranty, debt consolidation, or final-expense insurance.
Typical scripts
- "We can lower your credit card interest rate — call us back at this number."
- "Your vehicle's extended warranty is about to expire."
- "You've been pre-approved for a debt consolidation loan."
What to do
- Tell the caller, clearly, "put me on your do-not-call list". By law they must honour it for 5 years.
- Register at donotcall.gov if you have not already.
- For illegal calls, file at donotcall.gov/report.
Search a number
If you've received one of these calls, search the number on GhostCallers to see what other people have reported.
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