The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) works to prevent fraudulent, deceptive and unfair business practices in the marketplace, and to provide information that helps consumers spot, stop and avoid them. The FTC collects consumer complaints through the Consumer Sentinel Network, a secure online database and investigative tool used by hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.
The New York Department of State’s Division of Consumer Protection investigates and enforces telemarketing violations in New York State by accessing complaints documented in the Federal Trade Commission’s telemarketing complaint portal. These tips will help ensure that the complaints you file can be investigated as efficiently as possible.
NOTE: You should register your phone number in the FTC’s Do-Not-Call Registry at least 31 days before you start filing complaints about unwanted telemarketing calls. If you are not registered for at least 31 days, the calls are not considered to be telemarketing violations. If you receive a call that uses a recorded message instead of a live person (known as a “robocall”), you can file a complaint at any time, even if your number is not on the Registry.
How to File a Do Not Call Complaint:
- Make sure you provide your phone number. This is required.
- Note the exact date and time of the phone call. This is an important step, because it helps to validate the contact.
- If you can, identify whether the call was pre-recorded (sometimes a pre-recorded message will be left), how the call was received (phone call or text) and what the call was about. If you don’t pick up the call and no message was left, just provide any information you may have, even if the display shows “spam risk” or “unknown.” Please don’t guess! If you don’t know information, leave it blank or indicate that you don’t know.
- Make sure you enter the phone number that contacted you. This will usually be in your call history. If you know the name of the company, please provide it.
- Provide your name and address if you are comfortable doing so. It is helpful for us to have this information in case we have questions, but if you do not wish to be contacted, just make sure your home state is identified as this is a crucial piece of information.
- Include comments. Provide any information about the call that you haven’t already provided. For instance, did you receive a message? Did you speak with anyone? Did you ask them to stop calling? If yes, on what date? Did you try to return their call? If you did, what happened when you attempted to call?
- As of January 1, 2025, New York law requires law requires telemarketers to identify themselves in the first 30 seconds of an unsolicited phone call, including their name, the company they represent and why they are calling. If you answer a call from a telemarketer who does not provide this information at the beginning of the call, please include this information in the comments section.