Where each report goes
- An unwanted sales call or robocall, no money lostDoNotCall.gov (FTC)
- You lost money, or you know who calledReportFraud.ftc.gov (FTC)
- Any illegal call or text, spoofing, or your own number spoofedfcc.gov/complaints or 1-888-225-5322 (FCC)
- A scam textForward to 7726 (SPAM), then ReportFraud.ftc.gov
- A political or survey call with no sales pitchThe FCC or your state attorney general
- A caller pretending to be Social Security, the IRS, Medicare or a courtThe agency’s own line (below)
Robocalls can be reported to the FTC whether or not your number is on the Do Not Call Registry. Unwanted live sales calls count as a Registry violation only once your number has been on it for 31 days.
What to include
The FTC asks for:
- the number that received the call;
- the number on your caller ID, even if you think it was faked;
- any number the caller told you to call back;
- the exact date and time of the call, if you know it.
Filing with the FCC
Filing online at fcc.gov/complaints is the most effective way, and there is no fee. Choose “unwanted calls/texts” as the phone issue, then “all other unwanted calls/messages”, or “my own number is being spoofed” if people are calling you back about calls you never made. A number from abroad that does not fit the 555-555-5555 format goes in the “Additional Information” field. Note whether your number is being spoofed, blocked or mislabeled.
What happens to your report
The FTC receives millions of reports a year and cannot answer each one. It and other agencies analyze them to find and act against the people behind illegal calls. Reports go into Consumer Sentinel, a database open free of charge to any federal, state or local law enforcement agency.
The FTC also releases the numbers people report each business day, so that phone companies and their partners can block or label those calls. That same public file, together with the FCC's open complaint data, is what this site shows when you check a number.
The FCC does not resolve individual complaints either; it uses them to guide policy and enforcement under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and the Truth in Caller ID Act, and may share them with other agencies. Under federal law, a state attorney general can also sue callers who make illegal calls to residents of the state, for actual losses or $500 per violation.
Calls about a specific agency
- Social Security: oig.ssa.gov/report, plus ReportFraud.ftc.gov. See Social Security scam calls.
- IRS: TIGTA at 800-366-4484. See IRS scam calls.
- Medicare: 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227).
- A federal court or jury duty: the Clerk of Court's office of the U.S. District Court in your area.