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The Federal Trade Commission today issued the National Do Not Call Registry Data Book for Fiscal Year 2012. The FTC’s National Do Not Call Registry lets consumers choose not to receive telemarketing calls. In its fourth year of publication, the Data Book contains a wealth of information about the Registry for FY 2012 (from October 1, 2011 to September 30, 2012), including:

• The number of active registrations and consumer complaints since the Registry began in 2003;
• FY 2012 complaint figures by month and type;
• FY 2012 registration and complaint figures for all 50 states and the District of Columbia by population;
• Rankings of the number of Do Not Call registrations by state population;
• The number of entities accessing the Registry by fiscal year; and
• An appendix on registration and complaint figures by state and area code.

According to the Data Book, at the end of FY 2012, the Do Not Call Registry contained 217,568,135 actively registered phone numbers, up from 209,722,924 at the end of FY 2011.  In addition, the number of consumer complaints about unwanted telemarketing calls received increased from 2,273,516 during FY 2011 to 3,840,572 during FY 2012.

This year’s Data Book also reveals trends in complaint data.  In addition to providing information on the total number of consumer complaints per month, it also contains data on the number of monthly complaints specifically related to pre-recorded telemarketing “robocalls,” and requests for a telemarketer to stop calling. 

During the past year, the FTC has continued to receive large numbers of consumer complaints about robocalls.  At the beginning of the fiscal year, in October 2011, the FTC received 149,363 robocall-related complaints.  This increased through March 2012, when the agency received 216,338 complaints about robocalls, and has remained at about that level since, with 201,699 complaints received in September 2012.

Most telemarketing robocalls have been illegal since September 2009.  The FTC remains committed to stopping deceptive, misleading, and otherwise unlawful robocalls, and will take action against entities violating the agency’s Telemarketing Sales Rule.

The FTC Robocall Summit

The FTC will host a summit on October 18, 2012, in Washington, DC, to examine the issues surrounding the robocall problem.  The summit will be open to the public, and will include members of law enforcement, the telemarketing and telecommunications industry, consumer groups, and other stakeholders.  It will focus on exploring innovations that could potentially be used to trace robocalls, prevent wrongdoers from faking caller ID data, and stop illegal calls.

Information for Consumers

Information for consumers about the Do Not Call Registry, company-specific do not call requests, and telemarketer Caller ID requirements can be found on the FTC’s website, and consumers can sign up for the National Registry for free. Other information about robocalls and what consumers can do about them also is available.

The Federal Trade Commission works for consumers to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices and to provide information to help spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a complaint in English or Spanish, visit the FTC’s online Complaint Assistant or call 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357). The FTC enters complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to more than 2,000 civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad. The FTC’s website provides free information on a variety of consumer topics.  Like the FTC on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and subscribe to press releases for the latest FTC news and resources.