2.8 million new numbers were added to the registry and complaints about robocalls surpassed those about telemarketing in the last two years.
01/18/2022 2:45 P.M.
3 minute read
The Federal Trade Commission issued its biennial report to Congress on the National Do Not Call (DNC) Registry this month detailing the number of consumers—more than 244 million—who have placed their telephone numbers on the registry, according to a news release from the FTC.
It also states the FTC received more than 5 million Do Not Call complaints in fiscal year 2021, with consumers “overwhelmingly reporting these violations came via robocalls, as opposed to live telemarketing.”
Imposter scam and warranty protection scam calls topped the list of commonly reported call topics in fiscal year 2021, followed by calls related to reducing debt and medical needs and prescriptions, according to the news release.
The FTC has received more than 18,000 COVID-19 related Do Not Call complaints since the start of the pandemic, according to the report.
The purpose of the DNC Registry is to provide consumers with options regarding whether or not to receive telemarketing calls.
“Accordingly, it is important that the FTC continue to work alongside the Federal Communications Commission to ensure that the Registry is effective and accessible for both consumers and telemarketers. As new technology provides new challenges, both agencies actively seek to address and confront them by, among other things, encouraging private industry, other government agencies, academia, and other interested parties to create and develop new strategies to help consumers avoid unwanted telemarketing calls,” according to the report.
Biennial Report Data
The DNC Registry currently has 244.3 million active registrations, an increase of more than 2.8 million from the previous fiscal year. According to the report, during fiscal year 2021, 2,000 businesses and other entities paid nearly $13 million to access the registry.
Additional findings in the report include:
- More than 12,000 entities subscribed to the registry in 2021, including 9,595 who registered for five or fewer area codes free of charge.
- That same year, 512 entities (such as charitable organizations) claimed “exempt organization” status and received free access to the registry.
- In fiscal year 2020, 1,952 entities paid registry access fees totaling nearly $12.5 million. That year, 10,420 entities subscribed to registry, including those who registered to access five or fewer area codes at no charge, and 556 entities claimed “exempt organization” status and accessed the registry without paying a fee.
The FTC also publishes an annual Do Not Call Registry Data Book that provides details on registration numbers and other statistical information about the registry.
FCC Call Efforts
The FCC’s Reassigned Numbers Database, designed to ensure callers can reach consumers that expect their calls, became fully operational Nov. 1, 2021.
The FCC has now released supplemental guidance to improve the utility of the database and enhance callers’ ability to avoid making unwanted calls to consumers, ACA International previously reported.
Now that the database, which had been in development since 2018, is live, callers can check it to “ensure they reach consumers that expect their calls and avoid calling consumers with reassigned numbers who may not wish to receive the call,” according to the FCC’s supplemental guidance.
The FCC is also asking for stakeholder input on voice service providers’ call blocking notification requirements by Jan. 31, ACA previously reported.
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