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National Do Not Call Registry

Adding Your Number to the National Do Not Call Registry

You can stop most telemarketing calls by adding your landline or wireless number to the National Do Not Call Registry (1-888-382-1222 or www.donotcall.gov), which is available for free and doesn't expire--you only have to enroll once.

The National Do Not Call Registry is managed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation’s consumer protection agency. It is enforced by the FTC, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and state law enforcement officials.

If you registered your number with the National Do Not Call Registry, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) forbids commercial telemarketers from calling you, subject to certain exceptions.  If you have added your number to the National Do Not Call Registry, be skeptical of any telemarketing robocall you receive.

National Do Not Call Registry Exceptions

Those exceptions include political campaigns; marketers with whom you have conducted business within the last 18 months; tax-exempt and non-profit entities; businesses contacting you about an existing debt, contract or payment; businesses that started within the past year; health or safety-related prerecorded messages or emergency calls; and organizations to which you have given prior consent.

Unwelcome Telemarketing Calls?

Unfortunately, unscrupulous and fraudulent telemarketers tend to disregard laws including Do Not Call Registry requirements.  If you receive a telemarketing call or automated "robocall" that you think is violating the law or is simply unwelcome:

  • Hang up the phone.  Don’t press number keys, as that may confirm to the source of the robocall that it has reached a valid number.  That could cause you to receive more calls.
  • Don’t provide or “confirm” financial or personal information, as the request may be fraudulent.  If a person or recorded voice asks you to “verify” personal or financial information, hang up.  Look up the phone number of the supposed source of the call on a recent financial statement and call to confirm the claim from the call.
  • You can request your phone provider to block the number associated with a call, though your provider may charge for the service.  However, the source of the call may change its actual or “spoofed” number, thus defeating your caller-ID display and call blocking.
  • If you think a call has violated the law, write down the time, date, caller-ID information (if available), and a summary of the call.  Save any recorded messages.
  • You can report Do Not Call Registry violations to www.donotcall.gov, or call 1-888-382-1222.
  • If you receive a call that is falsifying or missing required caller-ID information, you can report it to the FCC at www.fcc.gov/complaints or call 1-888-CALL-FCC (1-888-225-5322).

For more information about the National Do Not Call Registry, click here.

Contact

Email

consumer@ag.iowa.gov

Phone

515-281-5926
888-777-4590 (outside of the Des Moines metro area)

Fax

515-281-6771

Mail

Office of the Attorney General of Iowa
Consumer Protection Division
Hoover State Office Building
1305 E. Walnut Street
Des Moines, Iowa 50319-0106

 

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