RECOGNIZE Phone Fraud Learn about common telemarketing scams and how to avoid them.

REPORT Phone Fraud Your complaint helps law enforcement officials track down scam artists and stop them.

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Do Not Call Registry The Registry gives you a choice about whether to receive telemarketing calls at home.

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New Campaign Shows How to Spot and Stop Telemarketing Fraud

Many over-the-phone sales pitches are made by legitimate organizations offering genuine products and services. Unfortunately, scammers pretending to be legitimate marketers also use the phone to commit fraud. To help you tell the difference and avoid falling for a phone fraud, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has launched a new consumer education campaign — Who’s Calling? Recognize & Report Phone Fraud.

The campaign includes tips on how to recognize different types of telemarketing fraud, and tells you how — and where — to report suspicious calls. You’ll also learn how you can cut down on the number of unwanted telemarketing calls you get by putting your number on the National Do Not Call Registry.

By reporting telemarketing fraud, you can help bring scammers to justice. If you get a call you suspect is a scam, report it to the FTC and your state Attorney General. You’ll need to provide the telemarketer's name or phone number, as well as the date and time of the call. Your complaint will go into a secure online database available to more than 1,000 civil and criminal law enforcement agencies.

To learn more about telemarketing fraud, visit the Who’s Calling? Recognize & Report Phone Fraud campaign website at ftc.gov/phonefraud. The site includes overviews of common phone frauds, and a video that shows what to do when you’re the target of a phone scam.

This article was developed by the FTC as part of its ongoing work to educate consumers about telemarketing fraud. It can be reprinted, posted, or adapted by any business, community, or social organization to help its members, employees, or audiences learn more about fraudulent telemarketing.

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