November 15, 2024 at 01:54PM
The FTC reported a 50% decline in consumer complaints about unwanted telemarketing calls since 2021, with 1.1 million reports in 2023. The National Do Not Call Registry has 254 million active registrations. Key complaint categories include medical calls and imposters. Ongoing crackdowns aim to combat illegal telemarketing practices.
### Meeting Takeaways:
1. **Decrease in Consumer Complaints**: The FTC reported a more than 50% reduction in consumer complaints about unwanted telemarketing calls since 2021, with 1.1 million complaints in 2023, down from 3.4 million in 2021.
2. **Nature of Complaints**:
– The most prevalent complaints were related to medical and prescription calls, totaling over 170,000 reports.
– Imposter scams followed, with more than 158,000 complaints.
– Debt reduction calls ranked third, followed by complaints about energy, solar, utilities, and home improvement services.
3. **National Do Not Call Registry**:
– The DNC Registry, launched in 2003, now has 254 million active registrations as of September 2024.
– Consumers can register their numbers or report complaints via donotcall.gov or by calling 1-888-382-1222.
4. **Ongoing FTC Initiatives**:
– **Operation Stop Scam Calls**: A nationwide effort targeting illegal telemarketing practices.
– **Rule Changes**: A 2024 rule was introduced to ban impersonation of government entities and businesses, and the Telemarketing Sales Rule was expanded to protect businesses from illegal campaigns.
– **AI and Deepfake Measures**: Efforts include clarifying the TSR’s scope concerning AI-driven scam calls and introducing a Voice Cloning Challenge to combat fraudulent use of advanced technology.
5. **Compliance Obligation**: Telemarketers must remove numbers from the DNC registry from their call lists at least every 31 days to comply with regulations.
These takeaways highlight the FTC’s successes in reducing telemarketing complaints and its continued efforts to enhance consumer protection against unwanted calls.