How many spam phone calls do Americans receive?

During fiscal year 2022, Americans made over three million complaints to the National Do Not Call Registry (NDNCR), administered and enforced by the Federal Trade Commission. While there were a record 246.8 million phone numbers in the registry in 2022, complaints about both live callers and robocalls hit five-year lows. Annual complaints decreased by more than 47% since 2018, when 5.78 million complaints were registered.

What are the most common topics of reported spam calls?

Between January 2019 and September 2023, 2.04 million complaints — 11.3% of the total — were related to unwanted phone calls where people or robots falsely pose as government representatives, legitimate business entities, or people affiliated with them. Other major sources of complaints were unsolicited calls about warranties and protection plans (1.04 million), reducing debt (948,032), and medical or prescription issues (895,583).

Which states report the most and fewest complaints about spam calls?

In 2022, Delaware residents made the most complaints to the NDNCR per capita — 1,537 per 100,000 people — followed by Ohio (1,246), Arizona (1,206), Maryland (1,180), and Virginia (1,144).

Thirteen states lodged more than 1,000 complaints per 100,000 people. North Dakota ranks residents reported the fewest complaints per person (399) and the lowest total number of complaints (3,032). California residents, meanwhile, reported the highest total number of complaints (426,167) despite ranking 40th among states in NDNCR registrations per person.

How does the government collect this data?

Former President George W. Bush signed the Do-Not-Call Implementation Act in 2003. The registry included 246.8 million telephone numbers in 2022. People who receive phone calls to a registered number can report an unwanted call. The Federal Trade Commission collects data on the number of complaints, whether the call was live or a robot, and the call's content. The database does not include personal information or whether the number is for a landline or a mobile phone.

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