New Law Requires Transparency: Under the Seinfeld Law, telemarketers must state their name, company, reason for calling, and offer a “Do Not Call” option within the first 30 seconds.
Join the Do Not Call Registry: Register at DoNotCall.gov or call 888-382-1222 to reduce unwanted sales calls. Telemarketers must stop within 31 days, though political groups, charities, and surveyors are exempt.
Report Violators: File a complaint for every unwanted call at the registry website or by phone. Businesses face fines up to $20,000 per violation in New York.
How to Avoid Scam Calls:
• Don’t Share Personal Info: Never give out sensitive details to unknown callers.
• Avoid Pressing “1”: It confirms your number is active and can lead to more calls.
• Hang Up on Too-Good-to-Be-True Offers: Prizes, free vacations, or debt relief are often scams.
• By reporting unwanted calls, New Yorkers help track violators and reduce spam calls statewide.
Understanding the Do-Not-Call Registry
The Do-Not-Call (DNC) Registry is designed to stop companies from promoting their goods and services by making unwanted sales calls to potential customers. The DNC Registry allows you to register your landline and cell phone numbers in one central database to limit the telemarketing calls you receive. Once you register your phone number, telemarketers have up to 31 days from the date you register to stop calling you. Registering your phone number does not prohibit all businesses from calling you. Calls from or on behalf of political organizations, charities and telephone surveyors are exempt, as are companies with which you have an existing business relationship, unless you ask them to place your number on their own do-not-call list.
File a complaint if you receive unwanted telemarketing calls after registering for more than 31 days: Registering your phone number on the DNC Registry is only the first step towards bringing these calls to an end. The next step is to file a complaint for every unwanted call. File a Do Not Call complaint online at the registry’s website or by calling 1-888-382-1222 (TTY 1-866-290-4236). For tips on how to file a Do Not Call complaint, review the guidance provided.
Enter every unwanted call separately when filing a complaint: As part of the complaint process, it is important that New Yorkers submit individual complaints for each unwanted call. Each unwanted call is one complaint. If you receive five unwanted calls, submit five separate complaints. Provide as much information as you can as this helps the Division of Consumer Protection to track down the caller.
Register unwanted “Robocalls”: If you received a call that used a recorded message instead of a live person (known as a “robocall”), you can also file a complaint whether or not your number is on the Registry.
The Importance Of Filing Complaints
The Department of State’s Division of Consumer Protection enforces New York’s telemarketing law. In 2024, New Yorkers logged a total of 109,692 telemarketing complaints with the Federal Trade Commission. By filing a complaint, New Yorkers help the division track down and identify violators of the Do Not Call law and take legal action against the businesses making those unwanted, unsolicited and often annoying telemarketing phone calls. Businesses can be fined up to $20,000 per violation by the New York Department of State and may be subject to additional fines by the FTC and Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The division uses the consumer complaints to take enforcement action against the violators, and the more complaints filed by New Yorkers, the higher the fine that may be levied.
