How to Report a Scam Phone Number or Call

Reporting a scam call takes a few minutes, and it does more than you might think. The Federal Trade Commission publishes the phone numbers people report every business day so phone companies can use them to block and label scam calls. Reports also help investigators find the people behind illegal calls.

Here is where to report, depending on what happened.

EXAMPLE — SCAM

Today 4:52 PM●●● ▮

Voicemail transcript (800) 555-0177

This is your final notice regarding your vehicle’s extended warranty. Press 1 now to speak to a specialist before your coverage expires today. Press 2 to be removed from our list.

First: hang up and take notes

The FTC’s advice is to hang up and not press any numbers on a robocall — pressing a button can lead to more calls. The FCC adds that scammers use “press 1 to stop getting these calls” to identify potential targets.

Before you forget, write down:

• the number on your caller ID (even if you think it is fake),
• any callback number the caller gave you,
• the date and time of the call,
• what the caller said and who they claimed to be,
• and, if you paid, how much and how.

The FTC asks for these details in phone scam reports.

Where to report, depending on what happened

What happened	Report to
Unwanted sales call or robocall; no money lost	DoNotCall.gov (FTC’s streamlined form)
You lost money or shared personal information	ReportFraud.ftc.gov, then call your bank or card company
Caller claimed to be from Social Security	SSA Office of the Inspector General at oig.ssa.gov/report
Caller claimed to be from the IRS	Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) at tigta.gov
Caller claimed to be from Medicare or asked for your Medicare number	1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) or Medicare.gov
Caller ID was spoofed, or your own number is being spoofed	FCC at consumercomplaints.fcc.gov — choose “unwanted calls”
You lost money to someone claiming to be police or a government official	Local police and IC3.gov
You are 60+ and want help reporting	National Elder Fraud Hotline, 1-833-372-8311

How to report a number at DoNotCall.gov or ReportFraud.ftc.gov

If you did not lose money, the FTC suggests the streamlined form at DoNotCall.gov. You can also go to ReportFraud.ftc.gov and choose “Just An Annoying Call.”

If you lost money or gave out personal information, file at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and choose the category that best fits — for example, an impersonator, a prize, or a tech-support call. Include the details from your notes.

Can’t use the website? You can call the FTC’s Consumer Response Center at 1-877-382-4357. For languages other than English and Spanish, call between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern and press 3 for a list of languages.

Reporting to the FCC

The Federal Communications Commission accepts complaints about illegal calls and texts at consumercomplaints.fcc.gov. Choose the “unwanted calls” category and note whether your number is being spoofed, blocked or mislabeled. The FCC says it does not resolve individual complaints, but uses them to guide policy and possible enforcement, and may share them with other agencies.

Reporting government impostor calls

Scammers often pretend to be from a government agency, and caller ID can be faked to show the agency’s real name or number. Report these calls to the agency being impersonated, as listed in the table above, and to the FTC. The FBI says law enforcement and government authorities will never call or text to demand any form of payment or to ask for personal or sensitive information.

If you lost money, the FBI’s advice is to stop all contact, notify your financial institutions, contact your local police, and file a complaint at IC3.gov with the scammers’ phone numbers, payment details and any messages. Keep all records.

Will the calls stop?

Not overnight. The FTC is honest about this: reporting unwanted calls will not instantly stop them, and scammers ignore the Do Not Call Registry. What helps most is call blocking. The FTC calls it your best defense. Ask your phone company about its blocking tools, turn on your phone’s built-in filters, and see our guide to checking whether a number is a scam.

If you already paid or shared information

Act quickly: contact the company you used to pay — your card issuer, bank, wire service, gift card company or payment app — and ask them to stop or reverse the payment. If you gave out your Social Security number, go to IdentityTheft.gov. Our first-hour checklist explains each step. And be wary of anyone who later offers to recover your money for a fee — the FTC says that is often a refund recovery scam.

To learn about the calls scammers make most often, read phone scams: the calls most often aimed at older adults and why scammers can fake any number.