Spam Voicemail

A spam voicemail is an unwanted recorded message left on your phone, usually selling something or running a scam. They arrive two ways: a robocall that rings your phone and leaves a recorded message when you do not answer, or a ringless voicemail that drops the message straight into your voicemail box without a ring.

Both are covered by the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. The TCPA bars calls to cell phones using an artificial or prerecorded voice without the called party's prior express consent (and prior express written consent for telemarketing). The FCC ruled on November 21, 2022, that ringless voicemails are calls under the TCPA, so they need the same consent as any other prerecorded call. Each unlawful message can be worth $500 in statutory damages, or up to $1,500 if willful.

What makes a spam voicemail actionable:

• It used a prerecorded or artificial voice, rather than a live person leaving a message.
• It was a marketing message and you never gave written consent, or you had revoked consent.
• You can identify the company behind it, since anonymous scam operations are rarely worth suing.

Save the voicemail itself (many phones let you export or share it), screenshot the call log, and write down any company name or callback number. Those files are the core evidence in a TCPA case, and class actions often start with just a few people who kept them. See our robocall lawsuit page, wrong number robocalls, and the TCPA explainer.