How to Stop Robocalls and Spam Texts: Blocking Tools, Your Rights, and When You Can Sue

Register at DoNotCall.gov or by calling 1-888-382-1222 (TTY 1-866-290-4236) from the phone you want to add. It is free. If you register online, you must click a confirmation link emailed to you within 72 hours.

The FTC says a number shows up on the Registry the next day, sales calls can take up to 31 days to stop, and registration never expires. The FTC removes a number only if it is disconnected and reassigned or you ask to take it off. No one can charge you to register, so ignore anyone offering to do it for a fee.

The Registry stops legitimate sales calls. It does not stop:

• Political calls, charitable calls, debt collection calls, purely informational calls, and surveys, as long as they do not include a sales pitch.
• Scammers, who ignore the Registry entirely.

The FTC also points out that a prerecorded sales robocall is illegal unless the company has your written permission to call that way, whether or not you are on the Registry.

Because scammers ignore the rules, blocking does most of the work.

Calls

• Your carrier. Many wireless carriers offer spam call labeling or blocking, often at no charge. Check your carrier's app or account settings.
• A call-blocking app. The FTC calls these one of the best ways to block unwanted calls on a cell phone. They use call data and user reports to predict illegal calls; some are free and some charge a fee. The wireless industry group CTIA lists apps by operating system.
• Your phone's built-in settings. iPhones and Android phones can silence unknown callers or send them to voicemail.
• Home phones. Internet-based home phone services and landlines have their own blocking options; ask your provider.

Blocking can catch calls you want, such as a doctor's office. Call labeling ("Scam Likely") is a gentler option: calls still ring, but you see the warning.

Texts

• Turn on your phone's option to filter messages from unknown senders.
• Use the "report junk" or "report spam" option in your messaging app.
• Forward the text to 7726 (SPAM). The FTC says this helps your wireless provider spot and block similar messages.

Many unwanted texts and robocalls come from real companies you once gave your number to: a store, a dentist, a car dealer. For these, opting out works, and the law now makes it easier.

Under the FCC's 2024 consent order, enforceable since April 11, 2025, you can revoke consent to robocalls and robotexts by any reasonable means, replies such as "stop" are treated as reasonable, and callers must honor the request no later than 10 business days after receiving it. A company cannot insist you use only a specific form or phone line under the current rule.

These rules are still moving. The FCC delayed the part of the order that would make one opt-out apply to all of a caller's unrelated messages until January 31, 2027, and a draft order set for the FCC's September 30, 2026 meeting would let callers designate exclusive opt-out methods, such as reply keywords, and treat opt-outs from informational messages category by category. A reply of STOP to a marketing text remains the simplest, most reliable way to opt out.

Keep a screenshot of every STOP reply and the date. If messages keep coming more than 10 business days later, that record matters.

Reports help regulators and carriers find and block bad actors:

• FTC: report unwanted sales calls at DoNotCall.gov, and scams, especially if you lost money, at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
• FCC: file a consumer complaint at consumercomplaints.fcc.gov for illegal robocalls, spoofed caller ID, and texts.
• Your carrier: forward spam texts to 7726.
• Your state attorney general, which enforces state telemarketing laws.

Watch for neighbor spoofing, where scammers fake a local number that looks like yours. Calls using AI voice cloning are also covered: on February 8, 2024, the FCC declared that calls using AI-generated voices count as "artificial or prerecorded voice" calls under the TCPA, so they generally need prior consent.

Blocking protects you going forward. For calls you already got from an identifiable company, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (47 U.S.C. 227) may give you a claim.

Type of violation	Damages per violation
Prerecorded or autodialed call or text without consent	$500, up to $1,500 if willful
Calls to a Do Not Call number (2 or more in 12 months)	Up to $500, up to $1,500 if willful

Under 47 U.S.C. 227(b)(3), a person can recover actual losses or $500 for each violation, whichever is greater, and a court may triple that to $1,500 for willful or knowing violations. A Do Not Call claim under 227(c)(5) requires more than one call within 12 months from or for the same company.

Texts are usually treated like calls for the robocall rules, but courts now disagree on Do Not Call claims: on July 14, 2026, the Seventh Circuit held in Steidinger v. Blackstone Medical Services that text messages are not "telephone calls" under 227(c)(5), ending that claim for texts in Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin. Where you live can matter.

The strongest cases usually involve calls or texts that kept coming after you said STOP, prerecorded messages you never agreed to, or calls meant for someone else. Our lawsuit pages cover each pattern: robocall lawsuits, spam text lawsuits, wrong number robocalls, and texts sent before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. Our TCPA guide explains the law, and how much you can get from a TCPA lawsuit covers realistic payouts. Class settlements, like the Momentum Solar TCPA settlement, typically pay far less per person than the statutory figure.

1. Screenshots of your call log and texts, showing the number, date, and time. Do not delete them.
2. Voicemails, especially prerecorded ones; save the audio files.
3. Proof you opted out: STOP replies, emails, or notes from a call where you asked to be removed.
4. Your Do Not Call registration confirmation and date, which you can check at DoNotCall.gov.
5. The company's name, if the call or text identified it or you can find it from a link or callback.
6. Your phone bill or carrier records showing the number is yours, and whether it is a personal line.

Claims depend on identifying the company behind the calls, which is often the hard part with scam calls. If a real business keeps calling or texting after you opted out, or robocalled you without permission, a free case review can connect you with independent attorneys who handle TCPA claims.