Does the Do Not Call Registry stop scam calls?

What the registry does

The National Do Not Call Registry is a free list run by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Companies that make sales calls have to check it and skip the numbers on it.

It covers home phones and cell phones. It applies to sales calls from a live person and to recorded sales messages. Your number stays on the list for good. It only comes off if the number is disconnected and given to someone else, or if you ask.

The FTC is clear that the registry is not a call blocker. It can't stop your phone from ringing. It only tells law-abiding companies not to dial you.

Why scam calls keep coming

The FTC puts it plainly: scammers don't care if you're on the registry.

Scammers can also make any name or number show up on your caller ID. This is called spoofing. A call that looks local, or looks like it's from a government office, could be coming from anywhere in the world.

The FTC adds that if a company you've never dealt with makes a live sales call to a number on the registry, it's probably a scam.

Recorded sales calls, called robocalls, are illegal without your written permission whether or not you're on the registry.

Calls the registry still allows

Some calls can still reach you legally, even when you're on the list.

Political calls, calls from charities, debt collectors, surveys and purely informational calls can still come through. None of them are allowed to include a sales pitch.

Companies you've recently done business with, or that have your written permission, can also call. If you ask one of them to stop, it must.

How to sign up

Signing up is free and takes a few minutes.

• Go to DoNotCall.gov, or call 1-888-382-1222 from the phone you want to add. The TTY number is 1-866-290-4236.
• If you sign up online, you'll get an email with a link. Click it within 72 hours to finish.
• Your number should show up on the list the next day. Sales calls can take up to 31 days to stop.

What actually helps with scam calls

For the calls the registry can't stop, the FTC suggests call-blocking and call-labeling services. Your phone, your phone company and apps all offer them, and some are free.

If you don't know the number, you don't have to answer. The North Carolina Attorney General's advice is simply: don't pick up. Someone with a real reason to reach you can leave a message.

If you do pick up a robocall, just hang up. Don't press 1 or any other number, even to be taken off a list. The FTC says pressing a number will probably only lead to more robocalls. The North Carolina Attorney General also says not to press anything and just hang up.

Report calls that break the rules at DoNotCall.gov. If you lost money, report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. In North Carolina, you can also call the Attorney General's robocall hotline at 1-844-8-NO-ROBO.

How Nexus handles it

Keep your number on the registry. It handles the honest sellers. Nexus is for the callers who ignore it.

Numbers on the spam list are refused, and most callers you don't know are asked who they are before your phone rings. An automated assistant asks who's calling and why, and callers are told the call is being screened and may be transcribed. Anthropic's Claude reads what the caller says to decide what to do.

Real callers are put through, or leave a voicemail that's turned into text you can read. Calls with no caller ID are refused. People in your contacts always ring and are never blocked.

Nexus works on Android and iPhone. You keep your own phone number and phone company. More about how it works is on the About page.

Nexus is invite-only. The price is on the wait list page, and you can cancel yourself any time.

Common questions

Sources

• FTC: National Do Not Call Registry FAQs
• FTC: Phone Scams
• FTC: Robocalls
• FTC: How To Block Unwanted Calls
• NC Department of Justice: Fighting Robocalls