Why Marketing Calls Are Getting Worse, Not Better

If it feels like your phone rings more than ever, you're not imagining it. Unwanted marketing and scam calls hit a six-year high in 2025, and the systems meant to protect you are quietly falling behind.

According to U.S. PIRG Education Fund research, monthly scam and telemarketing robocalls rose 20% year-over-year, jumping from 2.14 billion to 2.56 billion calls through September 2025. The problem is no longer occasional — Pew Research Center data shows 31% of U.S. adults now receive at least one scam call every single day, and 21% get several.

The financial damage is climbing just as fast. Average losses for scam call victims hit $3,690 in the first half of 2025, a 16% jump from the year before, per the same PIRG report. Scammers are also getting better at what they do: their success rate rose from 17% of targets in 2021 to 24% by mid-2024.

Federal law requires phone companies to implement STIR/SHAKEN caller ID authentication, but compliance is moving backward. As of September 2025, only 44% of U.S. phone companies had fully implemented the required robocall-fighting software — down from 47% in 2024 — and 2,909 of 9,242 companies haven't implemented it at all, according to PIRG's analysis of FCC data. The FCC shut down 1,203 non-compliant companies in August 2025 alone, but the gap remains.

As U.S. PIRG puts it: "Given that fewer companies are protecting us, it's no wonder unwanted robocalls have increased significantly nationwide."

With calls under growing scrutiny, fraudsters are migrating to less-regulated channels. PIRG's 2024 report found scam robotext volume has nearly tripled since 2021. Text scams cost victims an average of $1,452 in the first half of 2025 — less than calls, but far more frequent for many people.

The numbers tell a clear story:

• 2.56 billion monthly scam and telemarketing robocalls as of September 2025
• 57% of all robocalls are now scams or telemarketing, per YouMail
• 92% of Americans received spam calls in 2023, and 86% got spam texts
• Only 44% of phone companies fully meet federal robocall-fighting requirements

This flood doesn't just hit consumers. Businesses fielding inbound calls face the same noise — which is why services like CallMyLeads screen known spam numbers before they ever waste a team's time, and never bill for those blocked minutes. When regulators can't keep up, filtering has to happen closer to the phone.

Why the Do Not Call Registry Alone Won't Save You

Registering your number on the National Do Not Call Registry feels like a solid first step, and with 258.5 million active registrations as of September 30, 2025, millions of Americans agree. But the registry only stops calls from legitimate telemarketers who follow the law; scammers operate outside those rules and simply ignore the list. As the FTC states directly, scammers "don't care if you're on the National Do Not Call Registry. That's why your best defense against unwanted calls is call blocking."

This gap explains a puzzling trend: even though unwanted call complaints to the FTC are down approximately 48% since FY 2021, robocall volume actually reached a 6-year high of 2.56 billion monthly calls through September 2025. Complaints reflect what consumers choose to report, while call volume measures actual attempts — and many scam calls now go unreported because they’re blocked silently or mistaken for legitimate calls. Relying solely on the registry leaves you exposed to the very calls that are increasing in both volume and sophistication.

For businesses, the same principle applies: inbound spam and robocalls waste time and distort lead metrics. CallMyLeads screens known spam numbers before they connect to your team, and those blocked calls are never billed — only minutes spent handling genuine leads count. This approach mirrors the layered defense experts recommend: combine registry registration with active blocking at the carrier, device, and application levels to stop unwanted calls before they reach you.

The Layered Defense: Five Tactics That Actually Work

No single tool stops unwanted calls — the FTC itself says call blocking is your best defense, not the Do Not Call Registry alone. The good news: stacking five simple tactics creates a layered defense that stops the vast majority of marketing calls before your phone even rings.

1. Register at DoNotCall.gov. It's free, and with 258.5 million active registrations as of September 2025, most Americans have already done it, according to the FTC's latest Do Not Call data book. Just know the limits: it stops legitimate telemarketers, not scammers, who ignore the list entirely.

2. Turn on carrier and device-level blocking. Your phone company can block suspicious calls before they reach you, per the FCC's call blocking guidance. On your device, iPhone's "Silence Unknown Callers" and Google Pixel's "Call Screen" filter unknown numbers automatically — and with iPhones holding roughly 58% of the U.S. smartphone market, AI call screening is now standard for most U.S. smartphone users.

3. Add a third-party blocking app. Apps like Hiya, Nomorobo, and YouMail add another filter layer, and many use FTC complaint data to identify numbers worth blocking, per the FTC's FY 2024 data book.

4. Revoke consent aggressively — texts included. Scam robotexts have nearly tripled since 2021, U.S. PIRG reports. Under rules that took effect April 11, 2025, replying "STOP" must be honored within 10 days. You can revoke consent in any reasonable manner — "stop," "cancel," "unsubscribe" all work.

5. Report violations. File complaints with the FCC and FTC, which share data with law enforcement and call-blocking companies. Your report directly helps identify numbers to block nationwide.

One honest caveat: complaint data and call volume tell different stories. Complaints are down roughly 48% since FY 2021, yet robocalls hit a six-year high of 2.56 billion monthly in 2025. The filtering arms race is real on both sides.

That's why businesses face the mirror-image problem: if you run a company, aggressive consumer screening means your legitimate calls must be clean, and spam flooding your own lines wastes team time. Services like CallMyLeads screen known spam numbers before they ever reach your staff — and only minutes spent on real leads count, never screened robocalls.

• Register your number at DoNotCall.gov (free, permanent after 31 days)
• Enable your carrier's free blocking service plus device-level screening
• Reply "STOP" to unwanted texts — it's legally binding within 10 days
• Report violators to the FCC and FTC to improve blocking for everyone

Stack all five layers and marketing calls become rare — and the ones that slip through get filtered before they waste your time.

The Flip Side: Businesses Drowning in Spam Need Screening Too

Everything you've read so far applies to your personal phone. But if you run a business with an inbound line, you're on the other side of the flood — and it's hitting you twice. The same spam calls that annoy you at home eat up your team's day at work, and every minute someone spends talking to a robocall is a minute a real customer waits on hold.

The scale of the problem is hard to overstate. Monthly scam and telemarketing robocalls hit 2.56 billion through September 2025, up 20% year over year, and 57% of all robocalls are scam or telemarketing calls, according to U.S. PIRG's analysis of FCC data. With only 44% of U.S. phone companies fully implementing required robocall-fighting software, that noise isn't going away on its own.

For a small business, spam isn't just annoying — it's expensive. A missed call from a homeowner with a burst pipe or a patient trying to book a cleaning often means a lost job, because the lead that gets a reply first usually wins. Screening out junk before it reaches your team protects your response speed on the calls that actually matter.

That's the idea behind how we built CallMyLeads. Known spam numbers get screened before they ever waste your team's time, and here's the part that matters for your budget: screened spam and robocalls are never billed. You only pay for minutes actually spent handling real leads — never for hanging up on a scammer.

The flip side of screening is making sure your own business calls don't get caught in the net. AI call screening is now the standard gatekeeper for most Americans — iPhones represent about 58% of the U.S. smartphone market, and features like iOS 26's call screening automatically answer unknown callers and ask their purpose, per trade press coverage. If your outbound calls look suspicious, legitimate customers may never see them.

The FCC's guidance for legitimate callers boils down to a few basics:

• Use valid, accurate caller ID on every outgoing call
• Provide a consistent call-back number customers can trust
• Keep call frequency reasonable — don't hammer the same number
• Honor opt-out requests immediately, including for texts

Follow those practices and you stay on the right side of both your customers and the carriers. Screen the junk, answer the real leads fast, and your phone line becomes an asset instead of a liability. That's how you stop paying for leads you never get to talk to.

Your Action Plan: Stop the Noise Without Missing Real Leads

Tired of your phone ringing with offers you never asked for? You’re not alone — 31% of U.S. adults get at least one scam call daily, and robocall volume hit 2.56 billion monthly calls through September 2025, a 20% jump from the year before. U.S. PIRG data shows the problem is growing despite regulations, making a layered defense essential.

Start by registering your number on the National Do Not Call Registry at DoNotCall.gov or by calling 1-888-382-1222 — it’s free and stops most legal telemarketing calls, though it won’t block scammers who ignore the list. Next, enable call blocking at every level: turn on your carrier’s spam protection, activate device features like iPhone’s Silence Unknown Callers or Google’s Call Screen, and consider a trusted third-party app for extra filtering. The FTC explicitly states that call blocking is your best defense against unwanted calls, especially as AI-powered screening tools become standard on most smartphones. FTC guidance reinforces this approach as critical in today’s environment.

Revoking consent is just as vital — reply “STOP” to any unwanted text to instantly withdraw permission, and callers must honor it within 10 days under rules effective April 11, 2025. Report persistent violators to the FCC or FTC via their official complaint portals; this data helps enforcement agencies track and shut down illegal operations. FCC resources make reporting straightforward and impactful.

For businesses drowning in spam calls that waste time and obscure real leads, CallMyLeads screens known spam numbers before they reach your team — so you only pay for minutes handling genuine prospects. By connecting your lead sources to a spam-screened response system, real inquiries get answered in seconds, 24/7/365, ensuring you never miss a opportunity due to noise. Stop paying for leads you never get to talk to — book a free ~15-minute scoping call to see how CallMyLeads keeps your pipeline clean and your response time fast.