Every time your phone rings, there's a decent chance it's a telemarketer calling. How do telemarketers get your phone number, and what can you do about it?
Here’s How Telemarketers Keep Getting Your Number
Updated on Jul. 28, 2025
How do they even get your phone number?
Most telemarketers purchase phone numbers from third-party data providers. Here’s how those providers may have gotten your number, according to the Better Business Bureau:
- You called an 800, 888 and/or 900 number (they use Caller ID technology and collect phone numbers).
- You applied for credit.
- You contribute to charities.
- You’re a registered voter.
- You bought anything, or entered any contest, and gave your phone number in the process.
- Your phone number is on your checks.
- You call a business, and they have Caller ID (which you should assume they do).
Essentially anyone with a phone number can get telemarketing calls
Virtually anyone with a phone number can end up on telemarketer call lists. This is because robocallers aren’t even humans; they’re machines programmed to dial random phone numbers—even unlisted phone numbers. Although robocalling is an illegal form of telemarketing, scofflaws will scoff at laws (until they get caught, which we’re happy to tell you does happen), and robocalling isn’t illegal by political candidates and charities. There are some strategies to stop spam calls for good, but it takes some work to go through the process.
Telephone scams
“Every year, thousands of people lose money to telephone scams—from a few dollars to their life savings,” reports the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) Consumer Information page regarding phone scams. Scammers resort to whatever it takes to enlist your trust, from calling you by your name, to making small talk, to asking about your kids. They may claim to be a representative of a utility (such as the phone company or electric company), or they may claim to have information about a consumer product you use.
Yes, even you could be targeted
“Everyone’s a potential target,” the FTC advises. “Fraud isn’t limited to race, ethnic background, gender, age, education or income.” That said, some scams target certain groups, such as the elderly, but even Gen Z and millennials are susceptible to phone scams. Falling for these scams not only puts your finances at risk, but it also increases the likelihood you’ll keep getting harassed by telemarketers.
Start with registering for the Do Not Call List
Since the FTC opened the Do Not Call List, more than 200 million phone numbers have been registered. Unfortunately, registering can only stop sales calls. The following calls are still allowed:
- Political calls
- Charitable calls
- Debt collection calls
- Informational calls
- Telephone survey calls
Plus, if you’ve given a company written permission to call you (which you may have done inadvertently), being on the Do Not Call List doesn’t help (until you rescind that permission). In addition, as we said above, laws do get broken, and of course con artists are extremely good at earning people’s trust.
How to spot a call from a telemarketer
The good news about telemarketing calls is that there are lots of ways to figure out they’re telemarketing calls even before you pick up the phone. Here are some common warning signs:
- You don’t recognize the number.
- The phone number has the same first six digits as your own ten-digit phone number.
- Your Caller ID registers it as SPAM.
- Your Caller ID identifies it as a call from a city where you recently purchased a plane ticket or reserved a hotel room online.
If you decide to answer the phone
If you opt to take the call even when you don’t recognize the phone number, count silently to five before saying hello. If it’s someone you know, they’ll likely say “Hello?” If you recognize the voice, you can reply. Robocallers, on the other hand, will disconnect at the silence. If it’s a human telemarketer, there will often be a second or two of lag time before the person on the other end begins speaking.
Signs that the call you just answered is a telemarketer
Telemarketers tend not to be keen to announce themselves as such. But if you say hello and the person on the other end of the phone pronounces your name wrong or calls you by the wrong title (Mr. instead of Ms., for example), that’s a sign you’re talking to a telemarketer. Even worse is if the person on the other end asks for your personal information. If this happens, then you should assume it’s not only a telemarketer, but one who is not within the bounds of the law.
Uh oh, it’s a telemarketer. Now what?
If you do find yourself on the phone with a telemarketer, here’s what you can do to minimize the damage—which can include further harassment and getting embroiled in a telemarketing scam.
- Hang up.
- Say you’re not interested in their services.
- Simply say “Sorry” and hang up.
The point is to say as little as possible, and to never say the word “yes.” You want to get off the phone as quickly as you can, without having given away any personal information.
Other things you should never do on a call with a stranger
- Confirm the pronunciation or spelling of your name.
- Give out your address.
- Share a credit card number.
- Give any part of your social security number.
- Try to enlist the person on the other end of the phone to put you on any Do Not Call List.
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Sources:
- Better Business Bureau: “BBB Tip: How to spot and stop robocall”
- FTC: “What to do if you get a robocall”
- FTC: “National Do Not Call Registry FAQs”
- FTC: Phone Scams
