Spam Call and Text FAQ

No. Make Spammers Pay is not a law firm, and nobody here is your lawyer. We do not give legal advice, represent you, file documents for you or appear in court for you. For a flat fee, we help with research, organizing your records and logistics like printing and tracked mailing. You make every decision. For advice about your own situation, talk to a lawyer licensed in your state.

It is how most people start, and it costs nothing. You create an account (no card needed), sign the agreements and send us your phone data. Our AI goes through up to four years of it: it sets aside the people and businesses you know, groups the spam by company, checks every number against our database of traced companies and counts the calls and texts of each kind. In 5 to 10 business days your summary is in your account: how many senders, how many calls and texts of each kind, the amounts the law sets for those kinds of violations, and what has and has not been identified for each sender. Then you decide. Want the full report, every company by name, and the downloads? Choose a plan for a flat fee and pay in full or in up to 4 monthly payments at 0% interest. Want our research and logistics help with a company? Add it for a flat fee. Not for you? Nothing is owed. Why free? Every audit adds the senders it finds to our database of spam numbers traced to real companies. When one member identifies a caller, every member benefits the next time that number shows up. Your name, number and messages never go into it; only the senders do.

You are not required to have one. The TCPA lets people bring their own claims, and many of these claims are filed in small claims court, where people usually speak for themselves. A lawyer can advise you on your own situation, and some TCPA lawyers take cases for a share of what they recover. Make Spammers Pay is not a law firm, does not give legal advice and does not file anything for you. We help with research, organizing your evidence and logistics.

The TCPA allows up to $500 per violation for Do Not Call claims and $500 for prerecorded-voice calls, and a court can raise that to up to $1,500 per violation if it finds the violation was willful or knowing. Those are the amounts the law sets, not a prediction. What anyone actually recovers depends on the facts, whether the company can be identified and served, and whether it settles or a court rules in your favor. Many claims end with no money. Your summary shows the counts next to the amounts the law sets, and you decide what, if anything, to do.

Federal TCPA claims generally have a 4-year limit, counted separately for each call or text, and state rules differ. The catch is your phone: it quietly erases old records. An iPhone shows only about your last 100 calls and keeps older call history for a limited time, most Android phones keep only the last 500 calls, and deleted voicemails are usually gone for good. Texts from years ago can still matter, but only if you still have them. A full export of your phone saves everything as it is right now, even before you decide anything.

Yes. Our AI reads every call and text in your phone export and every screenshot or screen recording you send. It sets aside everyone you know, logs each sales call and text, and files it under the right company. Then our team checks the findings before they reach you. Nobody at Make Spammers Pay reads through your phone data or your personal messages: the AI does the reading, your personal contacts are set aside unopened, and the only thing a person looks at is the list of spam senders and the counts that come out of it. That is how we can go through years of records quickly and still get the details right. Your records are processed only for your service, and our AI provider does not use them to train its models.

Our AI reads it within minutes: the number, the date and time, what it says and the company it names. It logs each call or text in your account and files it under the right company, or starts a new file when it names a company you do not have one for yet. Short screen recordings work too. Our team double-checks every one, and you see it in your account.

No. Blocking a number lasts until they switch numbers. This goes back through up to four years of your calls and texts, traces the companies behind them and organizes your records for each one that can be identified. It takes weeks, sometimes months, and no result is guaranteed.

Yes, and we want you to know that up front. Your package is a flat fee for our service. Pursuing a claim has its own costs, which you pay directly if you get there: court filing fees, serving each company (a sheriff or process server), certified mail and postage for letters, and sometimes fees for records. They vary by state and court. Some companies settle before anything is filed. Many never answer, and some never pay. A court can sometimes add filing and service costs to a judgment, but that is not guaranteed. Plan for these costs from the start.

Only a court can decide whether you have a claim, but the general rules are public. The Do Not Call rule looks for two or more sales calls or texts from the same company within 12 months to a number that was on the Do Not Call Registry for more than 31 days, without your permission. Separate rules cover prerecorded or artificial-voice calls to a cell phone, calls before 8 AM or after 9 PM, sales calls that do not say who is calling, and contacts after you told a company to stop. Want to see which of these your answers touch on? Take the free 2-minute spam check, or book a free call with your questions. Take the free spam check

Yes. Book a free call by phone or Zoom at a time that works for you. The first call usually takes 15 to 30 minutes and there is no charge. We can explain how the service works, what your records show and the general rules, but we cannot give legal advice about your situation. Once you are a client, you can book a call any time you need one, as often as you need.

Go to donotcall.gov, choose Register a phone number, enter up to three numbers and your email, then click the link in the email they send within 72 hours. You can also call 1-888-382-1222 from the phone you want to register. It is free, it takes about two minutes, and it never expires. Step by step, with how to get your proof

For the Do Not Call Registry rule, yes: the number must be registered at least 31 days before the calls, and the rule looks for two or more calls or texts from the same company within 12 months. Separate rules cover prerecorded calls, calls before 8 AM or after 9 PM, and companies that keep contacting you after you tell them to stop, so those can matter even if you registered recently.

Not necessarily. Some rules do not depend on the Registry at all, and registering today protects you from here on: once your number has been on the list for 31 days, new sales calls and texts are covered too. Signing up takes about two minutes, and saving every message that comes in keeps your record complete. How to sign up

At donotcall.gov, choose Verify a registration and enter your number and email. The FTC emails you a confirmation that shows the date your number was registered. Save that email; it is your record of the date.

Courts do not all agree. The Ninth Circuit, which covers California, has long treated a text as a call under the TCPA, and California federal courts have applied that to Do Not Call Registry claims. In 2026 the Seventh Circuit (Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin) ruled that texts do not count for Registry claims. Your report lists recent rulings we know of for your state, as general information.

Political calls, charities, surveys, debt collectors and purely informational calls are not covered by the Registry, though other rules, like the ones on prerecorded calls, can still apply. A company you have done business with can call for a while after (generally up to 18 months after your last purchase or payment, or 3 months after you asked about something), unless you tell them to stop. Once you tell a company to stop, the rules require it to honor that request.

Often, yes, and lots of people are in the same spot. The Do Not Call Registry protects residential, meaning personal, phone numbers. Courts often look at how a number is listed and used, and many have treated a cell phone on the Registry as personal even when it is also used for some work. A company can argue your number is really a business line, and courts do not all agree, so it comes down to the facts. The rule on prerecorded or artificial-voice calls to a cell phone does not depend on whether the number is personal. Your account asks how your number is used and listed, so the facts are in one place.

Courts look at the whole picture: how you present the number to the public (business cards, websites, ads, listings), whether the phone account and plan are personal or business, who pays the bill, and how much of your calling is for work. A personal phone you pay for, on a personal plan, mostly used for personal calls, is the clearest situation. Your account asks these questions so the facts are in one place.

Yes. Do the same search a company would. Google your number in quotes, written a few ways, like "949-555-1234", "(949) 555-1234" and "9495551234". Then check anywhere you might have posted it: your website, Google Business, Yelp, Facebook, LinkedIn, Craigslist, old ads or flyers. If nothing comes up, your number does not appear to be advertised for business. If something does come up, note exactly where it is and how it is listed, and add that to your account so the facts are in one place.

Not necessarily. How it is listed matters. A cell number shown as a personal direct line next to a main office number looks different from a number advertised as the main business line in ads and listings. Add where it appears, and since when, to your account. The rule on prerecorded or artificial-voice calls to a cell phone does not depend on whether the number is personal.

Changing or deleting listings to make things look different can backfire: companies can see old versions of web pages, and it can hurt your credibility. What counts is how the number was used when the calls came in. Going forward, keeping your cell number private is your choice; just note what was listed and when.

It can. A phone that a business pays for or that is on a business plan is much harder to call personal for a Registry claim. The rule on prerecorded or artificial-voice calls to a cell phone does not depend on whether the number is personal. Add the details to your account so the facts are in one place.

It is very common, and it does not automatically rule anything out. It comes down to the same things: how the number is shown to the public, whose name the account is in, who pays, and how much is work. Do the search above and answer the questions about your phone in your account so the facts are in one place.

Many people take a screenshot that shows the number, the date and time and the message, and send it to their account. It is safest not to tap links in spam texts or call unknown numbers back. Letting unknown calls go to call screening or voicemail keeps a record. Your account has general information on each option, including an example STOP reply you can change. What you do is up to you.

That is your choice. Keep in mind that a call your phone or carrier blocks may leave no record on your phone, so you may not have it later. Many carriers offer a send-to-voicemail setting instead of a block, which keeps a record. Our phone app is another option: it keeps known spam from ringing your phone.

Yes, and it is free with your account (Android now; the iPhone version is in testing). Send screenshots, voicemails and call details to your account in a few taps. The app also checks incoming calls against our shared spam list, keeps known spam from ringing your phone and quiets alerts for texts from known spam numbers. Every number our members confirm as spam goes on that list, so each report helps silence that number for everyone who uses the app.

Maybe not. Carriers keep some records of calls and texts, sometimes including ones you deleted or your phone blocked, often for a year or more depending on the carrier. Federal TCPA claims generally have a 4-year limit. From now on, keeping everything gives you the most complete record.

That is most people. Spammers rotate phone numbers and use fake names. Tracing numbers, websites and message scripts back to a real registered business is a big part of the report. Some senders cannot be traced yet, and we tell you that plainly.

Maybe. We keep a database of spam numbers traced to the companies behind them. With the Evidence Report and Report + Coaching, every number in your data is checked against it first. If a number matches a company identified before, you get that company's contact file: legal name, state registration, registered agent, and the addresses, phone numbers, emails and websites on file. That can save weeks. You never receive another client's name, messages or personal details.

We keep a growing library of TCPA court decisions: about 480 case summaries, about 300 of them read from the court's own opinion or docket, and about 660 source documents, covering which theories courts have accepted, which defenses companies raise and what got cases dismissed. With the Evidence Report and Report + Coaching, your report lists rulings that may relate to facts like yours, as general information. It is research, not legal advice, and only a court can decide how the law applies to you.

You upload your records to your own private account on our site, or share a folder link if the files are too big. Files are stored privately, and only you and our team can open them. Your records are used only to provide your service, never sold or shared, and kept in your account so everything is there if you come back with new calls. We delete them if you ask in writing. The only thing we keep is information about the spammers themselves (their numbers, names, websites and company details) so we can identify them faster next time.

Generally, a settlement covers what its release says, which is often the calls and texts that came before it. New contacts after a settlement can be a separate matter. Read any release carefully before you sign; a lawyer can review the wording and advise you. If they contact you again after you settle, keep saving everything and add it to your account.

An AI assistant is a tool, and it is only as good as what you put in front of it. The toolkit is a ready-to-install skill that lays out our method for your own AI assistant step by step, plus hundreds of TCPA court decisions and research files to load alongside it. It can help you sort your records, count calls and texts by company, and draft your own letters and forms. It is not a lawyer and does not give legal advice: check everything it produces, and you decide, sign and send everything yourself. The toolkit comes with every package, along with the Playbook and our TCPA Law Library, and you can download the newest versions from your account any time. Research on your own records is part of the Evidence Report and above.

For busy owners and executives who want help with the legwork. For a flat $999 we handle the research, organizing and logistics for one company: your Evidence Report, tracing the company, an exhibit binder of your records, a calendar of suggested dates that you confirm, tracked mailing of letters you complete, approve and sign, process server coordination, and links to your court's own self-help center, with regular updates. You make every decision, prepare, sign and file your own documents, keep your court's deadlines and appear at your own hearing. Printing and mailing are billed at cost plus a small handling fee, and you can see every expense and your balance in your account. Additional companies start at $599 each.

Most people start free: you create your account, no card needed, and nothing is charged. We review your data and show you a summary of what we found, the amounts the law sets for those kinds of violations, and exactly what has and has not been identified. Then you choose a plan and pay its flat fee in full or in up to 4 monthly payments at 0% interest, and everything opens. You can also buy a package up front. Cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay go through Stripe; we never see or store your card number. Once your account is open, that is where you download your materials, fill out your information, sign your agreements, upload your records, message our team and book calls.

If you start with the free review, nothing is charged until you choose a plan, and you can walk away after the summary with nothing owed. Once you choose a plan: The Playbook and the Evidence Report cannot be returned once delivered, so they are not refundable after delivery. Coaching and Concierge come with a satisfaction promise: if you are not happy with the support, ask for the coaching portion ($400) back before your 90 days end, or the concierge portion ($702) back before your case closes. Concierge also refunds $702 if no company can be named and served.

Log in and tap Help at the top of your account. It covers how your account works, how to send evidence, what to do when a new call or text comes in, the exports for your exact phone and carrier, and costs. You can also message us from your account or book a call any time.

Yes. Our founder has settled with multiple companies over spam calls and texts. Settlement releases almost always include a confidentiality clause, so we cannot share company names, amounts or even how many. His results are not typical: every situation is different, many claims end with no money, and past results do not guarantee anything for you.

Make Spammers Pay was started by a Los Angeles business owner who got buried in the same spam calls and texts you do. He built a system to document every contact and hold the companies to the rules, and we turned that system into this service.