The Short Version
ScamVerify™ ingests the complete FTC Do Not Call complaint database, updated hourly. At 3,518,462 complaints across 1,403,348 unique phone numbers, it is one of the largest public analyses of phone scam infrastructure in the United States.
The data reveals systemic patterns that should concern anyone who answers a phone: organized scam rings buying sequential blocks of phone numbers, automated robocall operations running for over a year without enforcement, and a staggering gap between regulatory fines and actual collections.
Here is what we found.
The Dataset
| Source | Records |
|---|---|
| FTC Do Not Call complaints | 3,518,462 |
| Unique phone numbers with complaints | 1,403,348 |
| FCC consumer complaints | 444,176 |
| URLhaus malicious domains | 71,669 |
| ThreatFox threat indicators | 55,088 |
All FTC data is synced hourly via automated ingestion from the FTC's public API. The analysis below uses the full dataset as of March 11, 2026.
Finding #1: 433 Organized Scam Rings
We define a "scam ring" as 3 or more phone numbers sharing the same first 7 digits of their 10-digit number (e.g., all numbers starting with 833-4872) with a combined 50+ complaints. This identifies operations that purchase sequential blocks of numbers from carriers and rotate through them to evade per-number blocking.
The query found 433 distinct scam rings.
The 10 Largest
| Prefix | Numbers | Combined Complaints | Robocall % | Primary Scam |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 833-487 | 138 | 8,725 | 92% | Debt reduction |
| 855-909 | 36 | 4,083 | 86% | Debt reduction |
| 866-959 | 22 | 3,595 | 88% | Debt reduction |
| 833-588 | 31 | 3,472 | 87% | Debt reduction |
| 315-208 | 45 | 2,030 | 79% | Mixed |
| 877-200 | 8 | 2,729 | 97% | Debt reduction |
| 877-419 | 6 | 2,124 | 96% | Debt reduction |
| 877-867 | 5 | 1,556 | 82% | Debt reduction |
| 877-556 | 4 | 926 | 99% | Debt reduction |
| 866-959-0 | 9 | 2,374 | 91% | Debt reduction |
Nine of the ten largest scam rings are debt reduction operations. This is not coincidence. Debt reduction is the dominant phone scam category, accounting for 652,985 complaints (18.6% of all complaints) with an 87.1% robocall rate.
How Number Block Rotation Works
Scam operations purchase sequential blocks of toll-free numbers from VoIP carriers. When one number accumulates enough complaints to get flagged by carrier-level spam filters, they rotate to the next number in the block. The 833-487 ring, for example, has burned through 138 numbers while running what appears to be the same debt reduction pitch.
This is trivial to detect algorithmically. Group numbers by prefix, count the cluster size and complaint volume. The fact that 433 such clusters exist with zero enforcement action suggests nobody is running this query.
The Fastest Growing Ring
The 315-208 prefix (Syracuse, NY area code) accumulated 2,030 complaints across 45 numbers in approximately 90 days. All 45 numbers appeared in the dataset within the last quarter. This is a ring in active expansion. By the time you read this, it likely has more numbers.
Finding #2: 420 Confirmed Pure Robocallers
We identified 420 phone numbers where 100% of complaints flagged the call as automated (robocall), with 20+ complaints each. Every single person who reported these numbers said it was a robot, not a human.
These are not marginal cases. These are confirmed automated scam infrastructure. None have been shut down.
Top Confirmed Robocall Numbers
| Number | Complaints | Robocall % | Days Active | Scam Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (877) 200-2515 | 2,729 | 97% | 400+ | Debt reduction |
| (877) 419-6664 | 2,124 | 96% | 73 | Debt reduction |
| (877) 867-5139 | 1,556 | 82% | 340 | Debt reduction |
| (866) 959-0957 | 1,164 | 100% | 33 | Debt reduction |
The fastest accumulating number, (866) 959-0957, averaged 35 complaints per day over its 33-day observation window. At that rate, it generated a new FTC complaint approximately every 41 minutes.
Finding #3: The Enforcement Gap
The FCC has a well-documented record of imposing fines without collecting them. The agency has fined robocallers over $208 million but collected only $6,790, a collection rate of 0.003%.
Our data shows what this looks like on the ground:
The longest-running scam number in our database: (877) 556-9255, active for 551 days (over 18 months), with 926 complaints, a 99% robocall rate, and it is still accumulating complaints. No enforcement action has been taken.
The most-complained number: (877) 200-2515, with 2,729 complaints. That is 2,729 individual people who took the time to file a formal FTC complaint about this number. It remains active.
For context, the FTC's own guidance tells consumers to "file a complaint" as the recommended action against unwanted calls. Thousands of people did exactly that. The numbers are still calling.
The Category Breakdown
| Rank | Category | Complaints | Robocall % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Debt reduction | 652,985 | 87.1% |
| 2 | Dropped call / no message | 391,283 | 57.0% |
| 3 | Government/business impersonation | 329,181 | 63.6% |
| 4 | Medical & prescriptions | 305,642 | 62.8% |
| 5 | Energy, solar, utilities | 42,843 | 49.5% |
| 6 | Home improvement | 41,359 | 38.5% |
| 7 | Warranties & protection plans | 32,768 | 48.0% |
| 8 | Vacation & timeshares | 19,065 | 22.7% |
| 9 | Computer & tech support | 18,215 | 56.0% |
| 10 | Lotteries & prizes | 16,538 | 36.8% |
Debt reduction scams outnumber the #2 category by 1.7x. The 87.1% robocall rate means nearly 9 in 10 debt reduction calls are automated. This is industrial-scale fraud.
Government impersonation is surging. Monthly complaint volume grew 51% from January 2025 (17,000) to August 2025 (26,614). February 2026 saw 21,486 impersonation complaints, correlating with tax season when IRS impersonation peaks.
"Dropped call / no message" (391,283 complaints) represents probe calls: automated systems dialing numbers to confirm they are active before selling the verified list to scam operators. The 57% robocall rate confirms these are largely automated.
Geographic Patterns
Complaint Volume by State (Top 10)
| State | Complaints | Robocall % |
|---|---|---|
| California | 321,735 | 61.4% |
| Florida | 304,024 | 62.8% |
| Texas | 291,135 | 62.7% |
| New York | 179,003 | 64.8% |
| Illinois | 158,670 | 65.8% |
| Ohio | 149,765 | 54.9% |
| North Carolina | 135,685 | 64.2% |
| Pennsylvania | 134,843 | 63.9% |
| Georgia | 134,451 | 67.7% |
| Michigan | 127,639 | 64.9% |
Georgia has the highest robocall percentage among the top 10 states at 67.7%. Ohio has the lowest at 54.9%, suggesting a higher proportion of live-caller scams in that region.
The VoIP Factor
FCC complaint data breaks down by call method:
| Method | Share | Complaints |
|---|---|---|
| Wireless (cell phone) | 56.5% | 250,959 |
| Wired (landline) | 24.7% | 109,515 |
| VoIP | 18.7% | 82,909 |
VoIP accounts for 18.7% of complaints but is disproportionately used by scam operations because the numbers are cheap (~$1/month), disposable, and can be provisioned in bulk via API. The 433 scam rings identified above almost certainly operate on VoIP infrastructure.
Methodology
Data source: FTC Do Not Call Registry complaints, synced hourly via the FTC's public Consumer Sentinel API. Each record includes the reported phone number, complaint date, subject category, robocall flag, and reporter's state.
Scam ring detection: GROUP BY on the first 7 digits of each phone number, filtered to clusters with 3+ numbers and 50+ combined complaints. This is a conservative threshold; lowering it to 2 numbers or 25 complaints would yield significantly more rings.
Robocall confirmation: The FTC complaint form asks reporters whether the call was a recorded message (robocall) or a live person. "100% robocall" means every reporter for that number flagged it as automated.
Limitations: This data only captures complaints filed with the FTC. Actual scam call volume is estimated to be orders of magnitude higher, as most recipients do not file complaints. The data also skews toward people who know how to file FTC complaints, likely underrepresenting elderly and non-English-speaking populations who are disproportionately targeted.
What This Data Suggests
The phone scam ecosystem in the United States is not a collection of independent bad actors. It is organized infrastructure: sequential number blocks, automated dialing at scale, and category specialization (overwhelmingly debt reduction). The technology to detect these patterns is straightforward. The data to do it is public. The detection is not happening at the enforcement level.
The FCC has proposed rules around STIR/SHAKEN (caller ID authentication) and has threatened to disconnect non-compliant carriers. Some of those actions have resulted in carriers being barred. But the 433 scam rings identified in this analysis are still operational, still accumulating complaints, and still reaching consumers who have registered on the Do Not Call list.
Filing an FTC complaint remains the official guidance. But this data raises a fair question about what happens after the complaint is filed.
Check Any Number
You can look up any U.S. phone number against our full FTC/FCC database at scamverify.ai/phone-lookup. The lookup is free and checks the number against 3.5M+ FTC complaints, 444K FCC complaints, carrier data, and robocall detection databases.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where does this data come from?
All complaint data comes from the FTC's public Do Not Call Registry API and the FCC's Consumer Complaint database (via Socrata API). ScamVerify syncs the FTC data hourly and the FCC data daily. The raw data is public; the analysis, scam ring detection, and cross-referencing are original.
How do you detect scam rings?
By grouping phone numbers that share the same 7-digit prefix and filtering for clusters with 3+ numbers and 50+ combined complaints. Scam operations buy sequential blocks of numbers from VoIP carriers, so numbers in the same operation share a prefix. This is a known pattern in telecom fraud analysis.
Why hasn't the FCC shut these down?
The FCC has taken some enforcement actions, including barring carriers that facilitate robocalls and proposing fines. However, the agency has historically struggled with fine collection ($208M fined vs. $6,790 collected as of the last public accounting). Many scam operations use carriers outside FCC jurisdiction or rotate to new carriers when enforcement catches up.
Can I check if my number has been used in a scam ring?
Yes. Enter any U.S. phone number at scamverify.ai/phone-lookup to see its full complaint history, robocall percentage, scam category, and whether it belongs to a known number block pattern.
How current is this data?
The FTC database syncs hourly. The analysis in this article reflects data as of March 11, 2026. The scam ring counts and complaint numbers increase daily as new complaints are filed.
