New Law In NY Makes Opting Out Of Telemarketing Calls Easier

NEW YORK STATE — Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a bill into law today that will force telemarketers to be more transparent about their do-not-call lists.

The new law requires telemarketers to be up-front about their no-calling lists — they must tell people about them at the beginning of the call.

"We are dialing up our efforts to give New Yorkers a break from unsolicited telemarketing calls," Hochul said. "For too long, New Yorkers have dealt with these nuisance calls, not knowing they can avoid these interactions by being added to a telemarketer's do-not-call list. This new legislation will protect New Yorkers from receiving frustrating, unwanted calls by better providing information on do-not-call lists."

Under current law, telemarketers have to tell people that they can be added to a do-not-call list, but usually wait until late in the call to do so — after most people have already hung up. The new law makes it so that telemarketers will have to inform people about the do-not-call list right after they give their name and where they're calling from.

Hochul said that by giving information about the do-not-call list up front, more New Yorkers can take advantage of it and save themselves from annoying calls.

In addition to always calling at the seemingly worst time, many telemarketer calls can be costly scams. According to New York Attorney General Letitia James, scam telemarketing calls lose consumers $40 billion a year.

The most common telemarketing scams, according to the National Fraud Information Center, are:

• prizes/sweepstakes
• advance fee loans
• work-at-home schemes
• per-per-call services
• slamming
• magazine sales
• credit card offers
• lotteries
• business opportunities/franchises
• travel/vacations

It's important to remember to never give out personal information, like Social Security and bank account numbers, to telemarketers. If you think you've received a scam telemarketing call, or think you have been the victim of one, you can call the Attorney General's consumer hotline at (800) 771-7755.

The new law takes effect in March 2023.