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Future Tech Series

Answering an unwanted sales text

A reply you can copy, the law it rests on, and an honest word about when replying is the wrong move.

The background

A sales pitch that arrives on your cell phone out of the blue is not just a nuisance. In the United States it is regulated, and often prohibited outright. Three rules do the work.

  • The Telephone Consumer Protection Act. 47 U.S.C. §227. Marketing texts sent to a wireless number generally require your prior express written consent. You have to have agreed, in writing, to receive them — and a company you once bought something from has not automatically got that.
  • The FCC’s rules. 47 C.F.R. §64.1200. These carry the Act into practice. They also require any company marketing by phone or text to keep its own internal do-not-call list, to honour a request to be put on it, and to hand over its written do-not-call policy if you ask for it.
  • The National Do Not Call Registry. donotcall.gov. Registering is free and does not expire. It will not stop a scammer, who is ignoring the law anyway — but it strengthens your position considerably against a real company.

The reply below does not create any of these rights. You already have them. What it does is put the sender on notice, in their own records, that you know the rules and are keeping track. For a legitimate business that is usually enough. For a scam operation nothing you write will help, so the point stops being persuasion and becomes documentation.

The reply

Copy this and send it back as your reply.

STOP. Do not contact this number again.

This is an unsolicited commercial solicitation sent to a wireless number without prior express written consent, in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (47 U.S.C. §227) and FCC regulations at 47 C.F.R. §64.1200. This number is also registered on the National Do Not Call Registry.

Under FCC rules you are also required to maintain an internal do-not-call list and honor opt-out requests. Consider this a formal request to remove this number and to provide your written DNC policy upon demand.

Further messages will be reported to the FCC (fcc.gov/complaints), the FTC (donotcall.gov), and the state attorney general.

Print it instead

Check one thing first Only keep the Do Not Call Registry sentence if your number really is on the registry. If you are not sure, checking or registering takes about a minute at donotcall.gov. A reply that overstates your own facts is a weaker reply.

How to use it

  1. Screenshot it before you reply

    Capture the message with the sender’s number and the timestamp visible. If this ever becomes a complaint, that screenshot is your evidence — and it disappears the moment you delete the thread.

  2. Decide whether to reply at all

    Replying tells the sender that a real person is on the other end, which can mean more messages from a bad actor rather than fewer. Plenty of people skip the reply, file the complaint, and block. That is a perfectly good choice.

  3. If you do reply, “STOP” is doing most of the work

    Legitimate senders are required to honour it, and it is the one word every automated system recognises. The paragraphs after it are there to show you know the rules, and to build your record if the messages keep coming.

  4. Report it

    File at fcc.gov/complaints and donotcall.gov. If it looks like an outright scam rather than sloppy marketing, use reportfraud.ftc.gov instead. Complaints are how regulators spot a pattern — yours is not shouting into a void.

  5. Block the number

    On an iPhone, tap the number at the top of the thread, then Info, then Block this Caller. On Android Messages, press and hold the conversation, then Block. Keep the thread itself until you are sure the messages have stopped.

One honest caveat Whether a particular text actually breaks the law depends on details you cannot see from your phone — whether an autodialer was used, whether you gave consent somewhere along the way, whether your number is on the registry. The reply above asserts a position; it does not state a settled fact about that specific message. It is written to be accurate about the law in general and firm about your request. This page is general information, not legal advice.