Nothing in a call list tells you which numbers ring a cell phone. Cell phone scrubbing software answers that before anyone dials. It checks each number's line type, looks for it on the National Do Not Call Registry and flags signs it changed hands. If your business calls or texts leads, I'd run cell phone scrubbing software before every campaign.
Key Takeaways
- Cell phone scrubbing software flags wireless, Do Not Call and reassigned numbers on a call list before anyone dials.
- FCC rules bar autodialed or prerecorded calls to cell numbers without the called person's prior express consent, outside emergencies.
- A Do Not Call scrub should use a copy of the national registry no more than 31 days old.
- Scrub again before each campaign, because numbers move from landlines to cell service and get reassigned.
- Wiping your own phone before you sell it is a different job for the phone's built-in erase.
What cell phone scrubbing software checks
Scrubbing runs every number through filters before it reaches a dialer. The cell phone part is the line type check, which tells a landline from a wireless number. A full scrub adds the national registry, your own list of people who asked you to stop calling, and disconnected or reassigned numbers.
What comes back is a cleaned list and a report of what was removed. Keep that report. The FCC's safe harbor for a Do Not Call mistake asks callers to keep records documenting their process.
Why cell numbers get their own check
Line type matters because of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. Under the FCC's rule, you can't use an autodialer or an artificial or prerecorded voice to call a number assigned to a cellular service, unless it's an emergency or the person gave prior express consent (FCC, 47 CFR 64.1200). For telemarketing, the bar is higher. Those calls need the person's prior express written consent.
The FCC also applies its Do Not Call rules to telemarketing calls and texts sent to wireless numbers, so a text campaign needs the same scrub. This is not legal advice, and a lawyer who knows your industry should set your consent rules.
The Do Not Call Registry check
Sales calls to a number on the National Do Not Call Registry are off limits. The FCC's safe harbor only covers a caller whose process uses a copy of the registry obtained no more than 31 days before the call, and the FTC's Telemarketing Sales Rule sets the same limit.
Access costs $85 per area code a year, the first five area codes are free, and the most anyone pays is $23,425 (FTC, 16 CFR 310.8). A list covering ten area codes costs 5 x $85 = $425, since five of the ten are free. The FTC also bars sharing that cost with other clients of the same telemarketer.
A person who asks you to stop calling stays on your own do-not-call list for five years, and sales calls to homes stay between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. their time.
Ported and reassigned numbers
Numbers move. A landline number can be ported to a cell carrier. The FCC gives a 15-day grace for a voice call to a number that just moved from wireline to wireless, but only if the caller didn't know it was wireless and the number isn't on a do-not-call list. Once a scrub flags it as a cell number, that grace no longer covers you.
Reassigned numbers are the other trap. Carriers report permanently disconnected numbers to the FCC's Reassigned Numbers Database every month, and a caller can check a number there before calling. My rule is to scrub the whole list again before every campaign, not once when you buy it.
What I'd look for in a scrubbing tool
The checks I'd want on the report before trusting a tool.
- A line type check, so a cell number without consent never reaches an autodialer.
- A Do Not Call check against a registry copy no more than 31 days old, with its download date on the report.
- Your own opt-out list folded in and kept for the five years the FCC asks.
- A reassigned number check, built in or through the FCC's database.
- A dated record of every scrub, since the safe harbor depends on it.
Ask each vendor which of these checks its price includes.
If you meant scrubbing your own phone
Some people mean wiping a phone before they sell it, which needs no extra software. On an iPhone, Apple's steps are Settings, General, Transfer or Reset iPhone, then Erase All Content and Settings, after you back up and sign out.
On Android, Google says a factory reset erases all your data, and most phones start it in the Settings app. Then check what your phone is worth.
Before You Dial
Scrub the list, keep the report, and scrub again before the next campaign. Get written consent before any autodialed or prerecorded sales call to a cell number. More tools are in Everyday Apps.
FAQs about cell phone scrubbing software
- What does it mean to scrub a phone list?
- Scrubbing a phone list means filtering every number against Do Not Call lists, line type and disconnect records before it goes into a dialer.
- Is it illegal to call cell phones for sales?
- Not by itself. Autodialed or prerecorded telemarketing calls to a cell number need prior express written consent, and the Do Not Call rules still apply.
- How often should I scrub my call list?
- The safe harbor needs a registry copy no more than 31 days old, so I'd scrub at least monthly and again before every campaign.
- Does the Do Not Call Registry cover cell phones?
- Yes. The FCC applies its Do Not Call rules to telemarketing calls and texts sent to wireless numbers, so a registered cell number is off limits for sales calls.
- Do text messages need scrubbing too?
- Yes. The FCC's Do Not Call rules cover telemarketing texts to wireless numbers, so a text list goes through the same scrub.
- What is the Reassigned Numbers Database?
- It's an FCC database of permanently disconnected numbers, reported by carriers each month, so a caller can check whether a number changed hands.
- Can scrubbing software wipe my own phone?
- No. List scrubbing tools clean call lists, not devices. To wipe a phone, use Erase All Content and Settings on an iPhone or a factory reset on Android.
