The number of reports by people in the United States getting unwanted calls dropped for the third straight year, according to data released Friday by the Federal Trade Commission. File Photo by Joshua Woroniecki/Pixabay

Data released Friday shows Americans reported 1.1 million illegal robocalls last year, down from 1.2 million the year before and 3.4 million in 2021.

The registry allows Americans to add their information to a list, prohibiting them from being contacted by telemarketers.

All robocalls are considered illegal by the FTC unless the person being called has given written permission to be contacted.

The FTC this year instituted new laws banning calls that impersonate government personnel or businesses.

In the last year, more than 4.2 million people in the United States joined the FTC’s Do Not Call registry.

The DNC currently has over 253 million phone numbers.

New Hampshire has the most people registered on the DNC.

Delaware, Ohio, Arizona, Illinois, and North Carolina are the states with the most consumer complaints about spam calls, according to the FTC data.

The FTC registry was first created in 2003, while the agency has been releasing its annual data book for the past 16 years.

Last year, the agency announced Operation Stop Spam Calls in an effort to reduce the number of unwanted correspondence, many of which were deemed to be scams.

“Illegal calls remain a scourge, but the FTC’s strategy to pursue upstream players and equip the agency to confront emerging threats is showing clear signs of success,” FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection Director Sam Levine said in the agency’s release Friday.

“In the years to come, it will be critical we continue this progress by confronting not only telemarketers but those firms who knowingly profit from scam calls.”