Prerecorded calls meant for someone else

The recording says "This message is for Jennifer." You aren't Jennifer, you don't know a Jennifer, and it keeps calling. Here is why that happens, and why it can matter legally.

How you end up with someone else's calls

Sometimes a company's call is meant for another person and reaches you instead. Sometimes a customer typed the wrong digits on a form. More often, the number used to belong to somebody else. Phone companies recycle numbers, and tens of millions are disconnected and reassigned every year. The company still has the old customer's file with your number in it, and its system keeps calling.

The most common version involves a reassigned number: the number used to belong to the person the company is trying to reach, and now it belongs to you.

Why a name-brand business keeps calling you

The calls usually come from ordinary businesses doing ordinary things: a bank or card issuer chasing a late payment, a collection agency, a pharmacy with a refill reminder, a medical office, a utility, an insurer, a car lender. Their dialing systems work through lists of account phone numbers, and nobody at the company checks whether the person on the account still has that number.

That's why these calls often sound polite and official, and why they often use the other person's full name. It's also why they can be traced. Unlike anonymous scam calls, a message saying "Please call XYZ Bank about your account" points straight at the company that sent it. That's exactly what we need. If you can tell us who's calling, we might be able to get you paid.

Why the recorded voice matters

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) makes it unlawful, with limited exceptions, to call a cell phone using an artificial or prerecorded voice without the prior express consent of the person called. Different, narrower rules apply to home landlines. The FCC has confirmed that voices created with AI count as artificial voices, so an AI agent that asks for someone else is treated like a recording that asks for someone else. More on AI voice calls

Since the Supreme Court's 2021 decision in Facebook v. Duguid narrowed what counts as an "autodialer," the prerecorded and artificial voice part of the law has become the clearer path in many cases. So the first question we'll ask is simple: was it a recording, or a live person?

Why "somebody else" matters

A company may argue that its customer gave consent to be called. But that customer isn't you. Several federal appeals courts have held that the consent that counts is the consent of the current subscriber or user of the phone, not the person the caller meant to reach (for example, Soppet v. Enhanced Recovery Co., 7th Cir. 2012, and Osorio v. State Farm Bank, 11th Cir. 2014). If you never gave the company your number, it may have no consent from you at all.

The FCC runs a Reassigned Numbers Database so callers can check whether a number has changed hands. Companies that use it properly get some protection. Companies that don't, and keep calling after being told they have the wrong person, are in a weaker position.

The law provides for potential statutory damages of up to $500 per unlawful call, and up to $1,500 per call if a court finds the violation willful or knowing. Many cases turn on facts the company controls, and there are defenses. We can't promise any result. Other laws, like the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, may also apply to collection calls.

What makes a case worth a lawyer's time

• Who called. A real, identifiable company, not an anonymous or spoofed number.
• How they called. A prerecorded or artificial voice, ideally left on your voicemail.
• Who they wanted. A specific name that isn't yours.
• Your phone. How long you've had the number, and that it's yours (or you're its regular user).
• Consent. Whether you ever did business with the company or gave them your number.
• What you told them. Whether you said "wrong number" or asked them to stop, and when.
• How many calls, and over what period.

A lawyer has to evaluate the actual circumstances. Small details, like who pays for the phone line or whether you ever spoke to the company, can change the answer.

Save the evidence now

Voicemails get deleted automatically, carriers only keep call logs for so long, and claims have time limits. Save the voicemails, screenshot your call history, and write down the name they asked for. Here's the full checklist.