New Law to Benefit Consumers in Fight Against Telemarketers Making Spoofed Calls

Know those phone calls you get from unknown numbers that appear to be legitimate? Is it an important call that needs immediate attention or a potentially a scam telemarketing call ?

A new law enacted recently signed by Governor Josh Shapiro hopefully will  begin to help with that.

Act 47 of 2026 specifically bans telemarketing companies from faking their name or spoofing a local phone number on a caller ID in an attempt to trick people into answering. It also limits calling hours to between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m., Monday through Saturday, instead of the current 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Calls will be prohibited on Sundays and holidays as well.

The new law requires clear, upfront disclosures about the purpose of the call, the telemarketer’s identity and what’s being sold. It requires immediate cessation of a solicitation call when requested and expands to prohibit all deceptive or abusive telemarketing acts.

The law takes effect in 90 days.