Complaints About Collections Calls Are Up Nearly 200%

Complaints about debt collection calls did in fact spike by roughly 200% over the last year, according to newly released federal data.

What the “200%” surge refers to

FTC complaint data show a nearly 200% per‑capita increase in reports about debt collection calls from 2024 to 2025, rising to more than 400,000 complaints nationwide.
In the first half of 2025 alone, the FTC logged about 278,000 collection call complaints, a roughly 220% jump over the same period a year earlier.
Roughly half of complainants described the calls as harassing, fraudulent, threatening, or attempts to collect debts not owed.

FTC and media analyses attribute the increase to rising consumer debt levels, the expiration of pandemic‑era protections, and more accounts rolling into third‑party collections.
Consumer advocates also point to reduced federal consumer protection enforcement, including cuts and policy shifts at the CFPB, as emboldening more aggressive collection tactics.
Debt collection is now one of the top categories of complaints to federal agencies, with NCLC noting that CFPB debt collection complaints have more than quadrupled from 2023 to 2025.

For collectors and creditors, the data imply heightened UDAP/FDCPA risk around call frequency, time‑of‑day, language, and verification of debt ownership, especially where call campaigns are heavily automated.
State and local media are using FTC’s interactive complaint map to highlight high‑complaint jurisdictions (notably Texas, Georgia, and Florida), which may become enforcement and litigation hot spots.
Concurrently, the Trump‑Vought CFPB is drawing criticism for steps seen as discouraging complaint submissions (e.g., prominent warning notices for certain complaint types), which may affect how complaint data are interpreted going forward.

Under the FDCPA and analogous state laws, consumers can demand written validation of the debt, dispute in writing, and instruct collectors to stop most direct calling, though obligations differ for original creditors and certain debt types.
A sizable share of the spike reflects “phantom debt” scams—callers posing as collectors, threatening arrest or license loss if consumers do not pay immediately—which regulators urge people to report to the FTC.