WASHINGTON, June 24 (UPI) -- On its first anniversary, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission's do-not-call list has grown beyond 62 million telephone numbers.
The agency said 428,000 complaints had been filed against more than 130,000 companies who made telemarketing calls to numbers on the list, the Washington Post said Thursday.
Fines to telemarketers who make calls to restricted numbers can be as high as $11,000 each, but the FTC has prosecuted only one firm so far.
Although the industry does not have precise numbers on the effect of the do-not-call list, officials note many call centers have cut back employees or closed as a result. MCI announced in March it was laying off 4,000 employees, or more than 7 percent of its workforce, because of the do-not-call list.
The list is still facing a legal challenge by the American Teleservices Association, which has asked the Supreme Court to review a U.S. appeals court decision upholding the list.
