Car extended warranty calls are annoying and potentially dangerous. Here's why auto warranty scams happen—and how to stop them.
How to Identify (and Stop) Those Pesky Car Extended Warranty Calls
“We’re calling about your car’s extended warranty…” Yep, there’s a good chance you’ve picked up the phone and heard that phrase. The robocall strikes again. If you’ve gotten this call before, you’re not alone. According to YouMail, Americans received just over 4.7 billion robocalls in January 2025 alone. That’s millions of robocalls each day, and they include car extended warranty calls and auto warranty scams.
While car warranty scams come in the form of calls, texts, emails and snail mail, recent crackdowns have aimed to nix those pesky robocalls in particular. In July 2022, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) ordered phone companies to stop carrying car warranty robocall traffic from an operation believed to have made more than 8 billion illegal car warranty robocalls to Americans since 2018. In October 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) also refunded more than $449,000 to consumers who were impacted by the “extended automobile warranties” telemarketing scam by American Vehicle Protection Corp.
Yes, these actions are steps in a good direction, but there’s more work to be done in this area. As such, you’ll probably still have questions if you get a weird communication about your car’s extended warranty. If it’s a call, is it a phone scam or legitimate? And how do these people get your phone number, anyway? We spoke to cybersecurity experts to learn more. Read on to find out how you can identify a scam call and what you can do to stop getting these calls altogether.
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How do car warranty scams work?
According to the FCC, car warranty scams occur when someone poses as a representative of an insurer, manufacturer or car dealership and tries to get you to renew your car warranty. This type of scam can happen via text, email, mail or call.
There could be two reasons these people are contacting you: They could want to sell you something disguised as an extension on your current car warranty, or they could be trying to take your personal information. If successful, scammers could take hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars from you or use your personal information and commit identity theft.
What are extended auto warranty phone scams?
Car extended warranty calls may sound different from caller to caller, but generally, they’re pretty easy to identify. If you pick up the phone, you’ll likely hear an automated message at the beginning of the call saying your car warranty is expiring soon. Then, the message asks you to press a button or to stay on the line to speak to a representative.
Alex Quilici, CEO of YouMail, a visual voicemail and Robocall-blocking service, says these calls exist for a reason. “The warranty calls exist because they’re really easy to do, and they work,” he explains. “Most of them are designed to sell people some sort of extended service contract (not a warranty) and use illegal robocalls as a form of lead generation.”
Yes, you read that right—illegal robocalls. According to the FTC, a company needs your direct permission to call you if it’s trying to sell something. If it doesn’t have that permission and asks you to cough up some cash for a product or service, that robocall is illegal.
What are some common signs you’re being targeted by a scam?
Knowing if an extended car warranty call is a scam is crucial, as it will help protect your personal information and your wallet from deceitful characters. Fortunately, there are very clear signs that those car extended warranty calls are spam.
The call is vague
Jacinta Tobin, vice president of Cloudmark Operations at cybersecurity company Proofpoint, says unclear or ambiguous information is one sign of a scam call. “The basic scams are easy to identify,” she explains, “as many follow key hallmarks, including a vague insurance policy or warranty service inquiry that lacks specifics, as well as an automated message.”
While the call, in general, is vague, it may include enough details to get your attention. Scammers may know the year, make and model of your car, but that doesn’t mean the call is legitimate; they could have gotten that information from several sources (more on that later).
It asks for personal information
If the automated message asks you to enter personal information before you can talk to someone, or the person you’re talking to asks for your personal information, the call is likely a scam. If the caller asks you to provide your Social Security number, credit card number, bank account information—or other personal details—you should not provide it and instead hang up the phone.
Cybersecurity expert Adam K. Levin, founder of CyberScout and co-founder of Credit.com, says scammers want your personal information for a reason: “They may target your bank account or credit card information for a quick payday or other personal information to steal your identity.”
David Lukić, an information privacy, security and compliance consultant at IDStrong, backs up Levin’s point. “Companies will never call you to have you verify your identity or provide sensitive personal information over the phone,” he says.
The caller urges you to take action right away
Another sign the call is a scam is that the person you’re talking to is pushy with the sale. “Nothing is that important that it needs to be done or purchased immediately,” Lukić says.
Paul Bischoff, a privacy advocate with Comparitech, echoes this point. “Scam callers almost always try to instill a sense of urgency in their victims,” he says. “If you feel rushed to make a decision, especially one that involves money or personal info, it’s likely a scam.”
You don’t recognize the phone number
According to the FCC, legitimate telemarketers must display their phone number and the name and/or phone number of the company they’re representing. Scammers, on the other hand, may appear on your caller ID as “Unknown” or even “Spam,” though you also may see a phone number. Pay attention to that number—if it’s from an area code you don’t recognize, it could be a scam.
Scammers are smart, though, and realize people may not pick up calls from other area codes. That’s why they may use a phone number with a local area code instead.
Chris Roberts, a consumer class action lawyer who helps people fight back against robocalls, warns against picking up unknown calls from local numbers. “The local number may be spoofed,” Roberts explains. “This means the number may appear to be from a certain area code (usually local), but the call did not actually originate from the number that appears on your phone.”
Not sure if the number on your caller ID is legit or spoofed? Don’t risk it. You should never call back an unknown number, even if it’s local, especially if you think it could be a scam call.
But beware: Scammers may create a sense of urgency or offer attractive rewards to try to get you to call them back, so don’t take the bait. Here’s an example of this kind of voicemail, according to the FCC:
“Hi there, this is Shasta calling in regard to your Volkswagen warranty. The warranty is up for renewal. I’d like to congratulate you on your $1,000 instant rebate and free maintenance and oil change package for being a loyal customer. Call me back at 888-206-XXXX to redeem now. Once again, that number was 888-206-XXXX. Thank you so much. Have a great day.”
The caller threatens you
One of the biggest signs the extended car warranty call, or any other form of communication, is a scam is that the caller threatens you. Levin warns against engaging with scammers who threaten you. “If you are threatened in any way, hang up,” he says. “No legitimate organization does business that way.”
Some scammers may say organizations like the IRS will come after you if you don’t cooperate. Don’t worry—this would never actually happen. “If they threaten that you will be arrested, rest assured, the IRS never calls and never sends the police right over,” Lukić explains.
How do these people get your information?
There are many ways telemarketers and scammers posing as car warranty representatives can get your information. Chris Hauk, a consumer privacy champion at Pixel Privacy, says there are legitimate and illegitimate channels they go through. “While some information comes from data breaches, like we hear about on an almost daily basis, the information can also come from legitimate sources like a state department of motor vehicles,” Hauk explains. “For example, the New York DMV sells driver’s license and vehicle information via contract sales, pay-per-search and over-the-counter.”
Lukić says there are plenty of other ways robocallers and telemarketers can get your information, including through a Terms of Service dialogue box (when you click on “I agree” when prompted to read Terms of Service), data-accumulating firms, credit-reporting companies and contests.
Roberts also adds that there are large lists of cellphone numbers readily available for purchase online. “Businesses have been known to purchase these lists and call the numbers on the list without the recipients’ permission,” he says.
How can you stop getting car extended warranty calls?
If you’re sick of getting constant car extended warranty calls, you can thwart telemarketers’ and scammers’ efforts by doing the following:
Download a robocall-blocking app
“I have scored some relief by using caller ID apps, like RoboKiller, on my iPhone,” Hauk says. “The app not only allows me to block calls—it also uses that information, as well as information from other users and lists of known scammers, to block calls and prevent me from being disturbed.”
Add your number to the National Do Not Call Registry
The Do Not Call Registry is a free list you can sign up for. It’s meant to reduce the number of telemarketing calls you receive. It’s important to note, though, that this can only reduce the number of sales calls you get. Charities, political groups, debt collectors and organizations conducting surveys over the phone can still contact you. Levin also points out that this list helps block telemarketing calls, not scam calls.
Read up on the Telephone Consumer Protection Act
According to Roberts, brushing up on this law can hit telemarketers where it hurts—their pockets. “I use a little-known law called the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) to get marketers to pay $500 per call or text to your cellphone if they do not have your written permission to call your cellphone,” Roberts explains. “As one example, if you have been registered on the Do Not Call List for more than 30 days and a marketer calls your cellphone more than one time in a year, you could receive $500 and up to $1,500 per call.”
If you’re on the Do Not Call Registry and still getting spam emails, you’ll have to file a lawsuit to get that money.
File a complaint with the FCC
If you’re getting car extended warranty calls that you didn’t consent to or suspect the calls are a scam, you can file a complaint with the FCC. Those calls may violate telemarketing and robocall rules, and your complaint can help the FCC take action against the offenders.
Block spam warranty calls
If you keep getting calls from a specific number, blocking that number manually can prevent them from calling you. If scammers are spoofing numbers, though, they may continue calling you from other phone numbers.
Don’t answer the calls
A simple way to try to stop these calls is to avoid answering the phone. When you answer a call from a number you don’t know, you’re essentially telling the caller—whether they’re a legit marketer or a scammer—that the phone number is in use and you’re someone who will answer unknown calls. If you don’t pick up the phone, the telemarketers and scammers may give up trying to contact you and move on to other numbers they consider more active.
How can you verify genuine car warranty offers?
According to the District of Columbia’s Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking, the safest and most reliable way to avoid car warranty fraud is to check directly with your vehicle’s manufacturer or the dealership you bought your vehicle from. If you think the extended car warranty call is legitimate, ask for a written copy of the policy.
What should you do if you actually want to extend your car’s warranty?
If you’re interested in an extended car warranty, Quilici says you should be proactive and go directly to the source: “If a consumer is really interested in an extended warranty, they can contact the folks who sold them the car or do searches online to find the legitimate sellers,” he says.
About the experts
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Reader’s Digest has published hundreds of articles on personal technology, arming readers with the knowledge to protect themselves against cybersecurity threats and internet scams as well as revealing the best tips, tricks and shortcuts for computers, cellphones, apps, texting, social media and more. We rely on credentialed experts with personal experience and know-how as well as primary sources including tech companies, professional organizations and academic institutions. We verify all facts and data and revisit them over time to ensure they remain accurate and up to date. Read more about our team, our contributors and our editorial policies.
Sources:
- Alex Quilici, CEO of YouMail
- Jacinta Tobin, vice president of Cloudmark operations at Proofpoint
- Adam K. Levin, founder of CyberScout and co-founder of Credit.com
- David Lukić, information privacy, security and compliance consultant at IDStrong
- Paul Bischoff, privacy advocate with Comparitech
- Chris Roberts, consumer class action lawyer and partner at Butsch Roberts & Associates
- Chris Hauk, consumer privacy champion at Pixel Privacy
- FCC: “Robocall Enforcement Order for All U.S.-Based Voice Service Providers”
- FTC: “FTC Sends More Than $449,000 to Consumers Harmed by ‘Extended Vehicle Warranty’ Scam”
- PR Newswire: “U.S. Consumers Received Over 4.7 Billion Robocalls in January, According to YouMail Robocall Index”
- FCC: “Watch Out for Auto Warranty Scams”
- FTC: “Robocalls”
- FTC: “National Do Not Call Registry FAQs”
- New York State DMV: “Sharing your information”
- FCC: “Telephone Consumer Protection Act 47 U.S.C. § 227”
- FTC: “National Do Not Call Registry“
- DISB: “Beware of Extended Automobile Warranty Scams”
