Home warranty robocalls are among the most common consumer fraud calls in the United States. The FTC consistently ranks them among the top reported robocall scams. Here’s what they look like and how to identify them.
Most home warranty scam calls follow a recognizable pattern:
“This is an important message regarding your home’s warranty. Your home’s warranty has expired, or is about to expire. We are calling to offer you a low-cost home protection plan. Please press 1 now to speak with a representative and avoid a lapse in coverage.”
Variations include: “your vehicle warranty” (a different but related scam), “your home protection plan,” and urgency language about “final notice.”
They don’t know if you have a warranty. The call goes to everyone in a phone number database. The “your warranty has expired” line is a generic claim designed to trigger concern, not actual knowledge of your coverage status.
The company often doesn’t exist as described. Some calls lead to completely fraudulent entities that collect your payment and disappear. Others lead to low-quality warranty companies with poor claims records.
High-pressure sales tactics. Legitimate home warranty companies don’t cold-call with urgency pressure. If someone is telling you to “act now” to avoid losing coverage you didn’t know you had, it’s a scam.
Requests for payment over the phone. Legitimate companies take payment but also provide contracts, cooling-off periods, and documentation. Scam operations want payment immediately without sending you a contract to review.
Legitimate home warranty companies:
Don’t press 1 or interact. Pressing a number confirms your number is active and increases future call volume.
Add your number to the Do Not Call Registry (donotcall.gov) if you haven’t. It doesn’t eliminate calls but provides basis for FTC complaint.
Report the call to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov. The FTC maintains caller ID databases and uses complaint data to target enforcement.
Never provide payment information to an unsolicited caller.
If you provided payment information to what turned out to be a scam:
If a robocall made you wonder about actual home warranty coverage: that’s the intent. They’re trying to convert concern into a sale.
If you want real home warranty coverage, research on your own terms. Start with companies’ BBB ratings, actual consumer reviews, and actual contracts — not an unsolicited phone call.