Cold calling and texting carry two very different phone-number risks. A number on a Do Not Call registry means cold telemarketing calls to it carry legal exposure. A number belonging to a TCPA litigator is worse — serial plaintiffs who invite outreach specifically to build statutory-damages lawsuits (texts are their favorite, at hundreds of dollars per message). The DNC & litigator scrub checks your numbers against both before you spend time — or take risk — on them.
What it checks
- The Federal Do Not Call registry.
- State DNC lists — the flag shows which states matched.
- Known TCPA-litigator databases.
Cost: 1 skip-trace credit per phone number checked. It uses the same credit balance as skip tracing (Settings → Billing → Buy skip-trace credits). Most contacts carry 1–3 numbers, so budget roughly 1–3 credits per contact.
Three ways to run it
- With a skip trace: the Confirm skip trace window has an "Also run a DNC & litigator scrub" checkbox. Every number on the traced contacts — existing and newly found — is checked when the trace completes. If your balance runs short at that point, the scrub is skipped and the trace itself is unaffected (the confirm window tells you the next time you open it). The checkbox remembers your last choice.
- On a Property Records import: tick the auto skip-trace add-on (Basic or Full) and the nested "…and scrub the numbers found" checkbox appears. The cost line shows the combined credit total before you import.
- Without tracing at all: for contacts that already have numbers (CSV imports, past traces), select them in the CRM and click ⛔ DNC scrub… in the bulk action bar. The exact cost — 1 credit per phone across the selection — is shown before you confirm, and it charges immediately with an instant answer if credits are short.
What the flags do
Results land as chips next to each phone number on the contact card and in the Dialer:
- ⚖️ Litigator (red) — the app protects you automatically: texting the number is blocked everywhere (campaigns, follow-ups, AI replies, manual sends), and auto-dialing skips it — auto-advance, backup-number retries, and multi-line batches all move to the contact's next clean number instead. A contact whose every number is flagged drops out of the dialer queue. You can still call one manually from the contact card if you have a reason to — the red chip is there so it's an informed choice. One texting exception: if that person texted you first, you can still reply manually on that thread.
- ⛔ DNC (orange) — a warning, not a block. DNC governs cold telemarketing calls, and calls with an established business relationship or prior consent can be fine — that judgment stays yours. Hover the chip to see which lists matched and when it was checked.
- Clean — the card shows a green "✓ DNC & litigator scrub: clean" line with the date, so a scrub that finds nothing is still visible.
Good to know
- Re-scrubbing is allowed — numbers are re-checked and their flags refresh (registries change over time; re-scrub before a big push if the last check is old).
- Only US numbers can be checked; anything else is skipped and never charged.
- Flags are advisory screening data, not your legal opt-out record — STOP replies and unsubscribes still rule, and compliance is ultimately your responsibility. Pair this with the TCPA + CAN-SPAM for real estate outreach lesson.