Wrong person apology template (call, SMS, email) that stops contact fast

Ben Argeband, Founder & CEO of Heartbeat.ai — This page exists to prevent harm and show responsibility.

What’s on this page:

Who this is for

If you’re a recruiter who contacted the wrong person (wrong number, wrong inbox, wrong contact record), this is the fastest safe response: apologize, confirm suppression, and stop. It’s designed for real recruiting ops where multiple tools and teammates can accidentally re-contact the same person.

Quick Answer

Core Answer: Send a one- to two-sentence apology, confirm suppression, and stop. Don’t ask questions. Log suppression immediately so no system or teammate contacts them again.
Key Insight: The safest “wrong person” reply is operational, not conversational: apology + confirmation + suppression logged across every channel you use.
Best For: Recruiters who made a mistake

Compliance & Safety

This method is for legitimate recruiting outreach only. Always respect candidate privacy, opt-out requests, and local data laws. Heartbeat does not provide medical advice or legal counsel.

Copy/paste defaults (use the same channel you used):

SMS: “Sorry—wrong person. I’ve removed this number from our outreach and we’ll stop contacting you.”
Email: “Sorry about that—I contacted the wrong person. I’ve removed your email from our outreach and we’ll stop contacting you.”
Call: “I’m sorry—wrong person. I’ll remove your number from our outreach and we’ll stop contacting you.”

Framework: “Short apology” standard

When you hit the wrong person, your goal is not to salvage a lead. Your goal is to stop harm and prevent repeat contact. The “Short apology” standard:

Short: one to two sentences.
Specific: acknowledge the mistake without excuses.
Final: confirm suppression and end the thread.
Zero questions: don’t ask who they are, who the right person is, or for any details.
Logged: record suppression so the entire team and every tool respects it.

The trade-off is… you may lose a potential referral, but you reduce complaints, protect deliverability, and prevent a small mistake from turning into repeated unwanted contact.

Step-by-step method

Step 1: Reply immediately in the same channel

Use the same channel the person received (SMS to SMS, email to email, call to call). Keep it short and definitive. Include the exact phrase we’ll stop contacting you so the recipient gets closure.

Step 2: Confirm suppression (don’t negotiate)

Do not ask questions. Do not request identity confirmation. Do not ask for the “right person.” Your response is a confirmation, not a conversation.

Step 3: Apply suppression across systems (not just one list)

Suppression has to be operational, not aspirational. Add the phone/email to your suppression list and ensure it’s respected by:

Your ATS/CRM contact record
Your sequencing/outreach tool
Your dialer
Any shared spreadsheets or enrichment exports
Any teammates working the same req

If you’re using Heartbeat.ai, treat suppression as a first-class record so it doesn’t re-enter future campaigns through imports, sequences, or teammate activity.

Step 4: Log the event (so it doesn’t happen again)

Log enough to prevent repeats and to audit what happened. You’re not building a profile—you’re building a stop signal.

Step 5: Stop messaging

After the apology and suppression confirmation, do not follow up. If they reply again, respond once (briefly) confirming suppression is in place, then stop.

Stop Rules (non-negotiable)

No questions. Not “Who is this?” Not “Are you Dr. X?” Not “Can you point me to the right person?”
No referrals. Don’t ask them to forward your message or introduce you.
No explanations. Don’t justify how you got the contact info.
Suppress now. Don’t wait until end of day or after you “finish the req.”
No extra touches. One confirmation is enough.

Diagnostic Table:

Scenario	What to send (one-liner)	What to do in your system	What not to do
SMS: “Wrong person”	Apologize + confirm suppression + stop	Add phone to suppression; tag “Wrong person”; note channel = SMS	Ask “Who is this?” or “Who should I contact?”
Email: “Not me”	Apologize + confirm removal from outreach	Add email to suppression; stop sequences; remove from future lists	Request forwarding, referrals, or additional details
Call: gatekeeper says “No longer here”	Apologize briefly; confirm you’ll stop	Suppress main line + any extension used; note source list	Argue, push, or call back “to verify”
Angry reply / complaint tone	Short apology; confirm suppression; end	Escalate internally if needed; ensure suppression is global	Defend yourself or debate
Multiple touches already happened	Acknowledge and stop immediately	Audit: where did the contact re-enter? Fix that path	Delay suppression

Weighted Checklist:

Use this “fix-the-mistake pack” to prevent repeat contact. Score each item 0 (not done), 1 (partial), 2 (done). Aim for 10/10 before you move on.

(2) Apology sent in the same channel within the same work block (not “later”).
(2) Message includes: apology + confirmation + we’ll stop contacting you.
(2) Suppression applied in ATS/CRM and outreach tool (not just one).
(2) Suppression is global (team-wide), not tied to a single req.
(2) “Log these fields” checklist completed (below).

Log these fields (minimum viable):

Suppressed value: phone or email (exact)
Channel: call / SMS / email
Reason: wrong person
Date/time
Source: which list/export/vendor/import created the record
Owner: recruiter name
Notes: “Apology sent; suppression confirmed”

Measure this by… auditing your last 20 “wrong person” incidents and checking whether any suppressed contact was touched again within 30 days (goal: zero).

Outreach Templates:

SMS templates

Ultra-short (default): “Sorry—wrong person. I’ve removed this number from our outreach and we’ll stop contacting you.”
If they sound upset: “Apologies for the mistake. You’ve been removed from our outreach and we’ll stop contacting you.”
If they ask how you got the number: “Understood. I’ve removed this number from our outreach and we’ll stop contacting you.”

Email templates

Subject: Sorry — wrong person
Subject (alternative): Apologies — removing you from outreach
Subject (alternative): Sorry about that
Body (2 sentences): “Sorry about that—I contacted the wrong person. I’ve removed your email from our outreach and we’ll stop contacting you.”
If they reply “unsubscribe”: “Confirmed. You’ve been removed from our outreach and we’ll stop contacting you.”

Call script templates

If they answer and say “wrong person”: “I’m sorry—wrong person. I’ll remove your number from our outreach and we’ll stop contacting you.”
If a gatekeeper says “not here”: “Thanks—sorry about that. I’ll update our records and stop contacting this number.”
If they’re angry: “Understood. I’m sorry for the mistake. I’m removing your number now and we’ll stop contacting you.”

What not to say (copy/paste examples to avoid):

“Can you confirm your name?”
“Are you the physician I’m looking for?”
“Who should I contact instead?”
“How did you get this number?”
“If you know anyone interested…”

Common pitfalls

Turning the apology into a conversation. Extra questions increase risk and irritation. Keep it final.
Only suppressing in one place. If your dialer, sequencer, and ATS aren’t aligned, the contact can re-enter.
Letting “wrong person” sit in a queue. Suppression is a now-task, not an end-of-day task.
Over-explaining your sourcing. Explanations read like excuses and can escalate complaints.
Not logging the source. If you don’t record where the contact came from, you can’t stop the leak.

How to improve results

“Results” here means fewer complaints, fewer repeats, and cleaner outreach operations.

Make suppression a single-step action. If it takes five clicks, it won’t happen consistently under load.
Standardize the message. Use one approved template per channel so every recruiter responds the same way.
Close the loop with your data source. If a particular import/list is generating wrong-person hits, pause it and fix matching rules before you keep sending.
Troubleshoot repeat touches fast. If you suppressed them but they still get contacted, check: (1) sequencer exclusions and active campaigns, (2) ATS/CRM sync rules that overwrite suppression flags, (3) re-import paths from spreadsheets/enrichment exports that bypass suppression.
Multi-brand or multi-location teams: ensure suppression is shared across all sending domains, dialer teams, and outreach workspaces—not just one recruiter’s list.
Operationalize phone prioritization. For teams using Heartbeat.ai, workflows that include ranked mobile numbers by answer probability can help prioritize which numbers to try first; suppression still must be honored instantly when you’re wrong.

Legal and ethical use

Minimize harm. If someone indicates you reached the wrong person or they want no contact, treat it as a stop signal and suppress immediately. Keep your response short, respectful, and final. If you operate in the U.S., review FCC guidance and TCPA resources for outreach rules that may apply to your situation.

Evidence and trust notes

This page is written to reduce harm and prevent repeat contact. It intentionally avoids tactics that pressure recipients or extract information after a mistake.

How we evaluate data quality and responsible outreach: Heartbeat trust methodology
FCC consumer guidance: Stop unwanted robocalls and texts
FCC overview of the TCPA: Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA)
Related operational workflow: wrong person workflow for recruiters
System-level prevention: suppression lists and opt-out management

FAQs

How long should a wrong person apology be?

One to two sentences. Apologize, confirm suppression, and stop. Longer messages increase the chance you say something that escalates the situation.

Should I ask who the right person is?

No. Don’t ask questions. Your job is to stop contact and log suppression so it doesn’t happen again.

Do I need to confirm removal explicitly?

Yes. The recipient needs closure. Say you removed them from outreach and that you’ll stop contacting them.

Should I respond if they only say “stop”?

Yes—once. Confirm they are suppressed and that you’ll stop contacting them. Then stop. If your systems keep touching them, fix the workflow immediately.

What if it was just a missed call or a single voicemail?

If they tell you it’s the wrong person or they want no contact, send one short apology and confirm suppression. If they don’t respond at all, don’t keep trying to “verify” by repeated calls to the same number.

What if they reply again after I suppressed them?

Respond once: confirm they are suppressed and you will not contact them again. Then stop. If your systems keep touching them, fix the workflow immediately.

Where should I log suppression?

Every system that can send a touch: ATS/CRM, sequencer, dialer, and any shared lists. If you only suppress in one place, another tool can re-import and re-contact.

Next steps

Implement the full operational workflow: wrong person workflow for recruiters
Set up durable prevention: suppression lists and opt-out management
If you want cleaner outreach operations with built-in suppression discipline, sign up for Heartbeat.ai

About the Author

Ben Argeband is the Founder and CEO of Swordfish.ai and Heartbeat.ai. With deep expertise in data and SaaS, he has built two successful platforms trusted by over 50,000 sales and recruitment professionals. Ben’s mission is to help teams find direct contact information for hard-to-reach professionals and decision-makers, providing the shortest route to their next win. Connect with Ben on LinkedIn.