Prank Phone Calls? We filed a complaint with the police!

[The Mystery Machine]

I was just wondering if any of you had to do this? We had gotten a few prank phone calls in which our caller ID says blocked number. Last night we got a prank call at midnight and the caller said something in the effect to suck something, (if you get my drift).

DH said that was it, he called the phone company they told him to press *57 and that will trace it and then the police will come over and you can press charges! Well he did it. So now the police will go to that home and if it is a kid they will have to go before the juvenile court.

It has to be someone my 12yodd knows at middle school. Anyone ever do something like that in this day and age?

 

[Briar Rose 7457]

I'm sure it was a 12 year old, it's very middle school behavior.

but the police probably won't do anything about it if there's only one or two phone calls, unless threats are made. the phone company will send the *57 information to the police, it will be added to your complaint, but most likely nothing will happen at all unless the calls become frequent and harassing.

 

[DwarfMaster]

Have you considered adding a block to your phone. Most Caller ID comes with an "Anonymous Call Block" ~ it will not allow the call to come in unless they unblock and show you their #. Call your phone company and find out how to activate it.

 

[Disney Doll]

I, for one, hope the police do go to the kid's house, and put a good scare into him!

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Disney Doll they said would! Not only that but they will have to go before the judge!

Thanks DM, I will look into that!

 

[Briar Rose 7457]

several years ago my ex was harassing me over the phone. when the police saw the *57 report and saw that he'd called my house 27 times in a 15 minute period, an officer called him and warned him to knock it off. he did. that was the end of the matter.

unless you've taped the call, it's your word against the caller's that the nature of the call was harassing.

put a block on your phone.

 

[caitycaity]

unfortunately, i think the police tend to give a lot of lip service on these matters. one time i had a death threat made against me via phone and the police didn't do anything about it except take a report.

i live in a pretty urban area though, so maybe if you live in a more rural area and there is better police coverage they will do something.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

BR & cc, yep I guess you are right. That make sense now that I think about it.
I told DH and he is going to do something about it today.
Thanks!

 

[preshi]

Some moron has our phone number on his speed dial. He calls us all hours of the day and night without knowing it. I am about ready to kill him. One day he called at 4am, 5am, and 6am the other night he called at midnight. It's no one we know, one time he left us a message to call him back. So now for 5 dollars a month I'm having his phone number blocked.

 

[Stepharoonie!]

Originally posted by The Mystery Machine
BR & cc, yep I guess you are right. That make sense now that I think about it.
I told DH and he is going to do something about it today.
Thanks!

Make sure to let us know how this turned out!

 

[Toby'sFriend]

We get this often on Friday and Saturday nights when the girls at my son's Jr. High are having slumber parties.

The last time it happened I lived with it most of the day, but then the calls continued well past midnight. My DH did a *69 on the number and called right back. He got one of the girls on the phone and told her the next time it happened, he'd be doing a phone number look-up to get her name and address, and would then be paying a visit to her parents the next afternoon.

DH said she was so funny. Yes sir, I'm sorry that we bothered you sir. Have a good night sir.

They let me sleep the rest of the night after that.

 

[olena]

It's hard to believe that anyone would be THAT stupid, with all the caller ID, and other technology. There's just no way to get away with it.

 

[Pooh_Friend#1]

I can never get *69 to work. I have recently started to get calls with people that sit on the line until I hang up. I tried *69 and it says the call was blocked. I didn't realize you could use *57 also.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I know what you mean olena. Also I was surprised by how the phone company told us how to handle it. I wish they would have told us about call block and other options first.

But it was our first time with this & hopefully the last.

*57 (here) charges $5.00 per call, up to $25.00 a month...and the police find out who it is???? Not sure about that part. I think we have to sign the complaint with the police to get the number tracked, as I understand it.

 

[HauntedMansionGeek]

We solved our little phone call problem with a call to the police. An officer came to our house at the time the calls usually started coming in and we allowed him to answer the phone.

Must have worked because the pest didn't call again from that point on.

 

[olena]

In our area, you can get Privacy Director. It's a service that blocks every call from a number that is anonymous or blocked to our caller ID. They can press a button and reveal their number to caller ID or they can record a message that gets played to us. Then my phone will ring. I can either see who it is or listen to their message and decide if I want to take the call. It's iseal for telemarketers, and I bet it would be useful for these situations as well.