Crank Calls

CommunistPanda · 01-03-2001, 06:51 AM

Aaarrrgghhhh...this is so annoying.
I don't know why, but in the last week, we've suddenly got an incredible lot of crank calls. I think we've had about six today, maybe eight, and I'm starting to get really, really mad.

blinc · 01-03-2001, 07:28 AM

Uh oh. Those things can really get to you can't they? Have you contacted your phone company? Over here in the states they have a way for you to trace the calls. You call the phone company. They set up a feature on your line... when you receive a crank call, you hang up and immediately dial a code. Something like *97 (or whatever). The phone company then knows to trace that call back to the phone where the last call came from.

Here, it takes 3 crank calls from one number before they'll act. But, once they do, you can pretty much forget anymore crank calls from that person. They usually end up at least having their phone service shut off, sometimes they're prosecuted... depending on if threats were made or not. Bad thing is here, unless you go to court and file some type of paper, the phone company won't disclose the name of the person who was doing it.

Good luck CP. Those calls can start taking on a life of their own. Just hang up when you get one, without saying anything. Usually the person will quit doing it, if they can't get a reaction from you. Usually.

jamesglewisf · 01-03-2001, 07:40 AM

Those are annoying. Does anybody know any good crank calls?

When I was in college, my friend and I would go through the Baylor directory looking for a girl. Then we would hook up two phones up to the same line. We would call the girl, and right after she said, "Hello," my friend would say, "Hello." Then I would ask him, "Hey, did a girl just answer your phone?" He'd say, "Nope," and then I'd reply, "C'mon, I heard her. Do you have a girl in your dorm room?" Then we would start having a conversation. Inevitably the girl would say to her roommate, "Hey, I can hear two guys talking on the phone."

We would string her along for a while, and then we'd spill the beans and ask her and her roommate to meet us at Denny's. We actually met a few girls that way.

Karenluvs6 · 01-03-2001, 08:38 AM

I had a serious problem with crank callers a little while back. It was up to about 10 calls a day...Although, it could have been someone who knows me or my family...I had to go as far as having the calls traced and had to have my number changed twice!!!
Fortunately, here in the state of Pennsylvania, you can just press some buttons to have your number blocked from all listings, books and such...and you can hit another # to trace the calls....things like that. Of course I didn't know this at the time of the calls....

For instance, if I am getting a bunch of these calls one day...all I would have to do is wait til about the forth call and then dial * 57, and this will put a tracer on so that when they call again, the phone company can find out where the calls are coming from.
Also, if I do not want my number to show on other ppl's Caller ID box.....I can just dial * 82, then when I call someone, they can't get my number....stuff like that.

I hate crank callers.

Karenluvs6 · 01-03-2001, 08:39 AM

ya know CP....I don't know how the phone services work over there in the outback, but the laws are pretty strict here.
The phone companies usually won't fool around with stuff like that. If you report it enough times and they can find out who it is, they will stop their phone service and report it to the police.
At least that's how it works here.......maybe you can call and ask what they do about it.

CommunistPanda · 01-03-2001, 05:01 PM

These crank calls have been either
a) just letting it ring once or twice then hanging up
b) whoever it is hanging up a couple secs after we've picked up the phone...

If it happens again, we're going to ring up the phone company and see what can be done. I made this thread at 10.30 last night - as we'd probably recieved four or five between 9.30 and 10.30...

kezzer · 01-03-2001, 05:40 PM

Luckily I haven't had any for a while now, but when we get them they either let the phone ring once or twice or hang up shortly after I pick up. It really is annoying. I hope you can find a way to stop them whoever it is CP, it really is a pain in the behind to answer the phone only to hear silence and then the click of them hanging up. Call your phone company and see if there's anything they can do to stop it.

CommunistPanda · 01-03-2001, 05:54 PM

I think I'll get my father to call the phone company today while I'm at work...

...also...I don't know whether I really wanna know who's doing this...as if someone's deliberately crank calling us - it's probably going to be someone who dislikes me.

Swimmers · 01-05-2001, 10:56 PM

Let's just say I am the ONLY person in the phone book with MY last name...so of course those kids at school that I really don't want to have my #....HAVE IT!! It's soooo annoying...they call and then hang up....then they call back acting like someone else!! It's sooo stupid too!

Ugh...boys...what weirdos!! LOL!

CommunistPanda · 01-06-2001, 01:34 AM

That would kinda stink!
Anyway, the crank calls have stopped now, thankfully.

Swimmers · 01-06-2001, 01:37 AM

Lucky you!! To them, they think that it's a game...one they play about every day!

CommunistPanda · 01-06-2001, 03:05 AM

You've probably got a lot of 'fans'.

Swimmers · 01-06-2001, 03:09 AM

If that's what you'd like to call them! I just call them idiots...since they do it on purpose..I've known them long enough to know this to be true!

CommunistPanda · 01-06-2001, 06:22 PM

Lol, fair enough.

blinc · 01-06-2001, 11:37 PM

I can't remember who recommended this piece of advice and frankly it's a bit cruel. But someone told me to get a whistle... a really shrill whistle. When the crank call comes in, you blow it as long and loud as you can.

I was always afraid it would be someone who knew me, dropped the phone and was picking it back up about the time I would have let loose with the whistle. *sigh*

cluck! cluck!

01-03-2001, 06:51 AM	#1
CommunistPanda Snappydoodle Charteroo Join Date: Dec 2000 Posts: 387	Aaarrrgghhhh...this is so annoying. I don't know why, but in the last week, we've suddenly got an incredible lot of crank calls. I think we've had about six today, maybe eight, and I'm starting to get really, really mad. __________________ When life seems that it can get no worse, fate will deliver the luck one needs to rise again.

01-03-2001, 07:40 AM	#3
jamesglewisf Doofus Maximus Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: Texas Posts: 8,138	Those are annoying. Does anybody know any good crank calls? When I was in college, my friend and I would go through the Baylor directory looking for a girl. Then we would hook up two phones up to the same line. We would call the girl, and right after she said, "Hello," my friend would say, "Hello." Then I would ask him, "Hey, did a girl just answer your phone?" He'd say, "Nope," and then I'd reply, "C'mon, I heard her. Do you have a girl in your dorm room?" Then we would start having a conversation. Inevitably the girl would say to her roommate, "Hey, I can hear two guys talking on the phone." We would string her along for a while, and then we'd spill the beans and ask her and her roommate to meet us at Denny's. We actually met a few girls that way. __________________ Jim Lewis - Admin Tipping Etiquette Dining Etiquette JamesGLewis.com iPhone Tip Guide Movies Without Nudity.com To BE or not to BE

01-03-2001, 08:38 AM	#4
Karenluvs6 WuvvyDuvvy Charteroo Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Delta, PA USA Posts: 1,944	I had a serious problem with crank callers a little while back. It was up to about 10 calls a day...Although, it could have been someone who knows me or my family...I had to go as far as having the calls traced and had to have my number changed twice!!! Fortunately, here in the state of Pennsylvania, you can just press some buttons to have your number blocked from all listings, books and such...and you can hit another # to trace the calls....things like that. Of course I didn't know this at the time of the calls.... For instance, if I am getting a bunch of these calls one day...all I would have to do is wait til about the forth call and then dial * 57, and this will put a tracer on so that when they call again, the phone company can find out where the calls are coming from. Also, if I do not want my number to show on other ppl's Caller ID box.....I can just dial * 82, then when I call someone, they can't get my number....stuff like that. I hate crank callers. __________________ *It's not how you pick your nose...but where you put the booger that counts.*

01-03-2001, 08:39 AM	#5
Karenluvs6 WuvvyDuvvy Charteroo Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Delta, PA USA Posts: 1,944	ya know CP....I don't know how the phone services work over there in the outback, but the laws are pretty strict here. The phone companies usually won't fool around with stuff like that. If you report it enough times and they can find out who it is, they will stop their phone service and report it to the police. At least that's how it works here.......maybe you can call and ask what they do about it. __________________ *It's not how you pick your nose...but where you put the booger that counts.*

01-03-2001, 05:01 PM	#6
CommunistPanda Snappydoodle Charteroo Join Date: Dec 2000 Posts: 387	These crank calls have been either a) just letting it ring once or twice then hanging up b) whoever it is hanging up a couple secs after we've picked up the phone... If it happens again, we're going to ring up the phone company and see what can be done. I made this thread at 10.30 last night - as we'd probably recieved four or five between 9.30 and 10.30... __________________ When life seems that it can get no worse, fate will deliver the luck one needs to rise again.

01-03-2001, 07:28 AM	#2
blinc FrappyDoo! Adminiroo Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: N. Carolina, USA Posts: 2,930	Uh oh. Those things can really get to you can't they? Have you contacted your phone company? Over here in the states they have a way for you to trace the calls. You call the phone company. They set up a feature on your line... when you receive a crank call, you hang up and immediately dial a code. Something like *97 (or whatever). The phone company then knows to trace that call back to the phone where the last call came from. Here, it takes 3 crank calls from one number before they'll act. But, once they do, you can pretty much forget anymore crank calls from that person. They usually end up at least having their phone service shut off, sometimes they're prosecuted... depending on if threats were made or not. Bad thing is here, unless you go to court and file some type of paper, the phone company won't disclose the name of the person who was doing it. Good luck CP. Those calls can start taking on a life of their own. Just hang up when you get one, without saying anything. Usually the person will quit doing it, if they can't get a reaction from you. Usually.

01-03-2001, 05:40 PM	#7
kezzer WaffyDaffy Moderatoroo Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: CT Posts: 2,134	Luckily I haven't had any for a while now, but when we get them they either let the phone ring once or twice or hang up shortly after I pick up. It really is annoying. I hope you can find a way to stop them whoever it is CP, it really is a pain in the behind to answer the phone only to hear silence and then the click of them hanging up. Call your phone company and see if there's anything they can do to stop it. __________________ My children are the reason for everything. The reason everything is broken, dirty, and out of place!

01-03-2001, 05:54 PM	#8
CommunistPanda Snappydoodle Charteroo Join Date: Dec 2000 Posts: 387	I think I'll get my father to call the phone company today while I'm at work... ...also...I don't know whether I really wanna know who's doing this...as if someone's deliberately crank calling us - it's probably going to be someone who dislikes me. __________________ When life seems that it can get no worse, fate will deliver the luck one needs to rise again.

01-05-2001, 10:56 PM	#9
Swimmers Snappydoodle Charteroo Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Orlando, Florida Posts: 332	Let's just say I am the ONLY person in the phone book with MY last name...so of course those kids at school that I really don't want to have my #....HAVE IT!! It's soooo annoying...they call and then hang up....then they call back acting like someone else!! It's sooo stupid too! Ugh...boys...what weirdos!! LOL!

01-06-2001, 01:34 AM	#10
CommunistPanda Snappydoodle Charteroo Join Date: Dec 2000 Posts: 387	That would kinda stink! Anyway, the crank calls have stopped now, thankfully. __________________ When life seems that it can get no worse, fate will deliver the luck one needs to rise again.

01-06-2001, 01:37 AM	#11
Swimmers Snappydoodle Charteroo Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Orlando, Florida Posts: 332	Lucky you!! To them, they think that it's a game...one they play about every day!

01-06-2001, 03:05 AM	#12
CommunistPanda Snappydoodle Charteroo Join Date: Dec 2000 Posts: 387	You've probably got a lot of 'fans'.

01-06-2001, 03:09 AM	#13
Swimmers Snappydoodle Charteroo Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Orlando, Florida Posts: 332	If that's what you'd like to call them! I just call them idiots...since they do it on purpose..I've known them long enough to know this to be true!

01-06-2001, 06:22 PM	#14
CommunistPanda Snappydoodle Charteroo Join Date: Dec 2000 Posts: 387	Lol, fair enough.

01-06-2001, 11:37 PM	#15
blinc FrappyDoo! Adminiroo Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: N. Carolina, USA Posts: 2,930	I can't remember who recommended this piece of advice and frankly it's a bit cruel. But someone told me to get a whistle... a really shrill whistle. When the crank call comes in, you blow it as long and loud as you can. I was always afraid it would be someone who knew me, dropped the phone and was picking it back up about the time I would have let loose with the whistle. sigh cluck! cluck!