What can you do if someone keeps harrassing you over the phone?

Question

The person is harrassing a friend. They think they had something but the never did. They call from different numbers and leave messages if they dont pick up.

Answer 1

You have to log each call; time, date and number, if available.
Once you have established a pattern of harassment (say, 7-10 phone calls over a short period of time), then you can call the phone company and report it.
If they aren't able to help, or if the calls are threatening, then call the police.
If it's a creditor, there are several laws that apply to them, too. Consult an attorney.

Answer 2

I have worked for 10 years in the telephone industry. There are a few options available to you. You can first of all get a restraining order. If you want to avoid police interference, you may try something else. One idea would be to change your number and have it nonpublished. This would slow someone down for a while, but odds are that they will eventually get it from a friend of yours. Another option would be to block there number. Most phone companies offer a feature to do this. One of my favorites is something my mom used to do. It is relatively cheap, costing you maybe a couple of dollars. Remember those big metal whistles that the coaches used in gym class? My mom bought one of those and when she received the harrassing call she would blow it as loud as she could into the handset until the other person hung up. After a few times, the calls stopped!!

Answer 3

Harrassment using a communication device, i.e telephone, computer is called Aggrevated Harrassment. If you know the person calling make a police report and get the complaint number, then call your telephone company and ask them to change your number. They will need the Police complaint number.

Answer 4

Get caller ID.
When you have that, each call made to you will result in the number it is originating from showing up as text on your little screen.
Record each call made from that number.
Make a list of times when the calls have been received.
Often, if the caller knows that their number will be revealed to you, they will stop calling.
Another option is to block all calls from the numbers they've been coming from. Your phone service provider can best fill you in on the details.

My niece sytarted receiving sexual harrassment calls on her cell phone. Thney weren't able to trace the calls, for some reason. She got a new number, & has been very careful who she's given it to.

Sexual Harassment :
- A Global Problem
- How to Protect Yourself
http://www.watchtower.org/library/g/1996/5/22/article_01.htm

Answer 5

That depends.

Is the person harrassing you is a collection agency representative? Is it an old friend? A stranger who got your number? An old boyfriend or girlfriend? Someone who simply has the wrong number and keeps calling for someone else? A telemarketer?

There are legal remedies for each of these examples and the best place to start is to google "telephone harrassment" and see what you get. To get you started, I found some links for you to start with. Good luck

http://www.thesite.org/homelawandmoney/law/victims/phoneharassment

http://www.fumo.com/State_Services/crime%20prevention/Telephone_Harrassment.htm

http://www.yourrights.org.uk/your-rights/chapters/the-right-to-privacy/harassment,-unwanted-letters-and-telephone-calls/index.shtml

Answer 6

Lots of things, but can you be more specific? I'm guessing they have their caller id blocked, but if not, tell them you are going to call them back twice for everytime they call you, and you are going to give their number to your friends.

Get a guy to rerecord your outgoing message for when people call in. Also, the phone company can selectively block numbers that call in. They can also trace even blocked numbers.

Good luck. Don't be afraid, if this person was really brave, they would harrass you to your face. They are cowards that don't want to be exposed.

Answer 7

First you have to contact the FCC and ensure what they are doing is harassment. Since you give no details on what is happening I can not say what it is either way. Then, if it is harassment you can contact the FCC and your local police. You need to contact your local police first to obtain a police report. The reason to bring it to the FCC is because the federal government can levy heftier fines and even shut a company down if need be. A lot of times if the caller is out of state the local police cant do a lot to begin with due to their jurisdiction. The feds have a lot more leeway.

Answer 8

Is it from the same number?

You can usually buy a service from your phone company that will ban a certain number of numbers from your home phone.

For some reason the county jail kept calling me asking to reverse charges. I had a phone number a prisioner kept calling. I had to block that number because they just would not stop.

Is the number coming in "unknown"?

You can also have your phone company block any phone number that comes in as "unknown"

Answer 9

Some states have laws against that sort of thing. In New York it's classified as Aggrivated harassment and the skell who's doing it can get up to a year in the slam.

Answer 10

Call the police and then call the phone company and they can block the person from calling.