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How to Stop Harassing Phone Calls
Do you receive harassing phone calls from telemarketers or
unknown persons? Or calls
from a fax machine? Or odd calls in which no one answers on the other end?
Or perhaps a recorded voice tells you to hold on the line? Heavy breathing,
obscene calls or threatening calls?
Here's what to know and what to do.
What is the definition of harassing?
If the caller uses
obscene or threatening language, repeatedly calls and hangs up, repeatedly calls
and is silent, breaths heavily or plays a message, it is harassing call. That is
illegal in almost every state in the U.S.
When should I act on it?
If the calls are
repeated or you believe that you are at a risk of physical harm, you should
act.The police and local phone company will generally not take action unless the
calls are repeated or if a call specifically threatens you or your family with
bodily harm.
What should I do?
Write down the
following, immediately - you may forget, if you wait:
-
Time and date of the
call(s). (keep a log)
-
Gender of the caller
-
Describe the
caller's voice
-
What did the caller
say?
-
Age of the caller
(how old did he/she sound? )
-
Did the caller seem
intoxicated?
-
Tone / Voice: accent
or speech impediment?
-
Was there any
background noise?
-
Was a phone
number/name displayed on your Caller ID?
How do I stop the calls?
In most cases, you will
want to file a police report first. In some cases a local phone company
will block the caller based solely upon your request, but it is still better to
file a police report first. Of course, if life or property are threatened, or if
calls are obscene, you should call the police and file a report regardless. That
legally documents the problem, and should the caller escalate actions, the
police have already been alerted..
What happens next?
You and the police can ask the phone
company to
-
Set up a
"Trap" on your phone line. This enables the phone company to
determine the telephone number of the caller. You will be asked to keep a
log noting the time and date of any harassing calls are received, normally
for 2 weeks. There is no charge for traps.
-
Using Call
Trace may also help. This must be set up in advance, it only work
for local calls and there is a fee each time it is used. Immediately after
receiving a harassing call, you enter the *57 on your phone. and the
call is automatically traced (1157 on rotary phones).
Prevention: What can you do to defend yourself from
harassing calls?
1. Block Phone Calls from Telemarketers: Get on the National Do Not Call
List
The national Do-Not-Call list
The national list protects home voice or
personal wireless phone numbers (not business numbers). The national
Do-Not-Call list prohibits telemarketers from making telephone solicitations to
your home phone number or numbers, including any personal wireless phone
numbers. But you must register for this to be in effect! There are other
important exceptions, too - see the
exceptions here.
You can register your home phone number(s) on the national
Do-Not-Call list by phone or by Internet at no cost. For more information and to add your home phone
number to the national Do-Not-Call list via the Internet,
see this page. To register by
phone, call 1-888-382-1222 (voice) or 1-866-290-4236 (TTY). You must call from
the phone number you wish to register.
State Do-Not-Call Lists
Additionally, many states now have statewide do-not-call
lists for residents in their respective states. Contact your state’s consumer
protection office or public utilities commission to see if the state has such a
list. Contact information for these offices usually can be found in the blue
pages or government section of your local telephone directory. (we're working on
creating a listing here)
Company-Specific Do-Not-Call Lists
Whether or not your home phone number is registered on the
national Do-Not-Call list, the FCC requires a person or entity placing voice
telephone solicitations to your home to maintain a record of your direct request
to that caller not to receive future telephone solicitations from that person or
entity. A record of your do-not-call request must be maintained for five years.
This request should also stop calls from affiliated entities if you would
reasonably expect them to be included, given the identification of the caller
and the product being advertised. Unless your home phone number or number(s) is
registered on the national Do-Not-Call list, however, you must make a separate
do-not-call request to each telemarketer from whom you do not wish to receive
calls.
When you receive telephone solicitation calls, clearly
state that you want to be added to the caller’s do-not-call list. You may want
to keep a list of those persons or businesses that you have asked not to call
you. Tax-exempt non-profit organizations are not required to keep do-not-call
lists.
2. Block Fax Calls
The FCC has separate rules that prohibit unsolicited fax
advertisements (under most circumstances) which are more complicated. In
general, to stop unwanted fax advertisements, you must make an “opt-out” request
which must:
- identify the fax number or numbers to which it relates;
and
- be sent to the telephone number, fax number, Web site
address, or e-mail address identified on the fax advertisement.
If you change your mind about receiving fax advertisements,
you can subsequently grant express permission to receive faxes from a particular
sender, orally or in writing.
This won't necessarily stop the faxes - especially if they
are scammers deliberately violating the law, but it does give you the right to
sue them. See this page for much more information about your rights about
junk faxes and how to stop make an opt-out request.
3. Phone company services
If your phone
company offers caller ID and "privacy directory" services, use them!
4. Keep your name and number private
Do not disclose
personal information when called by someone you do not know. This includes
teaching children not to give out any information.
If the caller asks
what number or name they have called, do not give it. Instead, ask them to
tell you what number they dialed.
Get an unlisted
number. This is especially true for women who may be targets for obscene and
heavy breathing callers.
5. Block your number when returning calls to unknown
persons
Block your number
when returning calls to unknown entities! See the next section for how to
block your number going out.
How can I block my phone number from being sent out when I place a
call?
-
Per-call blocking – To block your phone
number and name from appearing on a recipient’s Caller ID unit on a
single phone call, dial *67 before dialing the phone number. Your
number will not be sent to the other party. You must redial *67 each
time you place a new call. NOTE: This does not work when you dial a
toll-free number like 800, 866, 888.
-
Per-line blocking – Some states allow
customers to select per-line blocking. With this option, your telephone
number will be blocked for every call you make on a specific line –
unless you use the per-line unblocking option. If you use per-line
blocking and want your number to be transmitted to the called party,
dial *82 before you dial the number you are calling. You must
re-dial *82 each time you place a call.
-
Blocking Your Name – Some Caller ID services
also transmit the name of the calling party. If you request that your
phone number be concealed, FCC rules require that a telephone company
also conceal your name.
-
800 number/toll-free calls – When you dial a
toll-free number, the party you are calling pays for the call. The
called party is able to identify your telephone number using a telephone
network technology called Automatic Number Identification (ANI).
Requesting privacy for your number when you call 800, 888, 877, and 866
numbers from your local telephone company may not prevent its display to
the called party. FCC rules, however, prevent parties that own toll-free
numbers from reusing or selling the telephone numbers identified through
ANI without the subscriber’s consent.
-
Emergency Calls – Telephone companies may
transmit numbers of subscribers requesting privacy if the call is to a
public agency’s emergency telephone line or in conjunction with 911 or
poison control services.
Call Blocking Summary
-
To block your telephone number for any call you
make (except toll free calls, 800, 866, 888), dial *67 before
dialing the telephone number.
-
To unblock your number for any call (if you have a
blocked line), dial *82 before dialing the telephone number.
Telemarketers
Related information:
Note: Telemarketers must provide a caller ID
If you have caller ID, a telemarketer is required to
transmit or display its phone number and, if available, its name or the name and
phone number of the company for which it is selling products. The display must
include a phone number that you can call during regular business hours to ask
that the company no longer call you. This rule applies even if you have an EBR
(established business relationship, see below)
with the company, and even if you have not registered your home phone number(s)
on the national Do-Not-Call list. You may remember that before these rules took effect, the words
“private,” “out of area,” or “unavailable” might have appeared on the Caller ID
display.
More questions?
See this list of frequently
asked questions, direct from the FTC.
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