Telephones are a blessing in times of need. Today, it being no longer a luxury, but a necessity, just about everyone has access to a phone. But the best things in life do have a darker side. When it comes to telephones it is prank calls that make you wish you had never heard of one.
Prank calls are annoying at the best of times. Consider then how harassed and frustrated you would feel when the phone rings in the middle of the night and you pick it up just to hear heavy breathing. Some people who don’t have even a bit of civic sense find a lot of delight in calling up emergency services unnecessarily. This creates a lot of problem and hinders genuine callers from getting help. The fire station is one of the most common preys of such irresponsible people. Celebrities too are hounded by such calls all the time.
The calls may have sinister reasons behind them too. Calling up the house to check out the residents is a common modus operandi of anti social elements. So take adequate precautions so that you are not sorry later.
One way of preventing prank calls is to ensure that you do not divulge your phone number to all and sundry. Getting an unlisted number is another way to avoid such nuisances. But that may not be possible for all.
If you get a prank call, the first thing to do is to note down the number from where the call came. Do it each time you get a prank call. This is very important. If the prank is repeated it will help you confirm if the caller is calling from the same number or using different numbers. Finding the number is easy if you have a caller identification facility in your telephone. If you don’t have it, switch to one which has this facility.
Once you have the number find the owner by the reverse phone lookup facility. You can use various sites in the internet which provide reverse phone lookup services. Things are easy if the caller used a landline. Tracing mobile phone numbers is tougher.
Another important point to be noted is that you should inform your phone company and the police regarding such calls, especially if they persist. They have better ways to trace calls and will take prompt action.
Alexander Graham Bell must be turning over in his grave each time somebody makes a prank call!
Mar 04