Is it illegal to prank call.. on accident?

Steelers Fan

Do we have nothing better to do during spring break than to harass people on the phone....also do you realize that 98% of the people in the US have caller ID and can get your number

sjbrown25@att.net

I'm here in Los Angeles and I don't know the answer to this one-however, I do recall an incident that was covered in the media, where a teenager was prank calling folks in the hospital setting and if I recall, she was being charged with a variety of charges (can't precisely recall, what exactly), because one of the patients had jumped out of the window and I think she died or might have been severely injured. She prank called them and said they had AIDS. Turns out that the girl's mother (I think around your age, too) worked in the hospital and that's how she got a hold of their room numbers. The incident might have taken place in or around FL.

Now, as for you two, times have changed and it used to be the thing to do, nowadays, you CAN'T do that anymore. Laws change, and yes, you could possibly get into trouble for doing that. For your information, there's a thing called annoying/harrassing calls, where the recipient makes note/time of call and press a particular function and the information will only go the police. This is to document all activity and it'll be turned over for possible prosecution. Don't forget, there's also caller ID, call waiting caller ID and other phone service features that make it easier to see who's calling before they answer, or they can block your number from calling (depending on the area you live in & features that are available from local phone company or service provider).

This is a parent speaking, and I also have teenagers myself-find some other alternatives, to keep your mind/time occupied with positive influences, instead of the negative ones.

Good luck.

Janelle

its not even illegal to prank call on purpose

carrieluvsredsox

i was taking care of my younger cousin. some stupid kids kept calling her and would not stop. I simply called the police..gave the officer the number. he called them and the calls stopped. it not the brightest thing to do, but i know its not illegal. I think if someone called me and meowed i would just laugh it off and hang up. however if they kept on calling i might call the police to have them stop.

amelia

Haha, that is so funny. I want to meow at some random people. I don't think it's illegal. well, it's not in florida. if anything the cops could call you and be like you need to stop. but it's just over the phone so your safe. the cops are gay. i had this stalker and she called me all the time, and so i called the sheriff dept. on her. and all they did was call her and tell her to stop. but she was like threatening my life and stuff. but the cops said since it was over the phone they couldn't press charges. unless it was physical assult..(like she actually tried to beat me up like she threatened.) but yeah

you're safe!

LYNN W

I can tell you from experience that I will be shocked if anything happened to you. Some young boys kept calling my home around midnight and hanging up. My husband called back and when they said they were home alone, we called the police of course. The police went over to their home and only gave them a warning and come to find out, it wasn't just our home they had been calling that night either. This is Georgia though. Yours was an honest mistake and you told the caller that so at least you tried to right the wrong you had made. Have a good weekend!

Olivia...when I was a kid we did that. The last prank call we ever got here was years ago. Our company is a natural stone company with Stone in the name, and some kid called there and my husband answered and the kid said something about My husband getting stoned. We had caller ID and my husband called the kid back and pretended to be the police. After the kid begged Mike for awhile not to tell his folks, groveled and cried..Mike said :"Ha! Gotchya!" That kid turned out to go to the same school as our son and he called Mike often after that...he was a nice kid.

But, to answer your question, EVERYBODY has caller ID now. It's a stupid thing to do unless you're just aching to get restricted from the phone!

NanaTerrie

Frogman

Yes, it is illegal in California:

California Penal Code 653m

(b) Every person who makes repeated telephone calls or makes
repeated contact by means of an electronic communication device with
intent to annoy another person at his or her residence, is, whether
or not conversation ensues from making the telephone call or
electronic contact, guilty of a misdemeanor.

THUB

For starters, it IS illegal to prank call on purpose, however, because it was an honest accident, and it only happened once, the chances of you really getting in trouble would be incredibly slim. If you were to call someone more than once to the point that it upset them enough to really contact the authorities, then you'd probably end up in quite some trouble, however, you'd most likely get a stern warning from an Officer the first time.

Also, the person you meow'd at was calling you back, correct? Therefore, you didn't really prank call them... right? They called you.

Nothing will happen. There were no threats, nothing was recorded-and the lady was just mad and scaring you. Nothing will happen. Relax.

kevinostrea

Prank phone call all you want, just don't harass. Harassing over the phone IS illegal.

woahman!

Prank calling is NOT illegal. Even on purpose.

Plus, if anyone did report you to the police, they would have no evidence.

Brush this incident of your shoulder, it's yesterday's news. :)

lovepink17

prank calling and accident are two different things! no, its not illegal..but many people threaten to call the cops. Dont worry about it

Kyle M

anyone whos dumb enough to report you to the police is da no life, i think it is illegal but the cops wont do anything but tell u to just stay away from her

prmdc_girl91

Aw, LOL.

I don't know if you could really get charged with anything, I mean...were you doing anything wrong!? NO...

If anything, maybe harrassment at worst, but seriously, I'm sure you could explain it all to the cops (calmly, again), and especially if it's your "first offence" (your number wasn't reported before), I'm sure you'll probably just get a warning, if anything.

CATHERiNE

that person needs to get a grip.
its not illegal, unless you are sayings threatening stuff or harassing them..
which you aren't....so that person needs to calm down.

Tsunami

yes you can get into trouble doing this.

Melissa

Doesn't sound like an accident to me, and it won't to the judge. Fool. Let us know how much of an accident the judge thinks it is. We won't write to you in jail.

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