Obscene Calls

ballooba

A friend is getting obscene calls from a private number on her mobile. She went to the gardai today and they said it would take 6 weeks to find out who it is.

I find this disturbing. If you had some crazed stalker they would find your decaying corpse before they found out the number. Anyone know a way of speeding up the process?

Dooom

offer to meet him and kick the snot out of him and anyone in the immediate vinicity? violence usually solves everything

Victor

Originally posted by ballooba
A friend is getting obscene calls from a private number on her mobile. She went to the gardai today and they said it would take 6 weeks to find out who it is.

Look at the front section of the white phone book - there are instructions for dealing with obscene calls there. Get her to talk to her phone company, they can do a lot for her. Do you have the number of the caller (do not post it here)? Things can be done.

Creamy Goodness

the number doesn't come up that's what he meant by private number i think

50Cent

Thats the most annoying thing in the world. I got threats down the phone before, there IS NOTHING that pisses you off more, gets you more paranoid, it sucks beyond belief...for a girl, i say its a billion times worse. Plus the ones i got were a one nighter thing. its very annoying though.

Victor

Just don't answer the call if you cant see the number (tell the cops you will be doing this, because their numbers won't show up - presumably to protect informers).

Trojan

Not exactly legal, but if you know someone working at a telco I'll bet you can find out the number a lot quicker than that.

There was a recent case where Esat employees got caught checking someones number though, can't remember the details.

Al.

The Gopher

On digifone(or O2,but i still call it digifone seeing as that is the logo that is still on my phone)if somebody leaves a message you are told that you can call back by pressing 22.Now,I dont know if it is worth a try or not as it mightnt work if the number was blocked,but dont anwser the phone,hope he leaves a message,ring the 22 and use a pre thought up plan to trick him into revealing his identidy(something like offering him a place in a prize draw to take part in a survey where he gives his name and address).
Remember to block the number of the phone he rings when doing this.And dont ring immeadiately after he has left a message as he will be suspicious.
And perhaps make the "survey" call during business hours i.e 9am-5pm or otherwise he might tweak.

ballooba

To be honest, I was hoping someone who works in a telco or the Gardai who uses this forum might be able to advise. She has followed the usual channels, but 6 weeks? Thats a bit too bloody long. Bet you if it happened to a bean garda (non pc I know) it would be sorted out in hours.

The idea with the message minder would not work. If CLI (Caller Line Identification) is switched off then something like that would not find it out for you. Its a privacy thing, same as being ex-directory.

To the lads who posted at the top about phone boxes etc. Very helpful, thank you for your input. Hope someone shows you the same level of respect when its your friend, girlfriend, sister, mother, grandmother or daughter.

Jaeger

People who prank call do it for kicks. If they had any real reasons for, or intentions of harming your friend, they'd be doing a lot more than phoning.

Whoever it is is just getting off on the fact that they can harm someone anonymously and get away scot free with it. It's a form of control.

Best way to deal with this is to just ignore them and not respond in any way. Do your best to comfort her and make her feel safe since this is what it's really about. I'm guessing since she's gone to the gardaí that she's already had several calls and responded to the caller in various ways.

Anytime the person phones her just get her to put the phone down, leaving the call on and let the caller talk to an empty earpiece.

Once the caller realises there's noone listening, the kick will be gone out of it for them. Even the most resilient of prank callers can have no effect if there's noone listening. Also, it'll be their money they're wasting making calls to people who aren't listening, so think of that as your own way of winning

Hope that helps

Jaeger

Mac daddy

Originally posted by Aragorn
offer to meet him and kick the snot out of him and anyone in the immediate vinicity? violence usually solves everything

i agree with Aragon on this one, just get her to meet up with this ****er, you go along with her when you see the person, just walk over nice and introduce him to Mr baseball bat. see if that helps

Victor

Originally posted by Mac daddy
i agree with Aragon on this one, just get her to meet up with this ****er, you go along with her when you see the person, just walk over nice and introduce him to Mr baseball bat. see if that helps

Can we tame this kind of comment?

ballooba

She thinks she knows who it is and doesn't wan't to make accusations. Mac Daddy think about this one. If she doesn't know who's calling her then how can she meet them.

As regards letting them speak to an empty earpiece, they don't speak.

People who prank call do it for kicks. If they had any real reasons for, or intentions of harming your friend, they'd be doing a lot more than phoning.

How do you know? and how do I convince the victim?

Victor

Originally posted by ballooba
As regards letting them speak to an empty earpiece, they don't speak.

Put the phone on mute and leave them on hold. It "only" costs them what 63cents a minute (€37.80/hour)?

50Cent

If the person is saying nothing...then who gives a ****? If she was getting threats then it wud be a lot more serious.

Maybe the person doing it is a possessive freak who likes her and wont stop calling...im a guy, but there are girls out there who do that...and im sure there are MANY guys out there too.

ballooba

Originally posted by 50Cent
If the person is saying nothing...then who gives a ****? If she was getting threats then it wud be a lot more serious.

Maybe the person doing it is a possessive freak who likes her and wont stop calling...im a guy, but there are girls out there who do that...and im sure there are MANY guys out there too.

There is a certain air of cooperation on this board that you don't make statements like the one i'm about to make but this is extraordinary circumstances.

That post is retarded to the highest degree. Yes this person is very possessive and maybe a little bit loopy.

Jaeger

Originally posted by ballooba
As regards letting them speak to an empty earpiece, they don't speak.

If they're not speaking, then it's not an obscene phone call and the gardaí can and will do nothing as there's been no laws broken.

Originally posted by ballooba
How do you know? and how do I convince the victim? [/B]

Like I said, I've had experience. I've gotten calls and I know people who have made calls to other people.

Read my post again. Do your best to make her feel safe. Not just physically safe from her caller but mentally. Boost her confidence, let her know that nothing will happen to her as long as you're there for her. My guess is that she just feels really threatened. Not by any one thing in particular, it's like a fear of the dark, fear of everything, the unexpected. The fear that she could be attacked at any time by an unknown attacker.


edit:

Just read that bit about possessive and loopy. Talk to eircom & vodafone if you haven't already done so. Look for phone records etc although I'm pretty sure they won't give that information out without garda involvement.

Take charge of the situation, be strong for her. Assure her that nothing will happen to her. It will make her feel that much better about it just knowing you're there for her when she needs you.



Are you telling us everything? If it's just been prank calls then I stand by everything I've said. In the case of there being actual physical harm to her, then she'd already know about it as a) an attacker likes their victim to know who they are and why they're attacking them and b) the gardaí would already be involved if it had gone beyond calls.

Trojan

Originally posted by ballooba

To the lads who posted at the top about phone boxes etc. Very helpful, thank you for your input. Hope someone shows you the same level of respect when its your friend, girlfriend, sister, mother, grandmother or daughter.

Yeah, yeah. It was a joke, albeit in bad taste - I apologise.

Delphi91

My sister had the same problem. Kept getting obscene phone calls, some of a sexual nature. It went on quite a while. She even managed to tape them and take them to the Gardai. They didn't seem to be too interested. She was passed from Billy to Jack - "Oh you'll have to get on to Pheonix Park about that, we don't handle that here", "Hello, Pheonix Park.....You'll have to report that to your local station" Seems it was gonna take ages to get the Gardai to get onto Eircom to have it traced.

So, it was mentioned to a family friend who happened to know an Inspector. It was sorted SERIOUSLY quickly after that.

Even when we had analogue switches, tracing a call only took about 5-10 mins max. Today it should be virtually instantaneous. Don't take the "6 week" story - its crap. Why not suggest that you'll be calling Joe Duffy or Gerry Ryan???? See how quick they move after that!!

If all else fails, go to your local Car Accessories shop and buy an air horn, and the next time they call, let them have it down the phone line! Theres nothing like 130 decibels in your ear to make someone see sense!

Mike

ballooba

If it was just prank calls do you think she wouldn't have called the Gardai. There has been no threats or physical harm but saying nothing is way worse than that.

This is around 20 calls over a 6 week period. Its becoming someones hobby not a bit of a laugh.

ballooba

I've let myself go off topic here. The question at hand is, is the 6 week tracking figure accurate? Is there any way of avoiding this. Any special circumstances>

Jaeger

You're not seeing it bal, the reason he keeps phoning is because he knows he's getting the effect he wants. Stop him from doing that and you've won. Try one of these:

1. Put the phone down, leave the call go on as long as it takes for him to get bored.
2. Air horn (although this could be dodgy it will certainly hurt)

Jaeger

6 weeks isn't the length of time it takes them to trace it, it's the length of time they'll piss about with red tape // not bother to do anything about it.

ballooba

Originally posted by Jaeger
6 weeks isn't the length of time it takes them to trace it, it's the length of time they'll piss about with red tape // not bother to do anything about it.

Thats whats annoying the piss out of her and me for that matter because she is quite worried about it.

Trojan

How about asking the Garda you were talking to what specific steps they need to take, and which ones take the most time.

Express the fact that she's frightened, and you'd like to at least know why it takes 42 days for anything to happen (or to rephrase it: "why does she have to go through another 42 days/6 weeks of this?").

Actually, fcuk that, just keep asking everyone you know if they know a garda, when you do find one get them to sort it asap.

Al.

mooman_00

best thing you can do is look for a mate with connections.....ie a friend of your parents/her parents who is a guard or someone who works for the phone company she is with......otherwise appeal to people on boards(i know this is what your doin now) for someone who is workin in the phone company she is with. Its about the only way of avoiding the 6 week wait or actually finding out who that person is.......as said before if the caller says nothing the most the guards will do is warn him/her and you will not get to find out who it was.......happened to a friend before and he got the name and no from someone workin in a phone company, and it was sorted out after that.....the guards are a bit of a joke when it comes to prank calls...............best of luck...........

Dr. Loon

I had some prank calls myself. It was a male voice saying I'm going to ****ing kill you!! The first time it was scary... I hung up. It happened a second time and I laughed down the phone. The third time I actually heard girls giggling in the background and I just hung up. I know it's not the same as this girl's experiencing.

I reckon just leaving the phone down is a good idea, and in the meantime try to find a garda and get it traced swift. T

hells angels

I think the air-horn idea is the best by far it should teach him not to fcuk with you and probably deafen him for about a week but sure what harm is that.....

But if that sounds too much go with the leaving the phone down and let him waste his credit or run up his phone bill or whatever

Seriously thats what i would do in the same situation...

Good luck in catching the little fúcker too...he's only a wimp or he would be carring out these threats not just makin them....(bullies sound familier)... anyway thats just my two cents but there are some good ideas on this thread...Imo

patch

I remember hearing something about blowing a sports whistle down a phone.........
I would suggest she do it a couple of times, that way she may not feel so helpless, it may help get her past the way she's feeling. -Then get a new sim card.

thedrowner

hey balooba

a few years ago a similar thing happened to myself and my friends. basically, a friend of the group parted with us, and got nasty about the thing, and gave our numbers to people who vaguely knew us who then started the obscene messeges.

you said the girl may have an idea about who's doing this to her, and it also seems very planned out rather than some random person having a laugh. one of my friends in particular was getting a lot more calls than the rest of us, and eventually she went to the police. they told her the only thing she could do was to change the number on the phone.

how i solved the situation was dropping hints to various people about us going to the police. it shook them up, and made the calls stop-it may not work for you, but it's worth a shot.

Wolf

If I can ask?

What are the calls like? Are the lurid? Are they violent threats? Are they sexual threats? I mean what are we really talking about here.

There are different ways of dealing with different weirdos what kinda of weirdo is it thats phoning her ?