| After a long day at work or in the middle of the night, | | | | Who Does It Effect |
| the last thing you want to hear is the loud ring of the | | | | Anyone can become a victim of phone harassment, |
| telephone and at the other end of the line - phone | | | | which spans the attractive co- worker in the office to |
| harassment. It could be the sound of heavy breathing, | | | | the congressman running for reelection. Generally, a |
| the deep voice taunting you with explicit language, or a | | | | harasser is acting like a coward because they |
| scary stretch of silence. Some people may experience | | | | manifest their apprehension for face-to-face contact |
| the annoyance of a prank call at least one time in their | | | | into hiding behind the safety of a telephone that is |
| life, but there are those who are unfortunate enough to | | | | most times, impossible to trace and hard to avoid. For |
| encounter ongoing phone harassment that has the | | | | example, a victim may stop answering their phone and |
| potential to get quite out of hand. | | | | then begin receiving threatening messages on their |
| What is Phone Harassment? | | | | answering machine. |
| Phone harassment often describes any type of | | | | How to Deal With Phone Harassment |
| unwanted phone contact intended to cause a person | | | | In the majority of phone harassment cases, the best |
| to become upset, saddened, alarmed, or scared. Many | | | | thing to do is to not response. The harasser takes |
| people who commit the act are unaware that it is a | | | | pleasure in hearing your voice and many times, hearing |
| form of bullying, as well as a complete invasion of | | | | the frustration in your voice. The more upset and |
| privacy. In many cases, the caller knows the victim, | | | | confrontational you are, the more encouragement they |
| while others experience the torture of a random dialer. | | | | receive to continue the act. Some victims of |
| Some people experience one unusual call by chance, | | | | continuous phone harassment may place the phone |
| where the worst cases involve an everyday attack of | | | | receiver down beside the phone and walk away - |
| abuse that often prompts one to change their phone | | | | taking away the fun. The harasser is then unable to |
| number. It doesn¡¯t matter if the phone harassment | | | | get any true joy from the act. |
| takes the form of a one-time prank call or is a | | | | A good way to come closer to ending the harassment |
| continuous rampage of disrespect, there is no excuse | | | | is to record each incident, taking down times and as |
| for the act to take place and it is completely | | | | much information as you can. Next, you may contact |
| unacceptable by law. | | | | the phone company and have them trace the calls. |
| The Impact | | | | Even if you don't track down a home or cell phone |
| The range of emotions that a victim undergoes is | | | | number, you may find that the harasser always calls |
| never-ending, as they may feel threatened, angry, | | | | you from a bar around the corner, which is an |
| furious, suspicious, paranoid, and/or offended. Most | | | | important piece of information. Using answering |
| often, a victim experiences an impact in their life that | | | | machines and caller IDs to screen your calls is also |
| causes sleepless nights and a feeling of inadequate | | | | helpful. |
| security. Everyday patterns may change, as some | | | | You may also conduct a reverse phone lookup, which |
| phone harassments victims feel like prisoners in their | | | | may offer information on who is calling, from what |
| own home. The lingering fear of the unknown generally | | | | number, the phone company connected to the number, |
| surfaces, as a person hopes the criminal, stalker, or | | | | and the address of the owner (when applicable). |
| lonely soul does not take their harassing to another | | | | Additional techniques include contacting the police and |
| level. | | | | simply changing your phone number. |