What can I do about obscene phone calls?

If you are receiving abusive, threatening or obscene calls that are distressing to you, then you should report them to the police. TIP: For every malicious call you receive you should note down the date, time and nature of the call.

Do you report obscene phone calls?

File a complaint. You can report unwanted telemarketing calls at National DNCL or call 1-866-580-DNCL (3625).

What qualifies as phone harassment?

Telephone harassment occurs when someone intends to annoy, harass, or threaten you and just one phone call can do that. More often, harassment constitutes frequency—repeated threats, insults, rude behavior, and lewd language over the phone. The caller is persistent, and the phone repeatedly rings until she picks up.

What do police do about harassing phone calls?

Law enforcement officers try to stop the harassing calls by either warning or arresting the harasser. With both Call Trace and a Trap, your phone conversations are not listened to or recorded by the phone company.

How many phone calls a day is considered harassment?

Calling someone over 25 times over 24 hours (1 day) in this case is considered harassment.

Can you press charges if someone keeps calling you?

People who commit telephone harassment are subject to fines, prison, or both. In many states, telephone harassment is a criminal misdemeanor and can be more serious when a defendant in a criminal case is harassing the victim.

Can u go to jail for phone harassment?

Who investigates harassing phone calls?

Hang up and report it to the Federal Trade Commission at complaints.donotcall.gov or 1-888-382-1222. If you’re getting repeated calls from the same number, you might want to ask your service provider to block the number; for calls from different numbers, ask if they offer a service to block unwanted calls.

How many times can a number call you before it’s harassment?

Federal law doesn’t give a specific limit on the number of calls a debt collector can place to you. A debt collector may not call you repeatedly or continuously intending to annoy, abuse, or harass you or others who share the number. You do have a right to tell the debt collector to stop calling you.

What are the laws on obscene phone calls in Florida?

The 2020 Florida Statutes. 365.16 Obscene or harassing telephone calls.—. is guilty of a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083. (2) Whoever knowingly permits any telephone under his or her control to be used for any purpose prohibited by this section is guilty of a misdemeanor of the second degree,

When is an obscene call a harassing call?

An obscene or harassing phone call occurs when a caller makes any comment, request, suggestion or proposal that is obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy, vulgar or indecent, according to the University of Florida Police Department.

What does it mean to make an obscene phone call?

Making obscene telephone calls for sexual arousal or other sexual pleasure is known as telephone scatologia and is considered a form of exhibitionism. Telephone scatologia is usually classed as a paraphilia from a psychiatric viewpoint.

Can a man make obscene calls to a woman?

There are certainly surveys suggesting that relatively large numbers of women have received obscene telephone calls although it is theoretically possible for just one telephone scatophiliac to make hundreds (if not thousands) of telephone calls to different women. Almost all telephone scatophiliacs are male.