<p>Due to the nature of my business my cell number is available on the internet. I’ll be rethinking that after this morning though. I received a rather disgusting call from some guy that used my name. As my H pointed out though I do answer my phone by identifying myself. A quick reverse look-up of the number told me where the number is based, and that it is a Verizon number. (Actually one reason I answered was it was an area code I immediately recognized as one of the Chicago suburban codes)</p>
<p>If this was a landline I would call the local police to report the idiot. Since it came from a cell phone should I try to track someone down at Verizon and report him or something else? </p>
<p>If you’ve got the number, I’d report it to Verizon. My S’s 11-year-old friend made several prank calls to 411 on his cell phone, and those calls were apparently reported to the cell service carrier, who notified the boy’s parent that his service would be cancelled if it happened again.</p>
<p>I would imagine in 2009 that things are different with regards to reporting harassment. With computers, cell phones, etc. more things can (and should) be dealt with. I’m pretty sure there are laws covering this. Just call your local police department, ask to have a woman officer come to your home to file a harassment charge.</p>
<p>patsmom–there are lots of free reverse lookups online, just not for cell phones. I used whitepages. If you go far enough into it, you can find out who the servicer is for the line for free. </p>
<p>I did call Verizon. Nothing they can or will do. My confusion came about because I live in IN, and the phone is based in IL. dmd–you’re right. It did happen at my house though. </p>
<p>Given I live outside city limits and would be calling the sheriff, I’ve decide to hold off. I know from previous experience that the sheriff’s dept. is a bit limited in coverage of this stuff. (They took about 20 minutes to arrive for a robbery report so this kind of thing, who knows.) If he calls again, or I discover he’s called others in my office with published cell numbers, I’ll file the report. The call will show up on my bill, and I’ve put the number into my contacts for future reference. </p>
<p>This guy is quite an idiot though if he doesn’t understand many people have a caller/number id feature on their phone.</p>
<p>Report it to the police; if it’s an actionable offense, they have ways to get caller information that we can’t. And you want to have a record of reports going in case the slimeball calls again and/or escalates the situation. It’s worth keeping in mind that caller ID information can be faked; the number that appears on your phone may not be the number he called from.</p>
<p>Is there a down side to calling the police/sheriff? Granted, they may be ineffectual for the reasons you outline. But you would have started a paper trail, which may be useful if this continues. I would also consider calling Verizon again. Whether they say they can or will do something is separate from opening a file on the incident.</p>
<p>My niece had gotten several creepy phone calls from a guy she didn’t know; she reported it to the police. Since she was under 18 they did act upon the report. She happened to be in the police station making a report on a subsequent call from him when she heard his voice in an adjacent room (creepy!) where he was being questioned in another case, and the police were able to identify him. They did tell her that once she turned 18 they would not be able to do anything to him unless the call was threatening, etc. Somehow her dad was able to put a block on his number (don’t remember exactly, but I think he had to call his cell phone company directly and I think it was even free to do so).</p>
<p>Hope that helps. I would still call about possibly filing a police report to at least have it on record.</p>
<p>PS: This happened in Missouri, so don’t know if state laws vary.</p>
<p>Can you block the calls? I know that doesn’t solve the problem, but I know that you can block calls on a land-line. We have done this before, even with solicitors. Ask Verizon about this. Granted the perp could get a new number, but at least it could be stopped for a while and it would cause some inconvenience for him. And now that you know his number with caller ID, of course don’t answer his calls. Many of the people seem to find joy in the reaction of the victim answering the phone and listening.</p>
<p>You can’t block calls on a cell phone (we’ve had this problem too), but since you can see who is calling what we did is to start answering the phone by answering with “<em>your city</em> police department. All phone calls are recorded. How may I assist you?”. </p>
<p>After a couple of answers like that, the phone calls stopped.</p>
<p>If the perpetrator calls again, I think you ought to publish his number on this forum, and we can all call him with an accidental “wrong number” at all times of the day and night. (Blocking our own numbers, of course).</p>
<p>one time I took DW’s cell phone on a busniess trip. Someone started to call every two minutes but only a commercial will be played. I called the cell phone carrier and they track the phone to a Museum in New york. Somehow the main exchange at the Museum keeps dialing my cell phone. It was pretty fun afterwards.</p>
<p>Just a little update. This same man has called, using at least 3 different cell phone numbers, at least a dozen of my collegues. It has been reported to the police. </p>
<p>Bay–that would be kind of funny–I momentarily thought about setting people up to call him back throughout the day and night, but my need to abide by laws gets in the way. ;)</p>
<p>FYI–You can only block a cell phone number if you have the same carrier as the cell. At least that is what Verizon told me.</p>
<p>I hope they catch this person–and when he’s caught, a fitting punishment would be to have him receive calls at all hours of the day and night! Perhaps, since he is making so many calls, they will be able to catch him.</p>
<p>I think they should chain him up with a cell phone just out of reach, and it should ring every few minutes with a ringtone like “When The Saints Go Marching In.”</p>
(Blocking our own numbers, of course).</p>