Scary Phonecalls

Charlee · Jun 1, 2011

Hi I wonder if anyone can shed some light on this.

My friend's son (he's 8) has been upset the last few days he says he has been getting horrible phone calls on his mobile saying 'you're going to die, I'm going to kill you...' thing is there is nothing on his received phone list.

We thought maybe he was after attention or something but he was really upset. So my friend took his phone today and this morning at about 8 o'clock the phone rang, not the normal ring tone and the number just said blocked. When answered it's a recording of a little girl saying these things in a sing song voice over and over.

We checked the call list nothing is registered there. It's so odd. we have spoken to the police who are less than helpful but have agreed to look at the phone if it is brought into the station later today.

Any idea how this can happen? Would a Skype call or something like that not register on the received list? I have been googling but I can't seem to find anything.

GailD · Jun 1, 2011

We have this problem in S. Africa too. It's a very, very nasty form of bullying and, as far as I understand it, falls under the US laws against stalking (referred to as 'menacing' in some states). I researched this quite thoroughly for my novel and what I discovered was that unless you can show that a crime has been committed, most law enforcement agencies are reluctantant to take action. But stalking is a crime and there was more than one call.

The cellphone network you subscrib to should be notified immediately. They can trace the call, even if it's blocked. They may require a warrant - but that depends on the state you live in. Every cellphone call can be tracked or traced but if the user is using a disposable phone it might be difficult to pinpoint precisely.

I would take out that simcard and replace it with a new one. This type of harassment is bad enough for an adult but for a child it can be truly terrifying.

Please keep us posted on how this progresses.

Charlee · Jun 1, 2011

I'm in the UK. the little boy is using a different phoen now but still want to find out who's doing it really. And how is also bugging me. I receive blocked or withheld numbers on my phone sometimes (not like this for normal reasons) but they always show on my received calls list

Mr Flibble · Jun 1, 2011

Well harassment is still an offence over here. I'd make the police take it seriously tbh. Also get in contact with your phonce service provider - I did this when my son kept getting sent porn spam texts and they got them stopped straight away. Probably much to my son's disgust but then he's that bit older

Anyway, they should be able to at least look into it for you. I dealt with Orange and as soon as they found out it was a kid's phone, they bent over backwards to get me sorted.

Charlee · Jun 1, 2011

I was surprised actually how little the police seemed to care, my friend is going into the station later today to talk to them again and show them the phone.

brainstorm77 · Jun 1, 2011

Call the service provider. They should be able to stop it or at least issue a new number.

mccardey · Jun 1, 2011

Just to put a different spin on it - I heard of a similar thing happening to a friend and it turned out to be some kind of automated, random attack by a hacker aimed at creating mischief via mobile phones generally. It wasn't targeted at her personally at all - hers was just one of the numbers the program had pulled up. I think in the end it she said it had been tracked to some other country she'd never had contact with in any form.

That might be of some comfort to both your friend and her little boy - although I still think they should have it checked out if at all possible. And obviously, yes, that old phone set-up would have to go.

skylark · Jun 1, 2011

The different ring tone is weird. I know you can set different ring tones for different people, but I thought that was something you did yourself, as the owner of the phone? Has the child played with this? Is it only "different" because all his other phonecalls come from family members who he has given different ringtones to?

I would ring the phone company and ask them how a call which was answered can then not appear on the list. And, for an eight year old's phone (I presume he actually needs it, it isn't a fashion accessory or toy), I'd be changing phone provider to one which does not do this.

Charlee · Jun 1, 2011

The different ring tone was why I thoguht maybe it was a skype call or something. Does anyone knwo how it works when you make a call from a computer to a normal phone does that show on the received list?

The phone company wont do anything (except change the number) until they have a crime number which the police will issue later tonight.

It is so odd and a bit freaky....

I'll let you know what the police say

mirandashell · Jun 1, 2011

Poor little fella, he must have been scared to death!

Hopefully the phone company will sort it out.

Scary Phonecalls

Charlee

Sometimes I have no Y

GailD

Still chasing plot bunnies.

Charlee

Sometimes I have no Y

Mr Flibble

They've been very bad, Mr Flibble

Charlee

Sometimes I have no Y

brainstorm77

practical experience, FTW

mccardey

skylark

Charlee

Sometimes I have no Y

mirandashell