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Harassing phone calls

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  • J Offline
    J Offline
    Jason Hooper
    wrote on last edited by
    #1

    For the last couple weeks, my partner and I have been getting phone calls with the person on the other end simply breathing, without saying anything. They have occurred shortly after I have finished work but not before I have gotten home to answer them myself. Using the service (*69 around here) to get the number of the last call to the line has been ineffective. I ask this technically-minded forum, any nifty ideas for what you would do in my situation, besides, of course, informing the police? I have considered heading to Radio Shack to buy line-recording equipment, maybe a simple tape recorder. Buying a card to run the line through my computer and record the calls digitally is out of the scope of my financial abilities. I am considering a somewhat brute-force method of investigating: getting the numbers of all the people who have it in them to do something like this to us, and phoning them on my cell phone while the calls are in progress to see if those lines are busy, etc. - Jason (SonorkID 100.611) The Code Project - Orange makes the art grow fonder

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    • J Jason Hooper

      For the last couple weeks, my partner and I have been getting phone calls with the person on the other end simply breathing, without saying anything. They have occurred shortly after I have finished work but not before I have gotten home to answer them myself. Using the service (*69 around here) to get the number of the last call to the line has been ineffective. I ask this technically-minded forum, any nifty ideas for what you would do in my situation, besides, of course, informing the police? I have considered heading to Radio Shack to buy line-recording equipment, maybe a simple tape recorder. Buying a card to run the line through my computer and record the calls digitally is out of the scope of my financial abilities. I am considering a somewhat brute-force method of investigating: getting the numbers of all the people who have it in them to do something like this to us, and phoning them on my cell phone while the calls are in progress to see if those lines are busy, etc. - Jason (SonorkID 100.611) The Code Project - Orange makes the art grow fonder

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      Jeremy Kimball
      wrote on last edited by
      #2

      The fact that *69 doesn't work probably means the caller is using the "do not attach ID" prefix (it's different for each area, I think mine is *86 or something). In which case, you can call up the phone company and ask that phone calls with that prefix be blocked (they used to do this, I'm not sure anymore). Basically, every non-caller-id call that comes to you would be unable to get through. Not sure about the particulars, but it is something to look into...

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      • J Jason Hooper

        For the last couple weeks, my partner and I have been getting phone calls with the person on the other end simply breathing, without saying anything. They have occurred shortly after I have finished work but not before I have gotten home to answer them myself. Using the service (*69 around here) to get the number of the last call to the line has been ineffective. I ask this technically-minded forum, any nifty ideas for what you would do in my situation, besides, of course, informing the police? I have considered heading to Radio Shack to buy line-recording equipment, maybe a simple tape recorder. Buying a card to run the line through my computer and record the calls digitally is out of the scope of my financial abilities. I am considering a somewhat brute-force method of investigating: getting the numbers of all the people who have it in them to do something like this to us, and phoning them on my cell phone while the calls are in progress to see if those lines are busy, etc. - Jason (SonorkID 100.611) The Code Project - Orange makes the art grow fonder

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        pseudonym67
        wrote on last edited by
        #3

        Call your phone company and get them to block any calls that do not give their number. The company may charge a small fee for the service but it should give you piece of mind. pseudonym67 My Articles[^] "They say there are strangers who threaten us, In our immigrants and infidels. They say there is strangeness too dangerous In our theaters and bookstore shelves. That those who know what's best for us Must rise and save us from ourselves." Rush

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        • J Jason Hooper

          For the last couple weeks, my partner and I have been getting phone calls with the person on the other end simply breathing, without saying anything. They have occurred shortly after I have finished work but not before I have gotten home to answer them myself. Using the service (*69 around here) to get the number of the last call to the line has been ineffective. I ask this technically-minded forum, any nifty ideas for what you would do in my situation, besides, of course, informing the police? I have considered heading to Radio Shack to buy line-recording equipment, maybe a simple tape recorder. Buying a card to run the line through my computer and record the calls digitally is out of the scope of my financial abilities. I am considering a somewhat brute-force method of investigating: getting the numbers of all the people who have it in them to do something like this to us, and phoning them on my cell phone while the calls are in progress to see if those lines are busy, etc. - Jason (SonorkID 100.611) The Code Project - Orange makes the art grow fonder

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          Kant
          wrote on last edited by
          #4

          Call your phone company and ask them do they support "Privacy Manager" feature. If they support it then add that feature to your phone service. Old article about this feature.[^]
          Promise only what you can do. And then deliver more than what you promised.
          This signature was created by "Code Project Quoter".

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          • J Jason Hooper

            For the last couple weeks, my partner and I have been getting phone calls with the person on the other end simply breathing, without saying anything. They have occurred shortly after I have finished work but not before I have gotten home to answer them myself. Using the service (*69 around here) to get the number of the last call to the line has been ineffective. I ask this technically-minded forum, any nifty ideas for what you would do in my situation, besides, of course, informing the police? I have considered heading to Radio Shack to buy line-recording equipment, maybe a simple tape recorder. Buying a card to run the line through my computer and record the calls digitally is out of the scope of my financial abilities. I am considering a somewhat brute-force method of investigating: getting the numbers of all the people who have it in them to do something like this to us, and phoning them on my cell phone while the calls are in progress to see if those lines are busy, etc. - Jason (SonorkID 100.611) The Code Project - Orange makes the art grow fonder

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            Andy Brummer
            wrote on last edited by
            #5

            In my area the phone company charges for a service that forces non identified callers to leave a voice message identifing themselves. You have the option of accpting/rejecting the call based on the message. That way all the unidentified calls aren't rejected. My goal is to look at code like a chessmaster looks at a chessboard to see positions and possibilites beyond lines and characters.

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            • J Jason Hooper

              For the last couple weeks, my partner and I have been getting phone calls with the person on the other end simply breathing, without saying anything. They have occurred shortly after I have finished work but not before I have gotten home to answer them myself. Using the service (*69 around here) to get the number of the last call to the line has been ineffective. I ask this technically-minded forum, any nifty ideas for what you would do in my situation, besides, of course, informing the police? I have considered heading to Radio Shack to buy line-recording equipment, maybe a simple tape recorder. Buying a card to run the line through my computer and record the calls digitally is out of the scope of my financial abilities. I am considering a somewhat brute-force method of investigating: getting the numbers of all the people who have it in them to do something like this to us, and phoning them on my cell phone while the calls are in progress to see if those lines are busy, etc. - Jason (SonorkID 100.611) The Code Project - Orange makes the art grow fonder

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              Duncan Edwards Jones
              wrote on last edited by
              #6

              Get a tape recording of the noise of a modem/fax machine and play that down the line. They will assume that your number has been changed to a fax and stop calling. '--8<------------------------ Ex Datis: Duncan Jones Merrion Computing Ltd

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              • J Jason Hooper

                For the last couple weeks, my partner and I have been getting phone calls with the person on the other end simply breathing, without saying anything. They have occurred shortly after I have finished work but not before I have gotten home to answer them myself. Using the service (*69 around here) to get the number of the last call to the line has been ineffective. I ask this technically-minded forum, any nifty ideas for what you would do in my situation, besides, of course, informing the police? I have considered heading to Radio Shack to buy line-recording equipment, maybe a simple tape recorder. Buying a card to run the line through my computer and record the calls digitally is out of the scope of my financial abilities. I am considering a somewhat brute-force method of investigating: getting the numbers of all the people who have it in them to do something like this to us, and phoning them on my cell phone while the calls are in progress to see if those lines are busy, etc. - Jason (SonorkID 100.611) The Code Project - Orange makes the art grow fonder

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                berndg
                wrote on last edited by
                #7

                For the lesser technical solutions, a friend of mine once found a sharp whistle works very well: keep it in a handy place near your phone, and when the caller starts breathing, you (or your partner) start whistling. REAL LOUD. Good luck, Bernd

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                • D Duncan Edwards Jones

                  Get a tape recording of the noise of a modem/fax machine and play that down the line. They will assume that your number has been changed to a fax and stop calling. '--8<------------------------ Ex Datis: Duncan Jones Merrion Computing Ltd

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                  leppie
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #8

                  Or what about an annoying "please hold while a service consulantant becomes available" song :) top secret

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                  • J Jason Hooper

                    For the last couple weeks, my partner and I have been getting phone calls with the person on the other end simply breathing, without saying anything. They have occurred shortly after I have finished work but not before I have gotten home to answer them myself. Using the service (*69 around here) to get the number of the last call to the line has been ineffective. I ask this technically-minded forum, any nifty ideas for what you would do in my situation, besides, of course, informing the police? I have considered heading to Radio Shack to buy line-recording equipment, maybe a simple tape recorder. Buying a card to run the line through my computer and record the calls digitally is out of the scope of my financial abilities. I am considering a somewhat brute-force method of investigating: getting the numbers of all the people who have it in them to do something like this to us, and phoning them on my cell phone while the calls are in progress to see if those lines are busy, etc. - Jason (SonorkID 100.611) The Code Project - Orange makes the art grow fonder

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                    Sarvesvara BVKS Dasa
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #9

                    What about a answering maching saying as "All the lines in this routes are busy. Please DONT TRY AGAIN" ;P He who controls others may be powerful,
                    But he who has mastered himself is mightier still.

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                    • J Jason Hooper

                      For the last couple weeks, my partner and I have been getting phone calls with the person on the other end simply breathing, without saying anything. They have occurred shortly after I have finished work but not before I have gotten home to answer them myself. Using the service (*69 around here) to get the number of the last call to the line has been ineffective. I ask this technically-minded forum, any nifty ideas for what you would do in my situation, besides, of course, informing the police? I have considered heading to Radio Shack to buy line-recording equipment, maybe a simple tape recorder. Buying a card to run the line through my computer and record the calls digitally is out of the scope of my financial abilities. I am considering a somewhat brute-force method of investigating: getting the numbers of all the people who have it in them to do something like this to us, and phoning them on my cell phone while the calls are in progress to see if those lines are busy, etc. - Jason (SonorkID 100.611) The Code Project - Orange makes the art grow fonder

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                      Lost User
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #10

                      In the UK you can have calls blocked if they supress their caller ID. I had it happen once and used the facilitiy for a couple of weeks then had it disabled again. The reason I had it disabled after the $^&&*() went away is that switchboards etc. often supress their IDs or they get lots of people returning calls but not knowing the extnesion required etc. Elaine :rose: The tigress is here :-D

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                      • J Jason Hooper

                        For the last couple weeks, my partner and I have been getting phone calls with the person on the other end simply breathing, without saying anything. They have occurred shortly after I have finished work but not before I have gotten home to answer them myself. Using the service (*69 around here) to get the number of the last call to the line has been ineffective. I ask this technically-minded forum, any nifty ideas for what you would do in my situation, besides, of course, informing the police? I have considered heading to Radio Shack to buy line-recording equipment, maybe a simple tape recorder. Buying a card to run the line through my computer and record the calls digitally is out of the scope of my financial abilities. I am considering a somewhat brute-force method of investigating: getting the numbers of all the people who have it in them to do something like this to us, and phoning them on my cell phone while the calls are in progress to see if those lines are busy, etc. - Jason (SonorkID 100.611) The Code Project - Orange makes the art grow fonder

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                        Megan Forbes
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #11

                        Blow a whistle down the phone - *really* hard. The pain to their ears should stop them :)


                        Look at the world about you and trust to your own convictions. - Ansel Adams
                        Meg's World - Blog Photography

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                        • M Megan Forbes

                          Blow a whistle down the phone - *really* hard. The pain to their ears should stop them :)


                          Look at the world about you and trust to your own convictions. - Ansel Adams
                          Meg's World - Blog Photography

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                          John Carson
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #12

                          Megan Forbes wrote: Blow a whistle down the phone - *really* hard. The pain to their ears should stop them Wouldn't they be likely to return the favour on the next call? Or don't they get off on that? John Carson "I wish to propose for the reader's favourable consideration a doctrine which may, I fear, appear wildly paradoxical and subversive. The doctrine in question is this: that it is undesirable to believe a proposition when there is no ground whatever for supposing it true." - Bertrand Russell

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                          • J John Carson

                            Megan Forbes wrote: Blow a whistle down the phone - *really* hard. The pain to their ears should stop them Wouldn't they be likely to return the favour on the next call? Or don't they get off on that? John Carson "I wish to propose for the reader's favourable consideration a doctrine which may, I fear, appear wildly paradoxical and subversive. The doctrine in question is this: that it is undesirable to believe a proposition when there is no ground whatever for supposing it true." - Bertrand Russell

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                            Megan Forbes
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #13

                            John Carson wrote: Wouldn't they be likely to return the favour on the next call? Or don't they get off on that? Ummm..... I don't know, I've never really been one for breathing hard down telephones, and thus what goes on in their brains is something of a mystery to me :~


                            Look at the world about you and trust to your own convictions. - Ansel Adams
                            Meg's World - Blog Photography

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                            • J Jason Hooper

                              For the last couple weeks, my partner and I have been getting phone calls with the person on the other end simply breathing, without saying anything. They have occurred shortly after I have finished work but not before I have gotten home to answer them myself. Using the service (*69 around here) to get the number of the last call to the line has been ineffective. I ask this technically-minded forum, any nifty ideas for what you would do in my situation, besides, of course, informing the police? I have considered heading to Radio Shack to buy line-recording equipment, maybe a simple tape recorder. Buying a card to run the line through my computer and record the calls digitally is out of the scope of my financial abilities. I am considering a somewhat brute-force method of investigating: getting the numbers of all the people who have it in them to do something like this to us, and phoning them on my cell phone while the calls are in progress to see if those lines are busy, etc. - Jason (SonorkID 100.611) The Code Project - Orange makes the art grow fonder

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                              Tim Smith
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #14

                              I have found that one of the most effective methods of handling this is either to just hang up or laugh at them and then hang up. Yelling at them only gives them what they want. Tim Smith I'm going to patent thought. I have yet to see any prior art.

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                              • B berndg

                                For the lesser technical solutions, a friend of mine once found a sharp whistle works very well: keep it in a handy place near your phone, and when the caller starts breathing, you (or your partner) start whistling. REAL LOUD. Good luck, Bernd

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                                Jorgen Sigvardsson
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #15

                                berndg wrote: a sharp whistle Hm.. it can't be too sharp since the phone cuts frequences above a certain threshold (3-4 KHz or something like that). -- Din mamma.

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                                • B berndg

                                  For the lesser technical solutions, a friend of mine once found a sharp whistle works very well: keep it in a handy place near your phone, and when the caller starts breathing, you (or your partner) start whistling. REAL LOUD. Good luck, Bernd

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                                  Ed K
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #16

                                  Of course if you live in any litigation crazy society, eg. the good ol' US of A, then they would be able to sue you for damaging their eardrum. :mad: You can always contact the local police department and file telephone harrassment charges. ed The absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.

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                                  • J Jason Hooper

                                    For the last couple weeks, my partner and I have been getting phone calls with the person on the other end simply breathing, without saying anything. They have occurred shortly after I have finished work but not before I have gotten home to answer them myself. Using the service (*69 around here) to get the number of the last call to the line has been ineffective. I ask this technically-minded forum, any nifty ideas for what you would do in my situation, besides, of course, informing the police? I have considered heading to Radio Shack to buy line-recording equipment, maybe a simple tape recorder. Buying a card to run the line through my computer and record the calls digitally is out of the scope of my financial abilities. I am considering a somewhat brute-force method of investigating: getting the numbers of all the people who have it in them to do something like this to us, and phoning them on my cell phone while the calls are in progress to see if those lines are busy, etc. - Jason (SonorkID 100.611) The Code Project - Orange makes the art grow fonder

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                                    Lost User
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #17

                                    I have always wanted to try an air horn.... Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity.

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                                    • J Jason Hooper

                                      For the last couple weeks, my partner and I have been getting phone calls with the person on the other end simply breathing, without saying anything. They have occurred shortly after I have finished work but not before I have gotten home to answer them myself. Using the service (*69 around here) to get the number of the last call to the line has been ineffective. I ask this technically-minded forum, any nifty ideas for what you would do in my situation, besides, of course, informing the police? I have considered heading to Radio Shack to buy line-recording equipment, maybe a simple tape recorder. Buying a card to run the line through my computer and record the calls digitally is out of the scope of my financial abilities. I am considering a somewhat brute-force method of investigating: getting the numbers of all the people who have it in them to do something like this to us, and phoning them on my cell phone while the calls are in progress to see if those lines are busy, etc. - Jason (SonorkID 100.611) The Code Project - Orange makes the art grow fonder

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                                      bryce
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #18

                                      breathe back man, i did - made it into a competition its like inviting the mormons in when they come round they can't handle it ;) bryce --- Publitor, making Pubmed easy. http://www.sohocode.com/publitor

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                                      • J Jason Hooper

                                        For the last couple weeks, my partner and I have been getting phone calls with the person on the other end simply breathing, without saying anything. They have occurred shortly after I have finished work but not before I have gotten home to answer them myself. Using the service (*69 around here) to get the number of the last call to the line has been ineffective. I ask this technically-minded forum, any nifty ideas for what you would do in my situation, besides, of course, informing the police? I have considered heading to Radio Shack to buy line-recording equipment, maybe a simple tape recorder. Buying a card to run the line through my computer and record the calls digitally is out of the scope of my financial abilities. I am considering a somewhat brute-force method of investigating: getting the numbers of all the people who have it in them to do something like this to us, and phoning them on my cell phone while the calls are in progress to see if those lines are busy, etc. - Jason (SonorkID 100.611) The Code Project - Orange makes the art grow fonder

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                                        Chris Maunder
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #19

                                        Get one of those personal alarms - the ones that emit 120dB or something. cheers, Chris Maunder

                                        1 Reply Last reply
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                                        • J Jason Hooper

                                          For the last couple weeks, my partner and I have been getting phone calls with the person on the other end simply breathing, without saying anything. They have occurred shortly after I have finished work but not before I have gotten home to answer them myself. Using the service (*69 around here) to get the number of the last call to the line has been ineffective. I ask this technically-minded forum, any nifty ideas for what you would do in my situation, besides, of course, informing the police? I have considered heading to Radio Shack to buy line-recording equipment, maybe a simple tape recorder. Buying a card to run the line through my computer and record the calls digitally is out of the scope of my financial abilities. I am considering a somewhat brute-force method of investigating: getting the numbers of all the people who have it in them to do something like this to us, and phoning them on my cell phone while the calls are in progress to see if those lines are busy, etc. - Jason (SonorkID 100.611) The Code Project - Orange makes the art grow fonder

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                                          Joey Bloggs
                                          wrote on last edited by
                                          #20

                                          Is it a listed number ? Do they have the address as well ? Do something about it. Change your work schedule for a week come home early and answer it. Consider going to the police regardless. They should be able to ask the telephone company to log all calls made to your phone and where they are coming from. ie the caller id or internal phone company routing information even if the id is being suppressed the phone company will still be able to record it even if its not being forwarded on to you. In this age of modern computerised exchanges it should just be a matter of the tech keying a request into the exchange system no wiring / soldering required. Have your partner log all suspect calls as accurately as possible to match to the log.

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