PLA Forums
Pranks => Prank Phone Calls => Topic started by: Taters on January 25, 2008, 09:17:55 PM
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Well, anyone in the U.S. help me out here. I'm thinking about prank calling more and more often. Me and my friend have mics and we record. So, what are the potential punishments? Anything really major? BTW I'm 15.
*EDIT* And what are the chances of getting caught red boxing? Was thinking about doing it soon...
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You should read the FAQ and use the search feature. I'm not flaming. I'm just making a suggestion.
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My friend and I both have mics and we record.
Fixed
I'm not flaming.
Don't worry, I'm more than happy to.
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Alright, I'll check the FAQ. ;D
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Well, I'm personally happy that someone finally posted this thread, because it allows the answer to be in one, comprehensive place.
1) Prank Calling:
Prank calling in the US can constitute harassment. However, if you don't make any threats or do something that could be proven to either A) Cause someone harm or B) Cause a business to lose money as a result of your harassment, you're not likely to be prosecuted. Any time you start repeatedly calling the same people and businesses, that risk increases, especially if you get warned once by either your local authorities or the phone company. If someone feels you are making harassing calls, they can *57 you, which performs a "trace" and allows the phone company to record you as a problem subscriber. If those traces start adding up from the same numbers, then your parents (or your friend's parents) may get a call or letter from that phone company. If it's really bad and repeated (and a lot of people complain) the telephone company COULD turn that over to authorities. I don't have any recorded cases of that happening where it actually turned into charges, but you never know.
I am, however, not going to give you suggestions on how to decrease the risk of getting caught. You'll have to figure that out on your own.
2) Redboxing
When I was in high school, I boxed pretty constantly for about 2 years. I had quite a few close calls with the phone company, with security at businesses (I was dumb enough to start boxing from a bank of phones at a mall), and I even had a brush with real police. If you get caught with a red box or a device that authorities could prove is made or modified to produce coin tones, then it's toll fraud. I don't remember if that's a felony; you might want to look it up. If the police look at your computer and see that you've been visiting sites like phonelosers or any other "hacking" sites, they can also ban you from Internet access until you're 18, which sucks.
For both of these, if you get caught and prosecuted, you're looking at community service, probation, possible state counseling, or (depending on your community) a short stint in a juvenile facility. Since you're a minor, your name probably won't be released, but word gets around. Depending on your school district and state, you may also have to sit an expulsion hearing with the school board to have them determine if you're a danger to the other kids in public school (this is much more likely if you actually get sentenced to do any time). Even if you don't have to, your parents may just pull you out of public school anyway.
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Ditching public school is hardly the worst thing that could happen?
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Nobody ever gets arrested for prank calls unless they make bomb threats or something. On that subject, in High School I found out that phony bomb threats are a great way to get school cancelled so you can go home and watch Dragon Ball Z while shooting black tar heroin.
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ah to be under the age of consent again!!! listen the best thing to do is get it out of your system while you are young, and learn how to do thing correctly so when your older, your wiser, and not giving advice like this to minors ;)
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Ditching public school is hardly the worst thing that could happen?
In my area it is. The only private schools are creepy, Catholic, and have community-service style punishments along with monetary fines for disciplinary action. I'm not going to pay money as punishment at a school I already have to pay money to attend. Fuck that.
ah to be under the age of consent again!!! listen the best thing to do is get it out of your system while you are young, and learn how to do thing correctly so when your older, your wiser, and not giving advice like this to minors Wink
I'm almost positive that's directed toward me, since you usually make remarks about how I don't know what I'm talking about. Thanks a bunch!
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i am merely stating that it's better to learn when your young, so if your still in the game at thirty, you wont make as many mistakes. Plus if you do get busted, community service sounds better than five years in prison... Since the person would be a minor.
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Point well taken.
Bottom line - prank calling is fun and entertaining for all parties involved. Just don't make threats.
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Nobody ever gets arrested for prank calls unless they make bomb threats or something. On that subject, in High School I found out that phony bomb threats are a great way to get school cancelled so you can go home and watch Dragon Ball Z while shooting black tar heroin.
I've been arrested twice for non-threatening calls. In 1997, the police showed up because I called Bill Gates' mom (found here (http://www.phonelosers.org/sound/)) and yelled at her about Windows 95. I only made 3 calls to her and none of it was threatening. A couple months later, I was arrested again for making 1 single call and talking a lady out of her credit card number. This is when I learned not to prank locally.
I made a bomb threat to my high school during lunch and the lady who answered the phone laughed at me and said, "Yeah, right, whatever." I never got in trouble for that one, though. (Not that I'm saying you should make bomb threats.)
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I think bomb threats were taken a bit more seriously after kids started shooting up their schools and bringing homemade pipe bombs and napalm with them to class.
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When I was in high school some cops pulled me out of class and took me home to search my room based on some rumor that I would build a bomb. I never made threats or anything like that but I guess I'm generally a weird guy. This was after a high profile school shooting but before the one at Columbine.
The cops searched my room and one of them looked directly at the k-r4d 1337-o notebook on my desk opened to a page filled with credit card numbers clearly labeled with words like "VISA", "MASTERCARD", "DISCOVER" and other peoples names. He flipped through it and, satisfied that it had no blatant drawings of bombs, he left my house.
I don't know that any of this is relevant but this thread made me remember it again. I guess the lesson is that cops who investigate high schoolers are probably doing that because they're way too dim to outwit any normal adult.
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Once in Jr. High I stayed home sick (alone) and that very day someone made a bomb threat to the grade school directly across the street from my house. It wasn't me, but my first thought was that I would definitely be blamed for it. At the very least, my parents would think I did it. But surprisingly, nobody approached me about it.
A year later I stayed home from school alone and the Challenger space shuttle blew up. I didn't get blamed for that either.
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Most cops either way you look at it are pretty dumb.
They do thieir job in spite of almost everything. For every 100 corrupt cops there is maybe 1 or 2 hard core policemen.
Its pretty much like that here in Winnipeg.
You have your old timers that are just super hard core and would ticket your ass for a broken tail light when all the newbies are out power trippin on some punk kid just walkin down the street mindin his own business drinking his pepsi boppin to the MP3 player mommy just bought him for his b-day.
Cops take action on kids because kids know absolute shit and get scared. Its a fuckin power trip.
I was in that position too. I got accused of hacking!
Needless to say I did it at home and this was supposedly when i was at school.
Its like they say... If the show fits wear it.
So I did a few years back when i nailed a Govt server and with my luck I saw the same 2 cops in the station that picked me up 11 yrs prior to that for the same damn thing.
Talk about Deja Vu!
:P
I was even invited in for coffee and donuts My ass has fallen off due to laughter.
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there is a way to make prank phone calls without ever calling the person you are pranking........you can leave them a message in their voicemail from another hacked voicemail box. Then, if they ever trace it, the poor dumb guy whose voicemail you hacked gets the blame :D