TELEPHONE HARASSMENT
What You Can Do

The following are suggestions on handling on-going phone harassment, hang up calls, sales or survey calls, or obscene phone calls:

Handling a Call Yourself

• Hang up.  Do not talk to the person.

• If you have Call Forwarding, forward your calls to the "time/temperature" number for a short time.  Be sure to inform friends and family when you do this.

• If you are a female and live alone, hold the receiver away from your head and yell, "Joe, this is an obscene call.  Do you want to talk to him or should I hang up?"  Then hang up.  Ask a male to record your message on your answering machine.

• Unplug your phone for a time or turn off the ringer so you do not have to answer it.  If you have an answering machine, screen your messages through it.

Abusive or Harassing Calls

The purpose of these calls may be to infuriate or terrify you.  They may include silence, heavy breathing, or obscenities.

Obscene Phone Calls

The obscene phone caller gets sexual gratification from talking to strangers.  For the time frame you remain on the phone, he perceives himself as having power over you and being in sexual contact with you.  Any emotional response from you reinforces his fantasy.  This is why it is important to hang up immediately.

Nuisance or Hang Up Calls

Prank calls:  Your number has usually been chosen at random and the caller will give up after one or two attempts.

Calls from fax machines:  Upon answering, you will hear a series of beeping sounds or one long beep.  Fax machines will often redial your number several times to attempt to complete the transmission.  In most cases, your phone company can assist you with this problem.

Autodialer:  This is used by solicitors to make contact with potential customers.  When answering, you may hear silence or a delay on the line while it rings back to an available solicitor.  If no solicitor is available, the system will hang up and redial your number again.  This may result in a series of hang-up calls.  You may want to remove your handset from the receiver for a short time to alter the redial process within the autodialer.

Survey and Sales Calls

Caution is the best policy!  Consider carefully before you give your name, address, phone number, ages / number of family members, income, credit card number, or any other personal information over the phone, especially if you have not initiated the call.  This includes surveys or phone calls soliciting business.  If you are interested in purchasing a product being offered by phone, request a phone number and tell them you will call them back.  Do not give them your address.  Check to see if they are a legitimate business:

• Look them up in the phone book.

• Call the Police Department to see if there are con artists using this method of solicitation.

• Call the Better Business Bureau at 303-758-2100 to see if there have been any complaints.

• Call the Attorney General's Office (for profit telemarketing) at 303-866-5230 or the Secretary of State (for non-profit telemarketing) at 303-894-2251, to see if the company is licensed to sell or solicit in your state.

Telemarketers cannot call before 8:00 a.m. or after 9:00 p.m.

Free Home Security Survey

If you are concerned that a caller may come to your home, consider a free home security check.  A Broomfield Police officer can come to your home and provide you with information on how to make your home more secure.  Call 720-887-2084 to make an appointment.

Change Your Number

Call Qwest and request that your phone number be changed.

Have the Calls Traced

To trace a call, press *57 (or 1157 on rotary phones) immediately after hanging up from the call.  If the call was traced, the telephone number will be forwarded to a Qwest Security Center.  The trace information can be given to the Broomfield Police Department if you choose to report the incident.  Qwest will not give you the trace information.  You do not have to sign up for Call Trace.  A $1.00 fee is charged each time a call is traced.

Last Call Return

After hanging up, press *69 (or 1169 on a rotary phone).  You will be provided with the number of the last call you received.

Caller ID

This service can be ordered through the phone company and will display, on a separate unit, the name, number, and date and time of a call.  If a caller has blocked the information, the display will read "private," "blocked," or "out of area."  This may assist you in deciding whether or not to answer your phone.  Many solicitors block their phone numbers.

To Establish A Phone Trap

Call Qwest to discuss placement of manual trace equipment.  This option requires written authorization and is dependent upon equipment availability and continuous calling patterns.

For More Information

If you need more information, or have been upset by phone calls and want someone to speak with regarding these calls, call the Victim Services Unit of the Broomfield Police Department at 303-438-6429, or Voice/TDD at 303-438-6400 (tap a key to notify the person answering you are hearing impaired).