InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "I see you."

the man who sold the world... on ebay (corporatecake) wrote,
@ 2012-02-17 19:50:00

Entry tags:

game: real life

adventures in phone harassment.
So, when my cell phone rings, I generally don't pick up if it's a number I don't recognize. I like to know who I'm talking to before I pick up the phone! And I figure if it's someone who knows me and has something important to say, they'll leave a voicemail or try again.

Well, about twenty minutes ago, my phone started ringing. My phone said it was a private number, which I thought was weird, so I ignored it. They called again. At this point, I figured it must be someone I know who had something to say. Like, my parents are out of town this weekend so if they died horribly or something who knows what number someone would be calling me from. Anyway, I picked up, and the conversation went something like this...

Me: Hello?
Caller: Hello?
Me: Who is this?
Caller: You know who it is.
Me: No, I don't. Who is this?
Caller: Hello?
Me: I'm sorry, I don't think I know you.
Caller: No, I have someone who needs to talk to you, can you hold on?
Me: *confused* Okay...
Long silence.
Caller: (quite obviously the same person) Hello?
Me: Can you please stop calling me, I don't think I know you.
Caller: I have someone who needs to talk to you, can you hold on?

And then I hung up the phone. Only they called right back. At this point, I knew I was being fucked with in some way, but I don't get it because it clearly wasn't in any way funny, and whoever this guy was also wasn't saying anything sexual. They called AGAIN and I ignored it, thinking they'd get the point. As soon as I did, they called AGAIN and I picked up and shouted "STOP CALLING ME, FUCKER" and hung up, which may have not been the smartest thing to do. They have called me a total of 11 times.

I called my parents FREAKING OUT because WTF this is like When A Stranger Calls shit or something am I going to be murdered while I'm on the porch smoking my cigarette and I'm home alone all weekend oh god I'm so scared and my mom was just like, "Just block the number, what do you want me to do" which was a surprising reaction from her, I thought it would be "LOCK ALL THE DOORS CALL THE COPS OH GOD."

They stopped sometime when I was on the phone with my mom, who ended up telling me to call the cops/someone to stay with if they called again. Which isn't unreasonable advice. But I can't find an app that will completely block private numbers (including voicemails and texts) and I'm freaking the fuck out because I'm in the house all alone and my dog is not exactly a guard dog and I have to go outside to let her out to pee and it would be so easy to smash in a window even if I locked all the doors and I feel like I'm in the beginning of a horror movie but maybe I just watched Scream too many times.

Is it totally wrong for me to be freaking out like this? Is this a thing? Why would someone be doing this to me? I can't see how it would be funny or thrilling or whatever. BUT I AM GENRE SAVVY I KNOW WHAT HAPPENS TO PEOPLE WHO GET MYSTERIOUS PHONE CALLS.

ETA: Wow, Smooth Criminal came up on iTunes shuffle. NO JOKE. My Genre Savvy senses are tingling.

(Post a new comment)

	glitterberries 2012-02-18 01:15 am UTC (link)
	That sounds like the opening phone call in the scream movies. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	glitterberries 2012-02-18 01:15 am UTC (link)
	That's probably not reassuring. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	glitterberries 2012-02-18 01:20 am UTC (link)
	If they call back, be like "hold on, there's someone here who needs to talk to you" and pause for a long time then open up the youtube video of Home Alone 2 when Uncle Frank in the shower is like GET OUT OF HERE YOU NOSY LITTLE PERVERT OR I'M GOING TO SLAP YOU SILLY. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	greenlander 2012-02-18 01:23 am UTC (link)
	OR YOU GET THE POLICE ON THE OTHER LINE AND TRY TO GET THEM TO TRACE THAT SHIT (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	glitterberries 2012-02-18 01:33 am UTC (link)
	The police were closed! (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	greenlander 2012-02-18 02:08 am UTC (link)
	911 closes?! (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	corporatecake 2012-02-18 02:09 am UTC (link)
	No, 911 gets annoyed if you call when it's not a straight up immediate emergency, so I called the police department. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	greenlander 2012-02-18 02:09 am UTC (link)
	How do you know that?! (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	corporatecake 2012-02-18 02:10 am UTC (link)
	Oh, they teach you about that in school. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	greenlander 2012-02-18 02:11 am UTC (link)
	They don't teach you what to do when the police department is closed. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	corporatecake 2012-02-18 02:12 am UTC (link)
	They don't teach you for situations in between "nothing is wrong" and "someone is/could be seriously injured right this second"! (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	greenlander 2012-02-18 02:12 am UTC (link)
	This is why education needs more funding. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	corporatecake 2012-02-18 02:13 am UTC (link)
	It's true. And my DARE officer smoked so I didn't listen to him much. :\| (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	greenlander 2012-02-18 02:14 am UTC (link)
	I dunno what that is. Does your police department have a website? (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	corporatecake 2012-02-18 02:30 am UTC (link)
	Drug Abuse Resistance Education. They are supposed to teach you not to do anything bad, ever. http://www.bloompd.com/ I called both numbers on the site and one that was on their automated response. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	greenlander 2012-02-18 02:54 am UTC (link)
	Huh. I wonder who gets assigned to that shit. WELL WHAT ABOUT THE STATE POLICE IF THEY CALL BACK? Have they called back? (Reply to this) (Parent)

glitterberries
2012-02-18 02:13 am UTC (link)

I've heard about people who have had to pay fines for calling 911 when things weren't what they considered to be an emergency. There was one time in Oregon when there was a crazy drunk girl beating the hell out of someone's car with a bat or a pipe or something but since I didn't know the Oregon police number, I called 911 and I was like "I'M SORRY I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS ACTUALLY AN EMERGENCY BUT THIS GIRL HAS A BAT AND IS VIOLENT, PLZ SEND ASSISTANCE."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	corporatecake 2012-02-18 02:30 am UTC (link)
	YEAH I def have a fear of calling 911 unless there's like, a felony in progress or someone's having a heart attack. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	glitterberries 2012-02-18 02:10 am UTC (link)
	Meg said she called the police and that they were closed! (Reply to this) (Parent)

	corporatecake 2012-02-18 01:37 am UTC (link)
	lol Ash you are so funny. Your genre savvy advice makes me feel equipped for if I really am in the plot of a horror movie. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	glitterberries 2012-02-18 01:45 am UTC (link)
	I do what I can. tips hat lol seriously though, there are reasons why I've learned to drive both a stick shift and a Model T (just in case I happen to be at work when crazy horror movie esque things start going down). (Reply to this) (Parent)

	greenlander 2012-02-18 01:17 am UTC (link)
	LOCK THE DOORS. ARM YOURSELF. KEEP YOUR PHONE HANDY. BLOW TORCH/LIGHTER + HAIRSPRAY? (Reply to this) (Thread)

	corporatecake 2012-02-18 01:32 am UTC (link)
	I have a knife. :\| (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	greenlander 2012-02-18 02:07 am UTC (link)
	Do you know how to use it? (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	puggly 2012-02-18 02:08 am UTC (link)
	Stab them in the stomach! Or something. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	useapostrophes 2012-02-18 03:50 am UTC (link)
	Stick 'em with the pointy end? (Reply to this) (Parent)

	useapostrophes 2012-02-18 03:51 am UTC (link)
	I wish that I had more effective advice for you :-/ (Reply to this) (Parent)

	mady 2012-02-18 01:18 am UTC (link)
	CAN YOU PLEASE CALL THE POLICE I AM KIND OF FREAKING OUT FOR YOU RIGHT NOW (Reply to this) (Thread)

	corporatecake 2012-02-18 01:32 am UTC (link)
	THE POLICE IN MY TOWN ARE SO INEFFECTUAL, MAN. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	mady 2012-02-18 01:34 am UTC (link)
	I KNOW, I AM SUPER MAD ABOUT THE POLICE!!! (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	corporatecake 2012-02-18 01:37 am UTC (link)
	"Hours of operation are from 8 AM until 4 PM." Your the cops, man! Isn't the hours you're CLOSED like, prime crime time? (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	mady 2012-02-18 01:38 am UTC (link)
	POLICE HAVE SET WORKING HOURS???? (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	corporatecake 2012-02-18 01:38 am UTC (link)
	Apparently. I shouldn't be surprised. The popo in my town seem to exist mainly to arrest college kids for possession/underage drinking. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	mady 2012-02-18 01:39 am UTC (link)
	OMG RAGE (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	corporatecake 2012-02-18 01:41 am UTC (link)
	Yeah well my brother got arrested on drug paraphernalia charges because he PASSED a breathalizer at a DUI check point, then consented to a search of his car and they found a bong under the seat. It's how they make all their $$$. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	mady 2012-02-18 01:42 am UTC (link)
	I'll become a police woman and change the system. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	corporatecake 2012-02-18 01:45 am UTC (link)
	Mady: Popo Lady. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	mady 2012-02-18 01:46 am UTC (link)
	JK I would be so bad at it. (Reply to this) (Parent)

finch
2012-02-18 01:29 am UTC (link)

while i agree it's unnerving, and i don't think you're being hysterical, i don't think calling the police is totally necessary. this kind of stuff has happened to me a fair few times -- if it was on your home line, i'd be more concerned, but i honestly would take a deep breath and try to remember that people do weird stuff like this a lot. if you feel like calling the police would help you feel safe, do it. but my guess is they won't be able to do much. we had a situation last summer where this guy stole my brother's cell phone and called me, told me he had my brother and was killing him and he went on to make all these death/rape threats -- it was awful. the police got involved, but there's not a whole lot they can do, in my experience. he was arrested because he ended up calling 911 with the same story, but until he did that, the police seemed ineffectual :\

(Reply to this) (Thread)

	finch 2012-02-18 01:29 am UTC (link)
	i WOULD call someone to stay with though. it will help you calm down a LOT. (Reply to this) (Parent)

corporatecake
2012-02-18 01:36 am UTC (link)

Oh wow, that is really fucking scary what happened to you. I'm glad he got arrested!

I have calmed down some now that whoever it was has stopped calling me. They probably were someone who was just fucking with someone random and got bored. But I think the reason it really made me freak out was because my parents just left for the weekend, so if there really was someone intending to hurt me/was stalking me/whatever, this would be like, THE time to do it.

Also having a knife next to me helps. I feel less like the first person to die. :|

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	finch 2012-02-18 01:42 am UTC (link)
	i totally get it, trust me. i suffer from night terrors and when i moved out again, i had something p similar to this happen to me. i ended up having the biggest panic attack ever -- i had to call my friend at 2am to come and sit with me for the night. it was the worst. i'm glad you feel better, though. i always sleep with a knife in my underwear drawer ;) (Reply to this) (Parent)

	finch 2012-02-18 01:42 am UTC (link)
	also, it is genuinely amazing how many fuckers do this out of sheer boredom. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	corporatecake 2012-02-18 01:47 am UTC (link)
	I may not really know how to use a knife, but at least I look more badass wielding it! My one friend in town rn isn't picking up her phone, so knife-wielding will have to do. Also I totally don't get the kick people get out of doing this. Like... seriously, wtf is wrong with people? (Reply to this) (Parent)

macguffin
2012-02-18 02:56 am UTC (link)

omg I had what I call a Lebowski situation a couple of years ago, when these guys kept calling me and telling me that they "wanted the money" and were "coming to get me", and not to rat them out. AND THEY SOUNDED SERIOUS, TOO. My sister finally changed my number for me and that was the end of it, but a small part of me was sad that I never got to have an ultimate showdown with them where I had to toss them a fake bag of gold from a helicopter.

But yeah, if I were you I would lock all my doors and sit behind my couch with a frying pan in one hand and a knife in the other and my cell phone strapped to my head.

(Reply to this)

katling
2012-02-18 05:52 am UTC (link)

I'm probably not the person to give advice in this situation. I was home alone when I was about 19 and there was someone walking on the roof (we had a flat roof at that house) and my only reaction was to grab my cricket bat then start working through a list of deterrents - turn on the lights, trigger the security alarm (not connected to an alarm company but makes a shitton of noise and the neighbours would hear it), call the police etc. Only needed to do the first one. Whoever was on the roof jumped down into the neighbour's back yard and was set on by their dogs before running away. I found that hilarious and just went back to bed without a worry.

However, that being said, as far as I'm aware blocking phone calls is really more carrier specific, not phone specific. So if you have a list of the times they called, you could give your phone provider (AT&T or whoever it is, I'm not really sure who the US carriers are) a call and ask whether they could block the private number who called at those specific times. Don't ask them to give you the number because I'm betting under privacy laws their answer would be no but if you just ask them to block that number, they may be willing to do so, especially if you tell them whoever is at that number has been repeatedly calling and harassing you.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

	ginge 2012-02-19 12:00 am UTC (link)
	are you from canada? i've found it's both phone and carrier specific, because I've always been with bell and SOME PHONES will have a ~block feature but others won't which is fajskfjsa annoying, but I can call bell and have them block a number for me. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	ginge 2012-02-18 11:59 pm UTC (link)
	ARE YOU STILL ALIVE? (Reply to this)

firaflies
2012-02-21 06:01 pm UTC (link)

Haven't seen much else of posts from you in catching up, so hoping you're okay!

Second, my sister's been getting a few calls like that, too. More of them are just random numbers which give area codes for places she doesn't know people and an 'automated message starts up', but she's gotten one similar to yours, too. People must just be bored in PA this weekend? Hope you're alright.

(Reply to this)