Malicious Or Threatening Calls

Guide to tackling malicious and nuisance calls or messages

This guide provides help and advice about what to do if you are receiving malicious or threatening calls. For example, ex partners, debt companies, silent calls and so on.

Don’t assume the worst

In this day and age we have a tendency to be highly strung and our patience for things short at the best of times. Just because you receive a number of telephone calls, especially hang ups, doesn’t mean there is something to worry about.

The Basics

Remember, keep your cool, you are in control. Stay calm and don’t engage with the caller.

TIP:

Many malicious callers are motivated by getting an emotional response from you.

Try walking away from the phone for a few moments before replacing the handset. This can be more of a deterrent than simply slamming the phone down or retaliating verbally.

Stay calm and relaxed

This may seem obvious, but many people answer their phone by stating their telephone number, or sometimes, their name. It’s always better to answer the phone with a simple ‘hello’ or wait for the caller to speak first.

Keep any answer machine messages short and to the point. Don’t leave messages explaining that you are away from home. A simple message would to say that you are unable to take the call at the moment.

A male voice message may be more of a deterrent than a female voice, and if you’re a woman, you could consider changing your phone book listing if this gives any indication of your gender or marital status.

Things you can do

If you are receiving abusive, threatening or obscene calls that are distressing to you, then you should report them to the police.

TIP:

For every malicious call you receive you should note down the date, time and nature of the call. Note specific details of what the caller said, including any background noises you can hear. Any information you gather may help towards identifying and prosecuting the caller.

Photo by West Midlands Police

You could consider calling your telephone provider and asking them to change your number or place a trace on your calls. Most malicious calls can be traced, whether they come from private, public or even mobile telephones anywhere in the country. Be aware though that you may need to be prepared to give evidence if the malicious caller is traced, charged and taken to court.

Reporting malicious calls