Harassing/Abusive Phone Calls
Making harassing or abusive telephone calls is a crime, punishable by imprisonment or fine, for anyone to make obscene or harassing telephone calls. If you ever receive obscene, abusive, harassing, or threatening calls, follow the suggestions outlined below:
- Hang up at the first obscene word. Hang up if the caller remains silent the second time you say hello. Remember that you control your telephone, not the person calling.
- Do not give any information, such as your name or address, until the caller has been properly identified by you.
- If you dial and reach a wrong number, don’t just hang up. Hang-up calls can be upsetting or unnerving and can even be considered harassing. Please tell the person who answers that you misdialed.
- If harassing/abusive calls persist, use the call-trace feature to track the harassing caller.
Call Trace – Dial 58 Feature:
Call trace is a feature that attempts to record the telephone number of harassing or abusive telephone calls. Call trace is a Verizon feature that is included with each university Centrex line. Not all calls can be captured but using the call trace feature is the first step in the process of getting law enforcement authorities involved. If you receive a harassing or abusive telephone call, follow the steps below to use the call-trace feature:
- After receiving the harassing call, hang up your telephone.
- You MUST immediately pick up the receiver to get a dial tone.
- Dial the 2-digit code 58. You will hear 3 short beeps, a confirmation announcement from Verizon.
- Hang up your telephone.
- Write down everything you remember about the call, including the day and time the call was received, and any details about the call (what the caller said, any distinguishing characteristics of the voice, etc.)
- Report the incident to University Police at 724-357-2141 and your supervisor.
- Please note: The number of the last call you received will be the number that is traced; that telephone number will be reported to Verizon’s Unlawful and Harassing Call Center. If you receive another call before you activate the trace of an unwanted call, the trace feature would trace the second call, not the harassing call. The system will trace only the last call received.
You will not receive the number of the party who called. The results of a successful trace will be provided to Verizon and the University Police. You will need to report the incident to University Police, so they can work with you and Verizon to investigate the harassing or abusive call. When the alleged caller is identified, University Police will file a judicial referral. University Police may also file criminal charges.
Hang-up calls are not always considered harassing or abusive. Particular attention should be paid to the number of calls you receive and the time of day.
Each time you use the call-trace feature, you will be billed $3.00.
