Dealing with indecent or harassing telephone calls can be both frightening and confusing. This web page will help you deal with these calls and gather evidence for the police, should their involvement become necessary.

What are Harassing or Obscene Phone Calls

Harassing or indecent phone calls are repeated telephone calls where the caller intends to harass, alarm or annoy the recipient. These types of phone calls are criminal offences.

Helpful Tips

• DO NOT engage in conversation with the caller.
• DO NOT let the caller know you are upset with the calls.
• DO NOT provide personal information on answering machine messages.
• DO NOT give your name or any personal information to an unknown caller.
• DO NOT humor the caller, give advice or personal stories.
• DO NOT discuss the phone calls with others. Often the person making the calls is known to the caller.
• DO record the caller's voice if you have an answering machine.
• DO hang up immediately.
• DO be aware of recurrent hang up calls. Someone may be targeting your home for a break-in and checking the times that you are at home.
• DO involve the police if the calls continue or become more frequent or threatening.

As soon as you suspect a phone call to be indecent or harassing in nature, hang up the phone. Don't engage the caller in conversation.