Obscene phone calls

dublincc2

An elderly relative of mine who lives alone has been receiving a several obscene phone calls on and off since the summer of 1997, she cannot be sure but believes it is the same man. Every time she changed her number after a few months the calls would start again, it started on landline but gradually started on mobile in the early 2000s.

It went on for most of 1997 and 1998 then stopped, started again around 2000 and continued to around 2004, then 2009, then 2018 since every 6 months roughly. Since the start of this year there have been four calls, latest being at the weekend. The exact same since the first calls, same sounding thick Dublin accent. She has over the years on and off stopped answering private calls but returned to accepting them due to family overseas etc who would ring.

The Gardaí have been contacted about a dozen times over the years and nothing has come of it.

How is this individual getting her number every time she changes it? Is there any way I or someone with technical knowledge in this field can identify who the person is?

El Gato De Negocios

Logic would dictate that if the person is getting the new number every single time then the person making the calls knows them. Potentially they could go Colleen Rooney and work on a process of elimination to try and whittle it down. Nowadays with VPNs / masking equipment for electronic communications it would be difficult for the average person to trace a number.

the_amazing_raisin

Someone working for her phone company could do it, just look up her account details

That would be a serious breach of the rules, so it seems unlikely. Would you be willing to risk your job to prank call someone?

As said, the most likely scenario is that the prank caller is finding their number from someone. Does your relative have their number on any kind of online account?

Realistically, there's no way for you to trace the number (I assume it's a withheld number anyway)

The fix is very simple, tell your relative to do their best millennial impression and not answer the phone to any unknown numbers at all

If the call is important they can leave a voicemail. Most of the withheld numbers these days seem to be scam artists anyway

dublincc2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121997888#Comment_121997888

I can assure you my relative is in contact with very few people, almost nobody from Dublin, and hasn’t given her phone number to most people even family members. She is satisfied she doesn’t know him.

ItHurtsWhenIP

In order to remove an employee of the phone company as a possibility, perhaps getting a new number with an unregistered PAYG SIM and putting it in a new, basic phone (Nokia 3310 maybe). If the obscene calling continues, then they are almost certainly associated with somebody your relative has shared the number with.

dublincc2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121999491#Comment_121999491

She has changed provider a few times over the years, it has kept happening.

She is absolutely sure, but is it really realistic that someone would be doing this for 26 years?

dublincc2

How else could the individual have found the number?

ItHurtsWhenIP

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121999528#Comment_121999528

Some people can become completely obsessed with others, unfortunately. For whatever reason, this person has latched onto your relative.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122000626#Comment_122000626

Occam's razor … the simplest explanation is usually the correct one … perhaps your relative has shared their number with somebody or some business (bank, electricity provider, etc.), which the obscene caller is linked to in some way, either directly or indirectly.

evolvingtipperary101

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058345904/obscene-phone-calls

It sounds like the person bothering your relative might be getting her number from someone close to her or maybe even from someone working at a company with a large quantity of phone numbers/personal info. Sometimes, it's not just strangers who are the culprits either. It could be someone who's unhappy with her or even a family member.

There's this handy feature most phone companies have where you can trace and block the numbers that harass you. This trace feature is where you're given a code that you type into the phone right after a call. It's easier to trace then. It's a bit of a process and you might need to sort some legal stuff to get it up and running, but it can really make a difference and it's there for this type of thing. Contact your telephone service provider. Each provider has a policy on dealing with the issue. 

Also, have you thought about bringing a private investigator into the picture? They have their ways of digging deep and could potentially figure out who's behind these calls with their skills in snooping around.

It might be worth it to go back to the Gardaí and really push for them to take another look. If you show them a detailed log of when these calls happened, what was said, and how it's been really affecting your relative, it could spur them into action.

And here's something a bit out of the left field. Keep a whistle. It sounds a bit old-school, but blowing a whistle into the phone when that person calls might just be annoying enough to make them think twice before calling again.

dublincc2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122001032#Comment_122001032

Since 1997? How can someone be that obsessed? That’s why I struggle to believe it’s the same person even though she is 100% sure, from what he said and his voice etc.

ItHurtsWhenIP

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122001819#Comment_122001819

This person was stalked for 40 years … some obsessions go deep I guess.

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2010/mar/27/stalked-by-first-love

endacl

Jayziz, OP. Relatives, friends, and acquaintances of yours seem to get into the oddest situations…

WishUWereHere

This is becoming ridiculous. Between this , the airline worker & others, this originator is belittling what boards is all about - intelligent and informative chat. Dublincc2 you for real?

dublincc2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122008263#Comment_122008263

This is correct yes, making the thread on the other issue was ill-advised but genuine.

65535

If the landline is coming in to the house over the Internet and is VoIP then your router could block calls on a per call basis depending on the number or no number - it could only allow in predefined numbers.

If calls are coming in over mobiles then block id withheld calls and block any calls from numbers that are causing the issue.

If it is a copper landline from Eir then a person could have dialled 199000 from the phone to get the actual number if the number is not shown on the phone itself.