How to Make a Prank Call
Make the call anonymous., Develop a persona., Rehearse what you'll say before the call., Practice disguising your voice., Remember not to laugh or break character., Avoid legal trouble., Dial the number on your phone.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Make the call anonymous.
In North America, dialing *67 before you make the call will block your phone number and make it appear as a private listing for some, but not all, phone calls. (Calls to 911, 800-, 888-, 877-, 866-, 855- 510-, or 900- numbers cannot be blocked in this way).
You can easily find the code that will block your number in your country with a bit of Internet research. -
Step 2: Develop a persona.
Come up with a fake name, act as if you were going to give them a free raffle prize or contest or an amazing school they got into, for example.
Do not come up with a real accent, this may be offensive to the victim and you can get arrested for racist prank calls, and a shtick, or reason why you're calling.
Are you a telemarketer? An ex-girlfriend? An old, grumpy neighbor? , Write down some notes to help you remember what you're going to say.
Prank calling is a fun group activity too, so if you're making prank calls with the help of a friend, then you can practice with the friend until you have it down.
If you can, even call your friend on your cell phone to practice talking into the phone.
While it's important to rehearse what you're going to say, it's also important to get to know the character you're impersonating so that you can go with the flow and say anything depending on what the person on the other end of the line says.
If you're too worried about sticking to your script, you won't be able to improvise. , If you're calling someone you know, then you have to take extra care to disguise your voice so you don't get caught immediately.
If you want to let your friend in on the joke at the end of the call, that's fine, but if your friend, enemy, or acquaintance recognizes your voice from the start, then your prank call attempt will be a flop.
If you want your voice to sound more nasal, just pinch your nose and practice talking so that the sound feels like it's going into your nose.
If you want your voice to sound more raspy, then scream into a pillow before you make the call.
If you want to get fancy, you can invest in some voice-distortion technology. , This is important.
Laughing is like saying "Hello, this call is a prank call so you should hang up." Act calmly so the person you're calling stays oblivious and doesn't hang up.
If you want to keep it going but have to laugh, shove your face into a pillow and quickly bring yourself back together. , If you really want to avoid getting in trouble with the law, then you should stop making prank calls altogether, or stick to calling people who you know well and who will get the joke and won't want to take legal action.
Still, there are a few specific ways that your call can break the law, so avoid making any calls that may be interpreted as the following:
Harassment.
Making an obnoxious prank call once may just be annoying, but calling a person repeatedly during the call of one prank call session, calling a person every day for an extended period of time, or even calling a person in the middle of the night repeatedly, can be seen as harassment.
Making any threats is also considered harassment.
Disorderly conduct.
This is a broad category, but anything that is meant to be offensive, includes abusive language, or just meant to generally make a person very angry is considered disorderly conduct.
Hate crimes.
If you use the victim's religion, race, weight, national origin, or sexual orientation as a point of mockery, then you would be considered to be making a hate crime.
If you're calling a stranger and he happens to have an accent, just mocking his accent can be considered a hate crime.
Hate crimes are felonies.
Wiretapping.
You may think it's funny to record the prank call exchange in case the person on the other end of the line says something hilarious, but recording a call without the consent of the other party is actually considered a felony in many states.
Never call the fire department, police, ambulance service, coastguards, government officials, financial institutions or any other agencies that are devoted to protecting and saving people like the Federal Bureau Investigation, Department of Homeland Security, Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, American Red Cross, Centers for Disease Control or The White House.
Your call will be traced and you will be in a large amount of trouble.
Be aware that if someone feels they've received a threatening, upsetting or harmful telephone call, they can dial *57 to have the call traced and contact the police.
What started as a prank might end with law enforcement or the police knocking on your door. , Take a deep breath and wait for the fun to begin. -
Step 3: Rehearse what you'll say before the call.
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Step 4: Practice disguising your voice.
-
Step 5: Remember not to laugh or break character.
-
Step 6: Avoid legal trouble.
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Step 7: Dial the number on your phone.
Detailed Guide
In North America, dialing *67 before you make the call will block your phone number and make it appear as a private listing for some, but not all, phone calls. (Calls to 911, 800-, 888-, 877-, 866-, 855- 510-, or 900- numbers cannot be blocked in this way).
You can easily find the code that will block your number in your country with a bit of Internet research.
Come up with a fake name, act as if you were going to give them a free raffle prize or contest or an amazing school they got into, for example.
Do not come up with a real accent, this may be offensive to the victim and you can get arrested for racist prank calls, and a shtick, or reason why you're calling.
Are you a telemarketer? An ex-girlfriend? An old, grumpy neighbor? , Write down some notes to help you remember what you're going to say.
Prank calling is a fun group activity too, so if you're making prank calls with the help of a friend, then you can practice with the friend until you have it down.
If you can, even call your friend on your cell phone to practice talking into the phone.
While it's important to rehearse what you're going to say, it's also important to get to know the character you're impersonating so that you can go with the flow and say anything depending on what the person on the other end of the line says.
If you're too worried about sticking to your script, you won't be able to improvise. , If you're calling someone you know, then you have to take extra care to disguise your voice so you don't get caught immediately.
If you want to let your friend in on the joke at the end of the call, that's fine, but if your friend, enemy, or acquaintance recognizes your voice from the start, then your prank call attempt will be a flop.
If you want your voice to sound more nasal, just pinch your nose and practice talking so that the sound feels like it's going into your nose.
If you want your voice to sound more raspy, then scream into a pillow before you make the call.
If you want to get fancy, you can invest in some voice-distortion technology. , This is important.
Laughing is like saying "Hello, this call is a prank call so you should hang up." Act calmly so the person you're calling stays oblivious and doesn't hang up.
If you want to keep it going but have to laugh, shove your face into a pillow and quickly bring yourself back together. , If you really want to avoid getting in trouble with the law, then you should stop making prank calls altogether, or stick to calling people who you know well and who will get the joke and won't want to take legal action.
Still, there are a few specific ways that your call can break the law, so avoid making any calls that may be interpreted as the following:
Harassment.
Making an obnoxious prank call once may just be annoying, but calling a person repeatedly during the call of one prank call session, calling a person every day for an extended period of time, or even calling a person in the middle of the night repeatedly, can be seen as harassment.
Making any threats is also considered harassment.
Disorderly conduct.
This is a broad category, but anything that is meant to be offensive, includes abusive language, or just meant to generally make a person very angry is considered disorderly conduct.
Hate crimes.
If you use the victim's religion, race, weight, national origin, or sexual orientation as a point of mockery, then you would be considered to be making a hate crime.
If you're calling a stranger and he happens to have an accent, just mocking his accent can be considered a hate crime.
Hate crimes are felonies.
Wiretapping.
You may think it's funny to record the prank call exchange in case the person on the other end of the line says something hilarious, but recording a call without the consent of the other party is actually considered a felony in many states.
Never call the fire department, police, ambulance service, coastguards, government officials, financial institutions or any other agencies that are devoted to protecting and saving people like the Federal Bureau Investigation, Department of Homeland Security, Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, American Red Cross, Centers for Disease Control or The White House.
Your call will be traced and you will be in a large amount of trouble.
Be aware that if someone feels they've received a threatening, upsetting or harmful telephone call, they can dial *57 to have the call traced and contact the police.
What started as a prank might end with law enforcement or the police knocking on your door. , Take a deep breath and wait for the fun to begin.
About the Author
Patrick Bishop
Creates helpful guides on home improvement to inspire and educate readers.
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