Nuisance call
Encyclopedia
Nuisance calls encompass any type of unwanted, unsolicited, telephone call
. Common types of nuisance calls include prank call
s, telemarketing
calls, and silent call
s. Obscene phone call
s and other threatening calls are criminal acts in most jurisdictions, particularly when hate crime
is involved.
Unsolicited calls may also be used to initiate telephone frauds. Fax machines may also receive junk fax
es via unsolicited calls.
Caller ID
provides some protection against unwanted calls, but can still be turned off by the calling party. Even where end-user Caller ID is not available, calls are still logged, both in billing records at the originating telco and via automatic number identification
, so the perpetrator's phone number can still be discovered in many cases. However, these do not provide complete protection: harassers can use payphones, in some cases, automatic number identification itself can be spoofed or blocked, and mobile telephone abusers can (at some cost) use "throwaway" mobile phones or SIMs. Even in these cases, with sufficient law enforcement and telco effort, persistent abusers can often be tracked down by technical means.
Call screening
is another countermeasure against unsolicited calls.
Most telephone companies have a department devoted to handling complaints regarding unsolicited phone calls; in criminal cases such as obscene or threatening phone calls, many police departments have dedicated resources devoted to dealing with such cases.
Telephone call
A telephone call is a connection over a telephone network between the calling party and the called party.-Information transmission:A telephone call may carry ordinary voice transmission using a telephone, data transmission when the calling party and called party are using modems, or facsimile...
. Common types of nuisance calls include prank call
Prank call
A prank call is a form of practical joke committed over the telephone. Prank phone calls began to gain an America-wide following over a period of many years, as they gradually became a staple of the obscure and amusing cassette tapes traded amongst musicians, sound engineers, and media traders...
s, telemarketing
Telemarketing
Telemarketing is a method of direct marketing in which a salesperson solicits prospective customers to buy products or services, either over the phone or through a subsequent face to face or Web conferencing appointment scheduled during the call.Telemarketing can also include recorded sales pitches...
calls, and silent call
Silent call
A silent call is a telephone call that is generated by a predictive dialer which does not have an agent immediately available to handle the call...
s. Obscene phone call
Obscene phone call
An obscene phone call is an unsolicited telephone call where a person derives sexual pleasure by using sexual or foul language to an unknown person. Making obscene telephone calls for sexual pleasure is known as telephone scatologia and is considered a form of exhibitionism...
s and other threatening calls are criminal acts in most jurisdictions, particularly when hate crime
Hate crime
In crime and law, hate crimes occur when a perpetrator targets a victim because of his or her perceived membership in a certain social group, usually defined by racial group, religion, sexual orientation, disability, class, ethnicity, nationality, age, gender, gender identity, social status or...
is involved.
Unsolicited calls may also be used to initiate telephone frauds. Fax machines may also receive junk fax
Junk fax
Junk faxes are a form of telemarketing where unsolicited advertisements are sent via fax transmission. Junk faxes are the faxed equivalent of spam or junk mail...
es via unsolicited calls.
Caller ID
Caller ID
Caller ID , also called calling line identification or calling number identification or Calling Line Identification Presentation , is a telephone service, available in analog and digital phone systems and most Voice over Internet Protocol applications, that transmits a caller's number to...
provides some protection against unwanted calls, but can still be turned off by the calling party. Even where end-user Caller ID is not available, calls are still logged, both in billing records at the originating telco and via automatic number identification
Automatic number identification
Automatic number identification is a feature of telephony intelligent network services that permits subscribers to display or capture the billing telephone number of a calling party. In the United States it is part of Inward Wide Area Telephone Service . ANI service was created by AT&T for...
, so the perpetrator's phone number can still be discovered in many cases. However, these do not provide complete protection: harassers can use payphones, in some cases, automatic number identification itself can be spoofed or blocked, and mobile telephone abusers can (at some cost) use "throwaway" mobile phones or SIMs. Even in these cases, with sufficient law enforcement and telco effort, persistent abusers can often be tracked down by technical means.
Call screening
Call screening
Call screening is the process of evaluating the characteristics of a telephone call before deciding how or whether to answer it.Some methods may include:* listening to the message being recorded on an answering machine or voice mail...
is another countermeasure against unsolicited calls.
Most telephone companies have a department devoted to handling complaints regarding unsolicited phone calls; in criminal cases such as obscene or threatening phone calls, many police departments have dedicated resources devoted to dealing with such cases.