Prank call

A prank call, also known as a crank call or hoax call, is a form of practical joke committed over the telephone. As with all practical jokes, there is a thin line between humor and harassment, and the person receiving the call is not likely to find it funny.

Related Topics:
Practical joke - Telephone - Humor - Harassment

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Prank calls range from annoying hang-ups to false calls to emergency services or bomb threats. Prank calls that waste the time of emergency services are a criminal offense in most countries.

Related Topics:
Emergency services - Bomb threats - Criminal offense

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One such hoax call occurred in Perth, Australia, on New Year's Eve 2002, when a drunken teenager called the new anti-terrorist hotline to report a bomb threat against the New Year's Eve Fireworks celebration. The threat was taken seriously, and the celebrations were about to be canceled, when police discovered that no such threat existed. The teen was arrested for deliberate false reporting.

Related Topics:
Perth - Australia - New Year's Eve - 2002

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Some performers such as the Jerky Boys have produced albums of prank calls. The television show Crank Yankers is a series of real-life prank calls acted-out by puppets. The group Prank Machine had nearly 200 calls available entirely free to the public on their site before it was closed as the result of legal action put forth by one Emilia Seldon. Some calls can still be found through various sources, and are relatively sought after, considering the controversy.

Related Topics:
Jerky Boys - Crank Yankers - Puppets

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The Phone Losers of America were the first to take prank calling to the extreme level of forcing prank call victims to call THEM, so that they could prank them. This was usually done to customers of various businesses, where the customers thought the Phone Losers were employees.

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Even very prominent people have fallen victim to prank callers, as for example Queen Elizabeth II, who was fooled by a Canadian DJ posing as Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, asking her to record a speech in support of Canadian unity ahead of the 1995 Quebec referendum.

Related Topics:
Elizabeth II - Jean Chrétien - 1995 Quebec referendum

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Two other particularly famous examples of prank calls were made by the Miami-based radio station Radio El Zoi. In one they telephoned Cuban President Fidel Castro and spoke to him, pretending to be Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez. They later repeated the prank, except that they called Chávez pretending to be Castro. They were fined by the FCC.

Related Topics:
Miami - Radio El Zoi - Fidel Castro - Hugo Chávez - FCC

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In the United States of America, the Telecommunications Act makes any prank call a misdemeanor with penalties of up to a year in prison and a fine of $10,000 (depending on severity). However, such penalties are rarely carried out. As an example, the Chicago, Illinois shock jock Erich "Mancow" Muller, after being criticized for the extensive use of prank calls on his radio show, broadcast the following sarcastic remark:

Related Topics:
United States of America - Telecommunications Act - Chicago, Illinois - Shock jock - Mancow

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::Reality check for you people - Chicago's the murder capital of America. The police don't care if you get a prank call.

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