#Prank calling illegal free#

While these pranksters get away with these calls on television and social media, in real life these caller get in trouble if the business reports the calls to the police. Other pranksters will call and order pizzas for delivery to a recipient that didn’t want the pizza and may not have the money to pay for them. Several episodes of The Simpsons shows character Bart Simpson calling a local tavern to cause the bartender to unknowingly shout out a funny or maybe obscene name. If an individual prank calls a business, such as making false order, the call may incur the civil liability for the order, and criminal liability for the damage caused to the business.īusiness constitutes the largest victims of prank calls because accessing their phone lines is no longer a challenge. There are specific laws to prevent businesses from being abused or harassed via phone lines. Sometimes, the prank caller decides to record the call without the recipient’s permission, which may violate the state’s prohibition against wiretapping (though these laws vary from state to state).Īlaska is also in the process of making prank calls made to emergency numbers such as 911 a specific crime as well. Prank callers are often prosecuted when there is already a restraining order in place that is supposed to prevent the calls from occurring.

Pranking is also considered illegal when it results in disorderly conduct or when it’s obscene. Several situations make pranking illegal, especially when the prank call annoys, threatens, or annoys people. There are different penalties for different forms of harassment, and what seems like a silly prank can turn into something very serious, very quickly.

#Prank calling illegal free#

There are also laws to ensure that employees are allowed to have a safe and healthy work environment free from harassment. The law prohibits harassing people or entities because of their race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Harassment is intentional or reckless conduct involving repeated or continued unwanted communications that serve no legitimate purpose and cause substantial emotional distress. Please review our disclaimer about law/legal-related information on this website before taking action based upon anything you read or see. The contents of this web page are for informational purposes only, and nothing you read is intended to be legal advice. Is Prank Calling Illegal In Alaska? (Explained) Disclaimer In the article that follows, we’ll explain in more detail.

It might be considered criminal harassment and can result in serious penalties. Answer: Depending on the circumstances, prank calling can be considered illegal in Alaska.