Summary
- Prank calls encompass many types of communications
- Obscene, harassing or threatening prank calls may be illegal
- States take different approaches to punishing prank callers
Prank callers communicate many types of messages. Some are merely mischievous. However, some prank calls are not funny. The caller might use them to harass or threaten the recipient, or they may even call the police with false information, exposing their target to arrest, injury or death.
Can you get arrested for prank calling? Depending on the state, some types of calls may be illegal and result in criminal punishment. Some prank calls can also expose you to a lawsuit for negligence or an intentional tort.
ConsumerShield helps people understand their legal rights and find lawyers to assist them. Whether you are a recipient of these calls or face criminal charges for making them, contact us for a free case evaluation and lawyer referral.
Can You Get Arrested for Prank Calling Individuals or Businesses?
True prank callers play practical jokes without any ill intent toward the recipient. These calls, like the infamous “Is your refrigerator running?” joke, are often understood by the recipient as harmless.
However, malicious prank calls could violate the law in some states. The following types of calls could be illegal in your area:
Harassment
Harassment typically involves annoying activity. It typically does not include threats or obscene language because most state laws have specific prohibitions against those types of calls.
Florida and California have statutes that address annoying prank calls. A caller can violate Florida’s law against harassing telephone calls if they do any of the following:
- Call without stating their identity with the intent to annoy, abuse or harass
- Cause the victim’s telephone to repeatedly ring with the intent to harass
- Make repeated telephone calls and talk to the victim solely to harass
Thus, Florida law prohibits both single and repeated harassing calls, although the proof required for a conviction may depend on how many calls occurred.
California, by contrast, only prohibits repeated harassing contacts. Specifically, California’s law prohibits anyone from annoying or harassing the victim by making repeated telephone calls, repeated contact via an electronic communication device, or a combination of calls and contacts.
Threats
States may be able to pursue criminal charges against a caller for making a single prank call that includes a threat. To qualify as a prohibited threat, most states require that the words would cause a reasonable person to fear for their life, health or safety.
For example, in New York, a caller commits the offense of second-degree aggravated harassment when they communicate a threat by telephone to harm a person, their property, or a family or household member.
Obscene Language
Most states prohibit obscene phone calls. The U.S. Supreme Court excluded obscenity from First Amendment protection. As a result, these prank calls can be prohibited by states solely based on their content without any associated threat.
Virginia’s law against obscene phone calls prohibits any telephone call that meets any of the following elements:
- Uses profane, vulgar, lascivious, obscene, lewd or indecent language
- Makes any suggestion or proposal of an obscene nature
- Threatens any illegal or immoral act to coerce, intimidate or harass the victim
Importantly, Virginia has updated its law to include photos sent by electronic message. Thus, emails or text messages that contain a vulgar photo qualify as obscene phone calls.
Swatting
Swatting occurs when someone prank calls the police to falsely report a crime. The caller intends to cause the police to respond to the victim’s home. “Swatting” refers to the caller’s hope that the SWAT team will besiege the house, causing the victim embarrassment or even physical harm.
Some states have outlawed swatting. Texas’s swatting law punishes anyone who does the following:
- Makes a report of a crime or emergency
- Knows the report is false
- Causes an emergency response
- Acts recklessly about whether the response could injure the victim
Federal laws also prohibit false reports for matters under federal jurisdiction. For example, federal laws prohibit prank calls that convey false information about threats against aircraft or nuclear power facilities.
Can You Get In Trouble for Prank Calling 911?
In addition to anti-swatting laws, many states have a law prohibiting callers from tying up the emergency services line. For example, Florida law prohibits the following misuses of 911:
- Making a false alarm or complaint
- Reporting false information that could trigger an emergency response
- Knowingly using 911 for a purpose other than obtaining safety assistance
- Knowingly using 911 to avoid any charge for a service
Prank calls to 911 arguably violate the third restriction and could result in a criminal prosecution of the caller.
Can You Go to Jail for Prank Calling?
The punishment for certain types of prank calls can include jail time. For example, second-degree aggravated harassment in New York is a class A misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail. In Texas, swatting can be prosecuted as a felony if the caller is a repeat offender or the victim was injured in the response.
Can Victims Sue Prank Callers?
Many victims wonder, “Can you sue for emotional distress and physical injury after a prank call?” In some cases, victims can pursue a lawsuit for intentional or negligent infliction of emotional distress.
Intentional infliction of emotional distress means the caller engaged in egregious conduct intended to harm the victim emotionally.
Negligent infliction of emotional distress happens when the caller engages in egregious conduct that they knew or should have known would cause distress. Negligence examples include falsely informing the victim that their child was killed in a car accident.
Can you get arrested for prank calling? The answer is not a simple yes or no. A lawyer can help you figure out your legal exposure if you are facing charges for prank calling. Similarly, victims can learn when the police can or cannot arrest prank callers and find a litigation lawyer to pursue compensation from the caller.
ConsumerShield helps people understand their legal situations and get help. Contact us for a free case assessment and lawyer referral.
