Someone keeps calling from PRISON! - Big Big Forums

ladyseals · 07-16-2005, 10:02 PM

I have no idea who it is but someone called yesturday 3 times and tonight once from prison! I picked it up a recording said 'this is a prison inmate calling' and there name is...' then the person said 'please please pick up it is me' Then the recording said press 1 to talk for a $4.70 charge. I hung up! It happened a second time. The third time I did not answer. Then tonight I was not looking at the caller id when I picked up the phone and it was him again. I am kinda freaked out. Me nor hubby know anyone in prison. Even if we did we would not allow them to call our home. If they are in Prison it must be serious as far as we are concerned. Hubby said it may be a scam. I called the phone company and they said it may be a scam too. I want him to stop calling!

Tadbit · 07-16-2005, 10:15 PM

EEEK!!!! That's freaky! Can the Police do anything about it? Sounds to me like he is just trying to get a hold of anyone from the outside he can. I sure hope someone didn't give him your phone number, but if it keeps up, I'd get my phone number changed.

ang in NC · 07-16-2005, 10:16 PM

That would scare me!

tracey74 · 07-16-2005, 10:32 PM

call the phone company and get a collect call block put on the phone and a block if possible from correctional facilities.you can put a block on the phone where no one can call your home collect.and usually that is jails/prisons cause most have to call out collect.

iowakat · 07-17-2005, 12:29 AM

I'd say it's probably just a wrong number. Just say so next time they call and then hang up. Don't make a big deal out of it. My friend's son was in prison out of state and he had to call that way.

Shann · 07-17-2005, 02:45 AM

I don't understand why they are not saying who they are. It sounds like they got your number and will probably try to get you to send them money or something. I have heard about inmates calling up random ppl so they could ask for those items. I agree, either put a block on the call or say wrong number next time and hang up. I can't believe that they have called so many times.

mesue · 07-17-2005, 03:12 AM

If I recall correctly most of those calls have a way to block them automatically when they call, listen to the message it should give you a number to push to block the call, usually just one number at a certain time in the call, that blocks them from calling you again, and cuts the call off. I used to have a friend who was married to a guy in prison, whenever she would block his calls he would just call random people using that area code and local 3 digit number and just making the last 4 up hoping to get someone and then try and get them to relay messages to her for him. (Some poor woman ran her phone bill way up doing this.) We had been friends forever but when he got out of prison and became violent toward anyone around her I just sent her word she was welcome to come here but he was not, I have not heard from her since she called to tell he tried to kill her but then within a few weeks they were back together. I had to block his calls, I had agreed for her to put my number on a letter she wrote to the parole board so that I could take a message for her if she was at work, she unbeknownst to me and totally without my permission sent him a copy of the letter with my phone number on it. At first I just hung up but then once I heard the whole announcement that comes in front of the calls I just pushed the button to block the call and he never called again, I assume because the phone system the prison uses automatically blocked the call from even going through after that. If they don't have that look in front of the phone book it gives directions on how to block calls.

justme23 · 07-17-2005, 08:34 AM

Do you have 3 way? If you do, next time they call, instead of hanging up (but don't accept the charges) click your line over as if you were making another call -- call 411 if you have to -- then click back over. The prison system should automatically block your # if you do this. The ppl inmates call aren't allowed to make 3 way calls while talking to prisoners because that's money the prison would have gotten if the prisoner made the call themselves.

Ppl don't usually realize this -- but prisons maintain their own internal phone companies, so they get ALL the money from those collect calls. They can't just call 1800collect. That's why they block the 3 way calls cause they are losing out on that money. Just try that and see if it'll work for you. It should.

tigger4 · 07-17-2005, 10:16 AM

You can contact the Ombudsman of the Department of Corrections and they can put a block on your phone number. It will block it so that no inmate in any Indiana state prison facility can contact you. I used to work in a prison and used to do this for people all the time.

Here is a link to the Ombudsman for Indiana.
http://www.in.gov/indcorrection/ombudsman.htm The phone number is at the top of the page.

They should be able to help you out or will at least be able to get you to the correct department.

MamaFairal · 07-17-2005, 11:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iowakat

I'd say it's probably just a wrong number. Just say so next time they call and then hang up. Don't make a big deal out of it. My friend's son was in prison out of state and he had to call that way.

ITA the person is misdialing

***buttrfli*** · 07-17-2005, 11:26 AM

It may just be me thinking wrong, but isn't/wan't there a scam going around about getting phone calls from prisons where if you accept the call the prisoners somehow find a way to use your number to put reverse charges on it.... something like that.

It may be a urban legend, or.. i dunno. I don't remember the exact way it went.. I'll have to look around and see what I can find.

Either way I wouldn't accept it lol