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Harassing or Threatening Calls

Report nuisance or obscene phone calls to the CMU Police Department. The CMU Police will furnish you with a telephone log to register the needed information concerning these calls. All calls threatening personal safety should be reported immediately. It is a criminal offense to make harassing or obscene phone calls. The CMU Police will attempt to apprehend and prosecute offenders.

How to respond to harassing or threatening phone calls

  1. Hang up as soon as you realize the call is harassing. As soon as you hear an obscenity, improper question or no response to your "hello," hang up.
  2. Do not ask the caller any questions to try and determine who the caller is. This is what the caller wants you to do.
  3. Do not respond with "smart" or "witty" answers, this will only encourage the caller.
  4. Do not give out information to strangers. Be careful when talking to people taking surveys. If they are asking personal questions or for information you do not want released, do not answer the questions and end the phone call. Remember: you do not need to answer their questions.
  5. Never give out your name or address to an unidentified caller.

When making a report to CMU Police try to recall

  • If the call came from on-campus or off? (One or two rings?)
  • What were the time and date?
  • Was the caller male or female?
  • Could you tell the age of the caller by their voice?
  • What background noise was there?
  • Who else was in your room at the time of the call? (Could the call possibly be aimed at, or committed by, a roommate or family member?)
  • What was said?