Volume 2: Prank Calling
Ah, the well known "prank call". A type of verbal harassment from one person to another over the telephone. It is also called a crank call (I always wondered this strange limbo term) or a phony call to some people. Some people hate to be prank called. Those people believe it is immature or even view the ol' crank as silly and stupid. To those people's defense, this is sometimes true. For example, we all know the overused classics such as the "Running Refrigerator", or the "Free trip to Hawaii". Those are overplayed, let's be a little more witty and original. Get with the program people. You don't just wing a prank phone call. You need an idea in your mind for the prank to be successful.
What is a good way to engineer a witty and great prank call? Well, you have to think of something practical. For instance, calling your friend's cell phone from a blocked number saying you are going to drop off an order of 40 pizza pies that needs to be paid for still is ludicrous. Do you really even believe that someone with an IQ of 7 would believe that? It's just not realistic at all. This is what we would call a high risk, high reward type of prank call. You're putting a lot of bullshit down on the table with the hopes of a large payout. Sure, we can't argue how satisfying it would be to actually stump someone with that pizza prank. Therefore, the reward can be high. Reward for a prank call is the amount of satisfaction you get out it. Does that sound right? Does that sound ethical? Of course not. It's pure evil. We are getting a kick out of some other person's misfortune of believing a false declaration that we created. What the hell isn't wrong with this? But let's be honest, it is fun when you're doing the dialing. So, if you really want to get someone with that old fashioned pizza call, why not take a more realistic approach? What would the person do if you called their home phone spoofing your phone number to look like Pizza Bella, while inquiring them that their order of four large pizza pies and 50 wings is on the way and they need to pay for. Any suspicious doubt that the person may have of the call being 'phony' would immediately get buried by the flashing of "Pizza Bella" on their home caller ID. Now we have a whole new ballgame.
Spoofing your number is a rather sensitive issue to touch when talking about prank calls. For instance, there are a number of ethical issues that come into play here. It can be a dangerous thing if you are very cynical. People can really get in big trouble with this, but I say let's live dangerously. Take a look at how it is done. This is probably the easiest way to do it on this video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHILIE4pIEc. Imagine all the power you wield with this, all to the tip of your fingertips, literally. I used it once to call a girl I know who works a part time job as a cashier at a home improvement warehouse. The number I spoofed to show on her caller ID was her employer. The male voice sounds a little fake, but it is hysterical to hear it played back. You be the judge of it.
Your typical victims of the prank call should be:
1. Someone who is gullible or naive
2. Old people
3. Vulnerable and clueless people (For example, a guy just starting his first day of work at a retail store)
Avoid targeting these type of people as you will get served:
1. The douchebag. (These people usually have no sense of humor when it comes to this stuff and they won't believe anything you say anyway. However, I have heard stories of douchebags really getting screwed over with prank calls. They probably deserve it anyway though.)2. The stuck-up girl who thinks she's too good for anyone. (Don't even bother with this one! It will be a miracle if she doesn't hang up on you by the tenth second of the call. These type of girls are not amused easily and are very smug when you normally call them. Therefore, a joke won't work.)
3. The usual target. (While you can pull the wool over the eyes of some people once or maybe even twice, don't expect to constantly fool them with your rapid form of cranking on them.)
Great ideas for a prank call:
1. Call the new guy at work and tell him you are looking for a very specific product. Then, when he cannot find it, tell him you know of a way how you got it before and give him a whole lot of hell on the phone. (A birdy once told me of a prank call at Lowe's to the new kid in the Lumber department. The cranker called from within the store inquiring about getting a price for telephone poles. Yes, telephone poles. By first glance, even a brand spankin' new guy would rule out the possibility that Lowe's sells telephone poles at the store so he would tell you so. You may think that the prank from here is dead. However, when you tell him that you are aware they aren't at the store and they have to be special ordered the tables are turned! Obviously this new guy isn't going to know how to order a telephone pole (even though you can't), and will most likely fumble around for five minutes browsing through papers, books and anything he can find. From here he inserted a couple of insults and jabs at how unprofessional the new guy is and hang up. If the cranker really wanted to go further, he could of called back ten minutes later pretending to be a manager at the store yelling at the new guy for his lack of knowledge about his department. He probably hasn't met all of the managers at the store if he is new.)
2. Pay attention to what people say. Pick up on cues that might make a good and original prank. For instance, maybe your friend states that he or she downloads all of her movies illegally for free. Then maybe that friend does something to get you upset. Get your pen out and ready to watch the madness play out when you say you are a member of the RAA and caught them illegally downloading these movies based off a history from their internet provider. You have to be sneaky like that.4. Be in control. Never lose sight of your main focus which is pulling the wool over the sheep's eye. Don't get distracted, stay on topic and get to your point without them losing it, or trying to turn the tables on you.
5. Soundboards are okay if you know how to use them. The best ones to use are from lesser known celebrities. Obviously, everyone knows the voice of Arnold Schwarzenegger or Al Pacino pretty well, so don't use those. A personal favorite is calling out someone with White Goodman from Dodgeball: the Movie.Personally, prank calling is a good way to release some stress and have some fun. It can even be viewed as a good way to bond with friends. Is the whole thing immature? Well... maybe, but you sure as hell won't care when you get a big kick out of it. Just don't let it be you that gets pranked. ;-)
Great pranking links:
http://www.phonelosers.org/
http://www.soundboards.com/
www.prankdial.com
