Fear in the telephone

Prankster movement borrowed from the American culture took on some specific features in Russia. It is based on anonymous telephone pranks, frequently turning in common telephone hooliganism.

The pranker chooses a victim and begins provoking it for an active reaction. The more emotionally the victim reacts to the pranker’s words, the more unusual lexical constructions it uses, the more frequent it uses obscenities and swears, the more popular the recording of the conversation will be – and the pranker will upload it to the Web for everyone’s enjoyment. Elderly people often become the pranksters’ victims, who unsuspectingly carry on the conversation and give the “jestlers” the pleasure of their characteristic vocabulary. When the movement was only at its earliest stages in Russia in 2000s, the prankers were technically limited. However, nowadays the only thing that limits them is their imagination. Any senior grade, who knows how to use Skype and IP telephony, may keep his anonymity and join the ranks of pranksters with ease.

The prankers themselves call their dubious telephone jokes their hobby. When asked why, they answer: "Just for lulz". This means that the enjoyment of the deed is reason enough to do it.

Vladimir Starovoytov, Associate of the Law Firm "YUST", says that, when facing such telephone hooliganism, one may contact the law enforcers and report the bothering phone calls. If the telephone conversation is uploaded to the Internet, administrative fine in the amount from three to five hundred roubles may be imposed for the breach of the legally fixed procedure of collection, storing, use or divulgation of information (Article 13.11 of the APCRF). If such calls include insults, the pranker may be brought to administrative fine of up to three thousand roubles pursuant to Article 5.61 of the APCRF for an attempt against the citizen’s honor and dignity in indecent form. One should also keep in mind criminal liability. For example, illegal collection or divulgation of information about the private life of a person, which is that person’s personal or family secret, without their consent, or divulgation of such information during a public speech, is punishable with a fine of up to two hundred thousand roubles or imprisonment of up to two years (Article 137 of the PCRF). A death or mutilation threat brings imprisonment of up to two years.