Prank Calling Businesses Are Illegal?

Making a prank call to the local McDonald’s might seem like a silly joke to you because pranking calling your local McDonald’s will not lead the CEO of the company to drag you to jail. 

But, in certain cases, a prank call can lead law enforcement to take action against you by determining the kind of prank call that you have conducted. 

There are laws regarding prank calls that might end you up in law enforcement facilities for your practical jokes. 

Prank calls gone wrong might lead to misdemeanors and felonies if done with bad intentions. 

The article will provide you with the kinds of prank calls that are illegal. Moreover, stating the legality of prank-calling businesses like McDonald’s. 

Illegal Prank Calls That Can Get You Arrested

Harassment

 The line between a random and an illegal harassing prank call is very thin. 

Generally, it is illegal for the purpose of calling someone dead at night for passing a stupid remark. 

But you will be violating the law if you start making calls every 10 minutes and or state any threatening statements. 

Disorderly Conduct

Certain states in the US define disorderly conduct as including the usage of abusive and offensive language. This is associated with causing anger in the other person. 

For a prank call to be considered to be listed under the provision of disorderly conduct would not mean you are making a stupid joke. 

But it means making use of verbal abuse, obscene language, and other forms of demeaning conduct. 

Hate Crimes

The occurrence of hate crimes is similar to harassment. The only difference is its intent. 

The underlying motive of a hate crime is disrespecting the victim’s characteristics, like religion, race, or nationality, among the few. 

So, if you call someone of a different religion and intent to mock their religious beliefs via a phone call could lead you to face the charge of committing hate crimes.

Wiretapping

Many states in the US ban the recording of phone calls without the consent of the other. 

In spite of this, many teenagers are noticed to record their prank calls for the purpose of sharing among friends for a good laugh. 

This act might lead you to face a felony for the purpose of illicit recording of phone conversations. 

Bomb Traps 

If you threaten to plant a bomb trap, irrespective of the circumstance, you have committed a serious crime. 

Making use of mass violence for the purpose of prank calls is highly irresponsible and dangerous. 

As bomb threats pose an immense threat to public safety, emergency services, and police departments will get involved. 

This has led you to face a great deal of trouble for a simple prank call. 

Is Prank Calling Mcdonald’s Illegal?

Many states in the United States do not differentiate between prank-calling businesses and individuals. 

This means that if you are prank calling a business, you are still committing a crime. 

Moreover, if you have made a prank call that involved making orders from the business, you will be faced with ‘liability.’ 

The law from California is a good example. This state’s law restricts the usage of obscenity and makes threats against any business or individuals. 

However, this restriction is based on repeated calls and is only applicable to individuals. As prohibited, calls made to businesses during the ordinary course of time and scope are allowed. 

If you have pranked orders from a business, then you are applicable to face liability for the prank call you have conducted. This liability is only applicable to any fake orders that you have made in a prank call. 

So, this means if you are placing fake orders in McDonald’s through a prank call. You will face the liability of placing fake orders that might cost the company. 

For instance, you have called McDonald’s and placed 10 orders of BigMac that estimates at $51 dollars. But you have not placed the order for yourself but have directed the delivery for your friend. 

Now a friend of yours has no clue from where the order has been placed and refuses to pay $51 to the delivery man. 

In such cases, you will be held liable by McDonald’s for placing fake orders that have resulted in the company wasting 10 orders of Big Macs. 

Final Thoughts 

Now you know that prank calls cannot be called innocent practical jokes if you tend to make a prank call that could be charged by law. 

Due to this, you have to be very careful regarding ways you are willing to prank anyone or play a practical joke. 

However, if your foolish prank has led you into trouble and resulted in criminal charges, you are advised to get in touch with an experienced criminal defense lawyer. 

A criminal defense lawyer will provide you with legal advice and make sure you are genuinely calling them for help. Rather than making another prank call.