History Main / PrankCall

* This was the entire schtick of The Jerky Boys, who released recordings of their various prank calls, and even a BigDamnMovie.

* In ''VideoGame/PizzaFrenzy'', some orders would turn out to be prank calls, and delivering pizzas to the prank caller will instantly end your combo, regardless of which topping he ordered.

* ''ComicBook/TheSimpsonsFuturamaCrossoverCrisis'': This classic ''Simpsons'' RunningGag is given a ''Futurama'' paintjob here. When Moe is working at Zorgnax's Pub, he gets a call from Bender and Bart asking for 100101 100100. When Moe calls for that name, Calculon smugly replies "Well, she's '''your''' mother but it still doesn't seem appropriate!" while the other robots at the pub all laugh at that. Moe then does his usual threat over the phone, while Bender and Bart are shown laughing out loud.

* In 2010, a Czech TV fortuneteller Stanley Bradley made himself an internet hit for a while with his response to a prank caller's [[https://youtu.be/mKNGCwp0j4E question]], ''“Why are my balls itchy?”''. \\
He replied by rattling off an entire list of the caller's medical problems in an equally vulgar tone, signing off with, “…and I also see you have low energy in your large intestine, so your asshole will soon be itchy as well.”

* Early in ''Film/Scream2'', Sidney gets a prank call from a guy posing as Ghostface, in a scene that illustrates why this is a DiscreditedTrope nowadays. It's implied that she's been getting several of them thanks to the release of ''[[ShowWithinAShow Stab]]'', a RippedFromTheHeadlines SlasherMovie that (in-universe) is based on the events of [[Film/{{Scream 1996}} the first movie]], to the point where she's no longer fazed by them.

* At the end of the ''WesternAnimation/RockosModernLife'' episode "[[Recap/RockosModernLifeS4E11DumbellsRugBirds Dumbells]]", this is the [[HereWeGoAgain new prank]] Heffer and Filburt take up after they confess to their [[DingDongDitchDistraction ding dong ditch pranking spree]][[spoiler:, even roping the judge presiding over their case into it]].

* The ''Simpsons''/''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' [[Recap/FamilyGuyS13E1TheSimpsonsGuy crossover]] has Stewie watching Bart make a prank call to Moe. Afterwards, Stewie tries it and says, "Hello Moe? Your sister's being raped." and hangs up. Bart's [[DudeNotFunny reaction]] says it all.

->'''Geula Cohen:''' You're listening to the ''Voice of Liberating Zion for the Freedom of Israel''. We have a special guest in our studio today, Aharon Aharon.
->'''Aharon Aharon:''' Good, good, you're the best, Geula, ''the best!''
->'''Geula Cohen:''' Yes. Soon, we'll tell our listeners about the prank call you made to the British High Commissioner [of Mandatory Palestine].
->'''Aharon Aharon:''' Oh, yeah, you would not believe it - I called him to ask what color is the White Paper of 1939! *canned laughter*

* ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/31492754?view_full_work=true Mars Attacks: Simpsons]]'', WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons, Film/MarsAttacks, Series/TheNormShow, and Music/MelanieC crossover, a prank call to a random location in Springfield happens in each chapter.

* "Phony Calls" by Music/WeirdAlYankovic, a parody of Music/{{TLC}}'s "Waterfalls", is an entire song warning the listener that playing phone pranks on people has consequences.

Contrast MistakenForPrankCall (the SubvertedTrope) when the character receiving the call thinks that they're being pranked. May overlap with AnonymousPublicPhoneCall, when a character makes an anonymous call with a public phone.

* Australian musician and alternative comedian Gregg Turkington also recorded an album of prank calls entitled ''Great Phone Calls'' which included the first appearances of his [[AntiHumor hilariously]] [[SoUnfunnyItsFunny unfunny]] stand-up comedian character Creator/NeilHamburger. Also notable for including "Music Of The Night", a brief prank call made by an uncredited Music/MikePatton, in which he tries to get saxophone lessons after midnight (the music teacher's ad apparently mentioned being available [[ExactWords "any time of day"]]).

* The Simpsons/Family Guy crossover has Stewie watching Bart make a prank call to Moe. Afterwards, Stewie tries it and says, "Hello Moe? Your sister's being raped." and hangs up. Bart's [[DudeNotFunny reaction]] says it all.

* A prank call is what brings Philip J. Fry to the cryogenics lab where he gets frozen, kicking off the plot of ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}''. [[spoiler:Except it wasn't a prank at all: the call, and Fry's ensuing 1000-year stasis, were all engineered by Nibbler as part of a ''very'' LongGame]].

* As mentioned in the trope description, this wasn't uncommon prior to the TurnOfTheMillennium due to the invention of things like *69 and Caller ID. However, they have evolved, see below.
* Prince Albert is a brand of tobacco sold in a metal can. It was named for the RealLife Prince Albert, who later became King Edward VII. A prankster would call a person or store and say "Do you have Prince Albert in a can?" If the victim said "Yes", the prankster would say "Then you'd better let him out!"
** Another common one was the old "Is your [appliance] running? Better go catch it!" as well.
* On the internet, the term "prank call" appears to mean people {{troll}}ing 1-800 numbers on Skype. It's a given, since 1-800 numbers don't use up Skype credits.

* Modern prank calls are often conducted using soundboards (pre-recorded lines and quotes from all manner of celebrities, fictional characters, and even other prank call victims). Thanks to the emergence of proxy internet protocols and innocuous, generic Skype numbers -- which can be altered at will -- it's become more difficult than ever to block and ignore harassing phone calls short of disconnecting the phone line or changing your own number. [[note]]Fortunately, many phone companies ''will'' allow you to change your phone number with minimal fuss if you are being threatened or harassed, and many will waive the fee it normally costs to change one's number in these cases.[[/note]] Many of these calls are uploaded by the pranksters to Website/YouTube.
** The soundboard prank calling fad became popular around 2008, with the discovery of some notable victims who would go on to endure ''years'' of frequent prank phone calls. These victims, most of whom argued, threatened, and cussed at the comical recordings they mistook for real people, would then be called with soundboards of other victims and even their own voices. Despite this behavior sometimes crossing the line from harmless fun to outright stalking and harassment, and several victims explicitly working with the police to crack down on it, little legal action was ever able to be taken, and even the most adamant victims eventually faded into obscurity and gave up trying to fight it. Thanks to the high amount of privacy available to prank callers on the internet, it is not uncommon for them to use their own voices as well.
** Perhaps the most notable victim of soundboard prank calling was Frank Neal Garrett, the aged owner of a construction company in Stilwell, Oklahoma, whose foul-mouthed belligerent anger and creative insults directed towards his prank callers ensured he was targeted for years to come. Frank, who unlike many other long-lasting victims, [[{{Determinator}} never gave an inch]] and refused to change his number, was ''bombarded'' with prank calls until his death in 2011, and the large collection of calls to him are still popular on Website/YouTube. Pranksters from all over the world began calling Frank, which inevitably inspired people to begin bothering other businesses in Stilwell with Frank's voice. Some of these victims, naturally unfamiliar with the nature of soundboard prank calling, '''blamed Frank himself''' for the calls. The cult-following surrounding Frank twice made national news, when another soundboard (of a victim discovered by Frank) harassed and issued death threats to an entire street of people while identifying himself as "Frank Garrett"; news reporters did their research, and followed the trail to the extensive online library of calls to Frank. Garrett is honored yearly in "Duncanfest," named for his company, in which his fans celebrate him by using his soundboard in a variety of original prank calls.
* If you are on the receiving end of prank calls, or other harassing phone calls, especially if you are fielding large amounts of them [[note]] For example, you pissed off the wrong person on the Internet, and [[DisproportionateRetribution they retaliated by posting your contact info online]], or you have a legitimately PsychoEx or StalkerWithACrush. [[/note]] [[http://800notes.com/arts/mM8EewmEhQA/harassing-phone-calls-what-to-do here's what you can do]].

* Many people on [=YouTube=] like to post videos of making prank calls to Indian scams that inquire about items like tech support, debt collection, or free vacations, as a way of harassing them and, for a short time, stopping them from getting another victim. Common tools employed by these "scambaiters" are [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-j12NvUwhw voice acting or modulation to make the operator believe that they're talking to, say, an 80-year old grandma,]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gq1uiinNM_Y replying to their emails with]] [[BrokenRecord just the word "OK",]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMsY4zrZ0ow or just outright]] [[MarathonLevel trying to waste as much of their time as possible, with a good goal being 2 or 3 hours.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls1998'' episode "Telephonies" dealt with the girls being prank called by the [[GoldfishPoopGang Gangreen Gang]] into fighting against [[ManiacMonkeys Mojo Jojo]], [[CorruptHick Fuzzy Lumpkins]], and [[CampGay Him]], even when the three latter villains didn't commit any crimes at all. The girls never catch on, but the other villains figure it out and don't take kindly to the Gangreen Gang's shenanigans.

* ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls'' episode "Telephonies" dealt with the girls being prank called by the [[GoldfishPoopGang Gangreen Gang]] into fighting against [[ManiacMonkeys Mojo Jojo]], [[CorruptHick Fuzzy Lumpkins]], and [[CampGay Him]], even when the three latter villains didn't commit any crimes at all. The girls never catch on, but the other villains figure it out and don't take kindly to the Gangreen Gang's shenanigans.

** One episode reveals that Joey keeps calling his room mate Chandler to work, pretending that he's a female StalkerWithACrush. Ross is at first somewhat disturbed, but comes to enjoy the joke later. Poor Chandler is genuinely freaked out.

** Bart loves to call up Moe's and ask to speak to people with names like Al Coholic. Moe always asks his customers for that person, then realizes the pun when they start laughing. One time he used it to sic Moe on his babysitter's boyfriend. (He had a crush on the babysitter.) This backfired on him once when Bart called Moe looking for a Hugh Jass... only for a man actually named Hugh Jass to pick up on the other end. Hugh takes it in stride. The first time viewers saw Bart meet up with Moe had him recognizing the voice... of Homer's sweet ragamuffin kid Bart.

* The Simpsons/Family Guy crossover has Stewie watching Bart make a prank call to Moe. Afterwards, Stewie tries it and says, "Hello Moe? Your sister's being raped." and hangs up. Bart's [[DudeNotFunny reaction says it all.]]

** Another common one was the old "Is your appliance running? Better go catch it!" as well.

* The "Tube Bar tapes," a series of tape-recorded prank calls to Jersey City's Tube Bar circulated in the 70s [[OlderThanTheyThink and were the inspiration for]] the famous ''[[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons Simpsons]]'' RunningGag.

** In the B-plot of "Thin Ice", Louis and Twitty take up prank calling, almost ruining Ren's chances for a date with her then-boyfriend at the time, Bobby. However, it [[PrankGoneTooFar goes too far]] when they trick Tawny and her father into thinking they won $1 million and it seems as though they ruined their lives[[spoiler:, but it turns out Tawny and her dad staged the ruse to teach them a lesson: they knew it was the boys the whole time, because they have caller ID, and it prompts them to kick the habit after the fact]].

** In the B-plot of "Thin Ice", Louis and Twitty take up prank calling, almost ruining Ren's chances for a date with her then-boyfriend at the time, Bobby. However, it [[PrankGoneTooFar goes too far]] when they trick Tawny and her father into thinking they won $1 million and it seems as though they ruined their lives[[spoiler:, but it turns out Tawny and her dad staged the ruse to teach them a lesson: they knew it was the boys the whole time, because they have caller ID]].
** Louis does it again at the start of "[[HalloweenEpisode A Very Scary Story]]". He disguises his voice, at first, while Ren is watching a scary movie, then Ren employs call return, at which point Louis scares her.

* PlayedForLaughs in the B-plot of the ''Series/EvenStevens'' episode "Thin Ice". Louis and Twitty take up prank calling, almost ruining Ren's chances for a date with her then-boyfriend at the time, Bobby. However, it [[PrankGoneTooFar goes too far]] when they trick Tawny and her father into thinking they won $1 million and it seems as though they ruined their lives[[spoiler:, but it turns out Tawny and her dad staged the ruse to teach them a lesson: they knew it was the boys the whole time, because they have caller ID]].

* The B-plot of the ''Series/EvenStevens'' episode "Thin Ice" sees Louis and Twitty taking up prank calling, almost ruining Ren's chances for a date with her then-boyfriend at the time, Bobby. However, it [[PrankGoneTooFar goes too far]] when they trick Tawny and her father into thinking they won $1 million and it seems as though they ruined their lives[[spoiler:, but it turns out Tawny and her dad staged the ruse to teach them a lesson: they knew it was the boys the whole time, because they have caller ID]].