Just got an obscene phone call

lundeghe wrote:

All the same, if you had listened on or at least pretended to, you would surely have known what exactly he wanted. Better still, if you tell us the question, it will be easier to guess what he wanted.

Elizabeth Joy Pitt de Morales wrote:

Dear Elizabeth,

I can't imagine how anyone could attempt to explain this away as a flirtatious actitivity or similar, and any suggestion that your conversation invited his words -- thereby blaming you, the victim, for the perpetrator's actions -- can be considered nothing more than an apologia for what this really was: a verbal sexual aggression, and I strongly encourage you to report it to the authorities at once.

Not only would you be taking some kind of action to protect yourself, you may also protect other women from this sick creep, not to mention that you may well feel less vulnerable and afraid to pick up the phone or attend to a legitimate client via the phone in the future.

If he didn't get your number from your ProZ profile, it might behoove you to find out where he could have found it and make sure that it is removed.

My deepest condolences to you for having experienced this kind of attack.

- Liz

Elizabeth Tamblin wrote:

I don't know how the moron got my phone number though.

lundeghe wrote:

If I understand you well, the person spoke a lot of true and responsible things about your profile, you and translation before suddenly asking a silly question.
Perhaps he really wanted something serious, but, you spoke to him in a very polite manner as any one would to a potential client. So, he mistook or simply exploited your welcoming tone to mention something completely out of place.
Men can easily do so at times. Nonetheless, in such cases they are more likely to initiate a love related discussion than a really sexual kind of talk. But, it still depends. Some men may talk something filthy when they initiate a love related discussion. Though this should scarcely be the case to women they are meeting for the first time. It wont event be the case when talking to a woman whose husband just answered the call before handing over the phone to.
All the same, if you had listened on or at least pretended to, you would surely have known what exactly he wanted. Better still, if you tell us the question, it will be easier to guess what he wanted.
We are all victims of this kind of behavior everyday.

Ty Kendall wrote:

I wonder if they'll trace that number to Cameroon...

Chris S wrote:

As it is, of course, we're all left dying to know what exactly he said

Sheila Wilson wrote:

You're right - we're just a little bit more on our guard now that we know it's happened once. I'd never have thought it! And what he said to you is not something I need (or want) to know. I'm sure all women can imagine a few things we wouldn't like to have said to us, and that we'd find deeply upsetting. And there's absolutely no guarantee he'll say the same next time, if there is a next time.

You say he got your details from ProZ.com. Is that where you had your phone number? Was it in clear somewhere, in your profile or your uploaded CV? That would be helpful to know. I don't have my phone number anywhere here that users can see, nor anywhere else on the web, AFAIK. But if I had, I'd take it down now because of this, pronto.

Elizabeth Tamblin wrote:

If you're implying I started the thread to get attention (which is exactly what is meant by the word "clickbaity" you just used), you're wrong.

I - perhaps mistakenly - thought it would put people on their guard in case this individual called them, considering that he found my details on ProZ. I gave a few details, such as caller ID withheld, accent and general MO of the culprit. I know it's not much to go on, but if I read this thread, I think it would make me a little more wary of engaging in a conversation with a bloke calling out of the blue.

A bit like warning people about different types of scam - or don't you think that's worth doing either?