I got in a political argument with some clown on Facebook. He managed to retrieve my wife’s cell phone number and our home phone which is unlisted and technically just provided by our Internet company that we never use.

None our personal info is really available on Facebook and our profiles are pretty locked down, but he called my wife’s phone a few times last week which she has blocked and never answers. Comes up as anonymous on her id.

He tried our home phone 16 times which I ignored, everything stopped, he called again tonight. I decided to answer. He said he knows where I live my wife and daughters name, and our address. He never gave out that though and that he is coming to kill us. Said that on the line

I have called my local police department. But this is rural Nebraska they said they can’t do anything or have our phone companies run a trace.

Is there anything I can do to figure out who this guy is?

  • brucethemoose@lemmy.world
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    4 days ago

    Home security.

    Get a basic gun. Practice at a range. If you can afford it, invest in security cameras.

    I guess you could involve a lawyer if the situation becomes untenable.


    Don’t panic; theres a 99%+ chance you’ll be fine.

    But don’t ignore the 1%. To all the “it’s just an internet troll” folks: see Jonathan Ross, where one such angry troll shot him dead, just because:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Joss

    May he rest in peace :(

  • communism@lemmy.ml
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    4 days ago

    Get a gun and learn how to use it.

    But as other commenters have said, if he was actually intending on killing you, it’d be real stupid to call you in advance to say so. Most likely just wants to scare you.

  • fulcrummed@lemmy.world
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    4 days ago

    Sorry man, that’s freaky. Dude sounds unhinged. What info do you have on him from Facebook? The info he says he has on you - how much did he actually prove by stating it? Could be that he just got the minimum info and is making the most of it to make it sound like he knows a lot more.

    When you spoke to him, what kind of accent did he have? Did he sound local?

    Can I ask how you know it was him calling your wife? How were you guys able to block his number without being able to view it?

    • Nebraska_Huskers@lemmy.worldOP
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      4 days ago

      Sounded like a middle aged Trump voter. Profile on Facebook was an anonymous account. Here is the account.

      https://www.facebook.com/share/17tf1oeG8S/

      Because she would get a call on her phone and then he would call our home phone, both came up anonymous, she said she spoke once and asked for me he said his name was the name from the account.

      Info was my wife and daughters name. He has my wife’s phone number somehow, and our home phone. He said he had our address but didn’t say it. However wouldn’t be hard to find, live in a really small town.

  • Piperpiper1@lemmy.ml
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    4 days ago

    I’m sorry that you and your family are going through this, this is a genuinely terrifying situation to be in and you’re not overreacting by going to the police or taking this guy seriously.

    Considering your logistics, you should look into getting a firearm if you don’t have one already. It also doesn’t hurt to put in a police report like others suggested. One thing I haven’t seen suggested itt: if there are people in your family that are too young for school/daycare or SAHW you need to think about having a contingency plan for them in case you’re at work. This could be anything from an escape route if someone gets into the house to having neighbors show up at a phone call (or leaving family with them).

  • MIDItheKID@lemmy.world
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    4 days ago

    Isn’t Frank Rizzo also one of the monikers used by “The Jerky Boys”? The prank calling group from the 90’s that used to make tapes?

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Jerky_Boys

    Yup…

    Frank Rizzo – an extremely abrasive, foul-mouthed blue-collar Italian-American New Yorker with bizarre complaints and requests (voiced by Johnny Brennan). Frank curses repeatedly at a potential employer during an inquiry about a job, and accuses the Mickey Mouse character at Disney World of being sexually inappropriate with his children.

  • CocaineShrimp@sh.itjust.works
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    4 days ago

    I’m sorry to hear you’re dealing with an unhinged lunatic, and I’m frustrated on your behalf that the police won’t do anything. Ironically, you could call the police, threaten to kill their family, and you’ll be picked up for free and taken to a safe place the lunatic can’t get at you

    I’d start by identifying what he actually knows. He’s proven he has obtained your names, phone numbers, and probably that you live in Nebraska; which is scary enough, but not enough to find you and cause harm.

    Search for your names and phone numbers using multiple search engines. I would look for addresses, or places of work. If he can find out where you work, it makes it much easier for an adversary to find you. An easy place to check is LinkedIn. If there is a connection with your names and where you work, I’d speak with someone at work. Tell them you have a stalker and:

    1. Ensure any customer support agents are aware they are NEVER to provide personal information about employees, EVEN IF IT SOUNDS LIKE YOUR BOSS ON THE PHONE. KnowB4 has some good training resources (not sponsored)
    2. To inform you if anyone has requested you / your family’s information.

    Next time he calls, you can ask him for your address. He’s been pretty up front about the knowledge he has so far, so check his homework and see how far he’s gotten. That will give you an idea if he can actually attack now, or attack later. If he doesn’t know your address / where you work, it doesn’t mean he can’t find out later. I’d also suggest to not lead with (do you know where I work?) as it will give him an idea; but maybe ask him how he plans on killing you? Gruesome, but it’ll let him blab. Maybe ask a friend to do this so you’re not up all night thinking about it.

    On the protection side: Unfortunately if the police isn’t willing to help, you’ll have to take matters into your own hands. Idk what the firearm laws are like in Nebraska, but you might want to look into it for self defence. I cant answer legal questions, but I’m more than happy to talk about firearms

    Do some of your own counter-intelligence yourself. Look up the guys name, email, phone number; whatever you can get (I wasn’t able to look at the Facebook profile). Build a profile against him. Might help next time you contact the police. Also, write it down somewhere and take screenshots. If he knows you’re onto him, he could delete his accounts.

    Finally, speak with a lawyer. They may be able to offer additional advice and bully the courts / police into getting off their asses and helping you more

    I’m sorry I can’t do more to help but offer advice and answer questions

    Good luck

  • Scubus@sh.itjust.works
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    4 days ago

    Everybodys gangsta til they catch a molotov cocktail to the face. A ring camera, a fire extinguisher. Hard to shoot someone when youre on fire. And you should know theyre coming. The moment anyone enters the threshold, neutralize them. If you want to be a good Samaritan ensure they cant threaten anyone else.

  • you_are_dust@lemmy.world
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    4 days ago

    This is 100% just a troll. He’s not going to do anything physically. If you don’t have your profile locked down, it would be fairly easy to find very basic information about you. As far as what you can do, you can report the profile to Facebook. You can report the profile to IC3 as was recommended. Or you can try to dig into him. His profile is pretty locked down, but there are ways that you could try to get information if you dig far enough. He called you so you should have something.

    • Nebraska_Huskers@lemmy.worldOP
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      4 days ago

      I really have nothing to go on besides that profile which I’ve blocked.

      Like I said he’s called numerous times but it comes up anonymous but yet somehow my wife has it blocked which leads me to believe he’s just using *69

      Home phone just says anonymous as well but no way to block

      • you_are_dust@lemmy.world
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        4 days ago

        Have you asked your phone provider or tried doing*67 or whatever yourself? I’ve heard there’s apps that claim to be able to unhide a number as well but I’m not familiar with them and can’t speak for how true that is.

  • BC_viper@lemmy.world
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    4 days ago

    Kill them. Its simple. Someone threatens you, you remove them as a problem.

    My mistake, you don’t know who they are. Ignore it, they won’t do shit. But if you ever find out, my initial advise is the only option.