Some individuals actually get pleasure from making malicious phone calls to other people. These calls can be silent, offensive or malicious but ultimately can cause the call receiver to suffer from anxiety, fear and inconvenience. Such calls are a crime under the Telecommunications Act and callers committing such offences can be jailed for up to six months.

Most mailicious calls are random and one-offs, with the caller simply dialling a random number in search of a reaction to their call. However, some calls can be premediated and can continue for long periods of time causing great deals of suffering for the person who is on the receiving end of them.

If you receive malicious phone calls then the most important thing is to remain calm and in control of the situation. Whatever the caller says or does, they are looking for a reaction - to either fear them or respond to them. By remaining calm and in control of the situation you are not giving the caller what they want. Instead of responding to the malicious call, simply place the handset down next to the phone and leave it for a few minutes. Chances are that the caller will get bored of not getting a reaction and hang up themselves.

When answering the phone, do not give your name or number as this will give the caller something to play with, especially if they don't know your name as they may pretend they know you. If the caller asks what number they have dialled, don't tell them, and ask which number they are after. If the number they want is different to what they have dialled tell them this but do not point out what your number is.

Also if you have an answering machine then avoid leaving your name and number, and never give an indication that you are out, at work or on holiday. Always say you are unable to take the call at the present time.

Make sure that other members of the household follow these "rules" so that all callers are met with the same response and no unneccessary information is given away. Also ensure that all members of your household know how to deal with malicious calls too. If a caller gets a response from just one member of the household then they may continue to call in the hope that that person will answer the phone again and respond, which is of course what they want.

Telephone operators take malicious calls seriously and there is a lot they can do to help you. If you receive a malicious call, after hanging up, dial 1471 to see if you can get the number of the caller. Although numbers can be withheld, you may find that the caller has been careless on this occasion. If you get a number, do not call it back, simply report to your operator to allow the proper authorities to deal with it.

If the malicious calls continue then keep a log of when they occur and any details you get from the call including what was said, what the caller's voice was like, their tone and any background noise you can make out.

Telephone operators say that almost all malicious calls can now be traced, whether they come from private, public or even mobile telephones, anywhere in the country. Phone operating companies often work closely with the police in such cases, and legal proceedings will take place if deemed neccessary.

As already stated, the important thing when receiving malicious calls is to stay calm and in control. Do not give any emotion and simply ignore the caller. Make a note of the details of the call and try to get a number of the caller and report it to your telephone operator to deal with.