“Phone bombing”: How ‘pranking as a service’ harasses victims
Phone bombing services are increasingly being used to harass individuals by flooding their devices with automated calls and OTP messages. While often marketed as harmless pranks, these services are frequently used for personal vendettas and cyber-harassment.
Why it matters
Highlights the growing threat of digital harassment and the misuse of automated communication systems.
‘Fast and reliable bombing service with unlimited calls and instant delivery,’ says one website that offers ‘pranking as a service’. The site can help mischievous-minded individuals send multiple automated calls to Indian phone numbers.
‘Send up to 1000 calls per hour with speed and anonymity. Perfect for pranking friends or testing systems,’ reads the FAQ section of the website that is easily searchable on Google.
Phone bombing is the practice of putting someone’s phone number on a website, choosing how many fake messages or calls they should receive, and hitting send. This silly act is advertised as “harmless entertainment” and is becoming increasingly common.
The Hindu came upon multiple websites facilitating these phone-bombing prank attacks and spoke to both the victims and abusers of this service.
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