Prank calls can be a fun way to get your friends on a slow and boring day. They’re also useful for practicing new and different accents if you’re trying to work on your acting skills. Whether you call a random person or someone you know, a prank call can have everyone laughing if it’s performed well. Keep reading to learn about 20 hilarious prank call ideas you can try on your friends, family, or even unsuspecting strangers.
Things to Think About Before Making a Prank Call
When you’re selecting prank call ideas, you should think about a few things before choosing who you’re going to call. You don’t want to call someone who is going to get super mad, and calling a random number puts you at risk for this. You don’t want a simple prank call idea to escalate into something more serious.
Here are some things to consider before you start these prank call ideas on people:
- Don’t prank call 911, the police, or other emergency services. It’s illegal to submit a false call to emergency services and can lead to criminal charges or fines.
- Don’t threaten strangers in a prank call. It’s okay in some cases to spook someone with a prank call, especially if it’s a person you know, but making anyone feel unsafe as the result of a prank call is illegal.
- Don’t call someone more than twice for a prank call. If you call someone over and over again, this could also be considered harassment.
- If someone says to stop calling, don’t call them again. Repeatedly calling someone against their will can be classified as harassment if they decide to press charges.
- Caller ID is a thing. If you call a friend to prank them from your cell phone, chances are they’re going to see your number pop up on their phone. On the other hand, if it is a number that they don’t know, many people will not pick up.
Prank phone calls to random people can be a fun way to pass the afternoon, especially if you’re doing it with your friends. And many prank calls, such as the infamous “Is your refrigerator running?” call, are ultimately just good fun.
Read on for some hilarious prank call ideas you can try for yourself.
20 Funny Prank Call Ideas
1. Fake Food Delivery
This is a good prank to get started on if you’re pretty new to doing prank calls. Simply call a random person. Then tell them that their food has been delivered and is waiting on their front porch.
Hang up before they have a chance to argue with you that they didn’t order any food. Most people will be compelled to check their porch for a delivery either way.
2. Blind Date
Call either a random person or a person you know and tell them how excited you are to meet them for your date tonight. If the person you called acts confused, power through and pretend that you think that they’re joking about not knowing about the date.
Tell them that you’ll meet them at a coffee shop nearby. Then tell them you hit traffic and you’ll call them back before they have a chance to argue with you. This helps if you have a mutual friend you can say set you up.
3. Lucky Winner
Lucky Winner is a foundation for many funny prank call ideas. This makes for a good prank call idea since you can switch up what the person was lucky enough to win in your prank. There is no wrong answer. However, the more ridiculous the prize, the funnier the prank will be.
Call someone to tell them that they have won a lifetime supply of dog toothbrushes, Pizza Hut pizzas, or any other prize that sounds stupid but is still plausible. You win the prank call if you can convince the lucky winner that they really won.
4. Sign for a Package
Here’s another prank call that can get the victim to check the front door for nothing. Call a random number and tell them that they need to sign for a package that is being delivered at the front door.
When they say you have the wrong number, recite their address to convince them. The person might get upset when they realize they’ve gotten up for nothing. But hey, at least they got a little exercise in their day!
5. You Called Me
Whether you call someone you know or a random number, this is a prank call guaranteed to get someone upset. Call a number and when the person picks up, ask them why they called.
Act confused when they say that you’re the one that called them, and then insist that they’re the one who called you. Be careful, some people can get super mad over this particular prank call.
6. Free Pickup
This prank call idea is a simple one. However, it requires multiple calls to the same person. So it’s a good one to do on a person you know who won’t get upset about it. Call the person and ask about picking up the free underwear (or some other random ridiculous object) that is on offer at their address.
When they say you have the wrong number, double down and insist that their number was the one listed in the newspaper. A few hours later, have another person call about the same free item pickup, or use different accents.
7. Free Tickets
To make this prank call, you have to convince someone that you’re calling from a radio station. The person you’re pranking will win two tickets to a concert or show if they answer a few ridiculous trivia questions.
This prank is more effective if you can pull off a sufficiently convincing radio host voice in your call. Bonus points if you can make it all the way through the trivia round without the person on the line figuring out the prank or before they hang up.
8. Scored Lover
This prank call can get you in trouble if you call the wrong number. So you’ll want to be sure to only use this prank on a business or with someone who doesn’t get upset quickly.
Imagine that you’re the scorned lover of the person you’re calling and call them to scold them for avoiding you or accuse them of having an affair. It doesn’t matter if the person on the other end of the line is a lady or a guy. What makes this call hilarious is being able to pretend convincingly and stay in character.
9. Long Lost Friend
This is the best prank call to use on a stranger since someone you know is likely to recognize your voice unless you’re good at disguising it. Call someone and convince them that you’re a close friend from high school or college who hasn’t talked to them in forever.
If they ask your name in conversation, pretend to get offended that they don’t remember who you are. If they ask how they know you, make up increasingly ridiculous scenarios from your pretend life together. See how long it takes them to catch on.
10. Haunted House
This is the best prank call for people you know who are easily spooked. However, you want to be sure not to take this joke too far, or to use it on people who wouldn’t find it funny once they found out it was fake.
Call a person and tell them that someone died in their house thirty years ago and that the place is haunted. Bonus points if you convince the person that it’s a true haunting or if they report some ghost sightings of their own!
11. 31 Flavors
This is a fun prank call if you have a peppy and high-spirited voice that you can use to convince someone you’re calling from a store. For this prank, call someone and tell them if they can name the 31 flavors of ice cream in 3 minutes, they’ll win a three-year supply of ice cream and $10,000.
You have to sound serious to convince the person on the line that you’re really from an ice cream shop though, so no laughing.
12. Secret Message
This funny prank works best if you can convince a friend to make prank calls with you. Call someone and ask them if a fake name is there. When the person says you have the wrong number, tell them when they call that you have a message for them.
Make the message cryptic, something like, “Tell Jess the barn owl flies at midnight” and hang up before they can argue with you. Then have your other prank caller call as Jess and ask if any messages were left for them.
13. Random Survey
This is the best prank call to make when you’re really bored since you can get a huge range of answers depending on how good you are and how long you can string the person on the other end along.
Call a random number. Then tell them you’re performing a survey for a lifestyle company and see if you can ask some questions in exchange for a gift card. Make the survey questions as realistic or ridiculous as you like, and see how long you can get the person to play along.
14. Order of Strippers
This is a fun joke to play on someone for a bachelor party or birthday party. Call the prank victim and try to confirm an order of exotic dancers who are scheduled to perform for them.
You can play club music sounds in the background of your call or ambient crowd noise to make it more realistic. This prank call is good for a laugh. However, be sure not to get on the bad side of someone’s significant other in the process!
15. Where Do Babies Come From?
If you’re bored, this is another prank call that can generate some truly hilarious answers. This is also a good call to make to a business since depending on which business you call, they may be compelled to take your question seriously.
If you can disguise your voice to sound like a small and curious child, even better.
16. Is Bob There?
If you’re stuck for good prank call ideas, this one is an oldie but a goodie. Simply call a random number and ask for a random fake name (Ex. “Is Bob there?”). When the person says you have the wrong number, hang up.
A few hours later, call back in a disguised voice and ask for the fake name again. Calling the same number repeatedly can be very annoying. So you’ll want to use this trick sparingly or on someone you know has a sense of humor.
17. Out of Toilet Paper
This is a good prank to use on either a business or a stranger. Call the number and act like you are in a hotel or a restaurant and complain that there is no toilet paper.
Insist that someone from the business bring you toilet paper immediately since you’re in the middle of “business.” When they refuse, pretend to get upset and plead that it is an emergency.
18. Fake Reference
To perform this prank call, call a person and tell them that you’re calling them as a professional reference for a mutual friend or relative. If they agree to be a reference, start out by asking relatively normal questions (“How do you know this person?”) and escalate to increasingly outlandish ones (“Has So-and-So ever been bitten by a bat?”).
See how long you can string them along before they figure out that you’re joking.
19. Drowned Fish
Call Petsmart or another pet store and tell them that you think your fish has drowned. Describe the fish as lying on the bottom of the tank not moving or floating belly-up on the top of the water.
Bonus points if you can convince the store associate that you have removed the fish from the water for a few minutes to give it fresh air.
20. I Know What You Did
A funny prank call for the Halloween season is to call someone and make vague, dramatic statements like, “I know what you did, and you’re not getting away with it” before hanging up.
The key is to not make any direct threats against the person you’re calling while still making your message cryptic and spooky. Be sure to call from an untraceable number since the person is likely to try and call you back.
21. I Saw You
For this prank call, it’s best to use a friend or family member you know well. The good news is, you won’t need to disguise your voice or anything like that, making this an easy prank call to pull off.
Call your friend or family member and insist you just saw them somewhere (it helps to know their plans for the day) and that you waved hi, but they ignored you. Chances are the friend or family member will apologize and say they didn’t see you.
If you can get an idea of what they are wearing from their Facebook or Instagram story, you can add this to the call and really convince them that you saw them.
22. Say You’re Outside
Like the above prank, this one is best for family and friends as it can be creepy to pull it off on a stranger. Call your friend or family member and tell them that you’re there and waiting at the front door.
They will probably be confused but will head to the door anyway. If you hear them open the door in the background of your call, you’ve won, and they’ll likely be laughing as well.
23. Fake Complaint
The Fake Complaint phone call is a nice way to let off steam while also getting a good laugh. Call someone and as soon as they answer, ask if it is the customer service department for a business.
Without giving them time to answer “no” dive into your complaint about the fake business, making it as ridiculous as possible. If they laugh at your complaint, ensure you address it as well. They may hang up at some point during the call, but you’ll nail this prank call if you can get them to at least hear you out.
24. Musical Prank Call
Some people aren’t able to pull off prank calls because they have a recognizable voice they can’t disguise. If this applies to you, try this prank where you simply call someone and begin playing music.
While the person on the other end of the line is likely to hang up quickly, playing a song that sounds like a phone conversation, like Adele’s “Hello” might just keep them on the line for a bit and make them smile.
25. Happy Birthday Prank
For those who don’t want to worry about disguising their voice, the Happy Birthday prank is a cinch. Call up anyone in your contacts, and as soon as they answer, start singing Happy Birthday. Go through the whole song without pausing to let them get a word in.
Once you finish singing, your friend or family member will probably insist it isn’t their birthday. Act surprised or make a joke about how you know they are lying about it being their birthday.
26. Ask a Stranger for Advice
Some people don’t like prank calling because they are afraid, they’ll do something illegal. The asking-for-advice phone prank is ideal for them as it won’t break any laws as long as you don’t repeatedly call the person over and over.
For this prank, call anyone in your contacts (or a stranger or business) and after the answer ask them for advice on a ridiculous topic. Maybe you need help with your boyfriend who loves his stuffed bear more than you, or maybe you can’t decide what to order at a restaurant and the server is on his way back.
Whatever it is, hopefully, they stay on the line long enough to give you advice and get a laugh.
27. Remain Silent
The easiest prank call in the book is to call someone and say nothing. You’ll hear them on the other side of the phone saying “hello” multiple times until they give up. While this isn’t satisfying for everyone, it’s a good beginner phone prank to get your feet wet.
28. Muffled Voice
After graduating from the remain silent prank call, the next step up is the muffled voice. Call anyone in your contacts, and as soon as they answer place your hand over your mouth and begin to speak.
Your voice will come out all muffled and they won’t be able to understand what you are saying. Because this isn’t an obvious prank call, they will likely stay on the line a while trying to understand what you are saying.
29. Why Did You Hang Up on Me?
As far as prank phone calls go, this is one of the easiest which can easily give both sides a laugh. You can use this on anyone in your contacts, or on a friend or family member.
Call the individual and as soon as they answer say “Why did you hang up on me?” in an angry voice. Whether you know them or not they will likely begin to argue that they didn’t hang up on you. See how long you can keep the conversation going before they realize it’s a prank and hang up.
30. Copycat
The Copycat prank phone call is easy to execute. Your goal will be to copy everything they say until they hang up.
The first part of this phone call is easy, as they will likely answer with a “hello.” If you want something a little more challenging, then try calling a local business and repeating their greeting back to them. Hopefully, you’ll get a few laughs on both ends depending on your repeating skills.
Prank Call Ideas FAQ
Is Prank Calling Illegal?
Prank calling isn’t generally illegal unless you make prank calls to harass someone repeatedly, frighten them, or threaten them. Most prank calls are harmless fun if performed well and they don’t abuse the person being called.
It is illegal in some places to record a prank call, as this is considered illegal wiretapping. To avoid getting in trouble for prank calling, stick to prank-calling businesses or close friends.
What Can You Do About Prank Callers?
If someone calls you with a prank call that threatens harm against you, your business, your employees, or your family, you can file a police report for threatening behavior and harassment. The police department is able to track phone records.
Then the police can determine where a prank call originated in many cases. They’re able to do so even if you don’t have caller ID or the number is blocked. For people who often find themselves on the wrong end of prank calls, the best solution is to screen your calls with caller ID.
By only answering calls from people you know, you won’t be exposed to prank calls or other scammers.
How Do You Find Out Who Sent a Prank Call?
The easiest way to find out who sent you a prank call is to dial *69. When you dial this number, the phone will reconnect to the last phone line that was dialed.
This allows you to get the number of the person who called and report them for harassment if necessary.
Prank Calls: Conclusion
Prank calls are considered harmless fun by most people as long as you don’t go overboard with them. To avoid trouble, try these prank call ideas to a friend rather than a stranger. And stick to silly prank calls rather than scary ones. When it comes to prank calling, a friend with a sense of humor is much more likely to forgive you for the joke!
Bruiser says
I was hoping this would be about calling a bowling alley and asking if they have 14 pound balls. How do you walk? Is your refrigerator running? Yes it is. Better hurry up and catch it. The pranks seem mean.