# How to get rid of a psycho ex? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 22, 2010, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-rid-of-a-psycho-ex/536942 "2010-04-22T00:10:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2010, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-rid-of-a-psycho-ex/536942/41 "2010-04-22T17:46:41Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > If she is set up with a [Google Voice](http://www.google.com/googlevoice/about.html)number, she can block (or send straight to voicemail) specific calls, and have each phone message sent to email so she’ll have a written record of it. And each call is pre-screened. And you can record any phone call. Assuming that you’re not suggesting she politely ask the stalker to please begin calling her Google Voice number instead, that might present some minor problems… she could either use her existing cell number with Google Voice (which would remove some of the expanded features, such as call screening) or forward her cell number to a separate Google Voice number (in which case she wouldn’t then be able to \*answer the screened \*calls on the same cell). I think. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2010, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-rid-of-a-psycho-ex/536942/42 "2010-04-22T17:54:43Z")
Plus, recording phone calls without the consent of the other party is illegal in several states. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2010, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-rid-of-a-psycho-ex/536942/43 "2010-04-22T17:59:59Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > Assuming that you’re not suggesting she politely ask the stalker to please begin calling her Google Voice number instead, that might present some minor problems… she could either use her existing cell number with Google Voice (which would remove some of the expanded features, such as call screening) or forward her cell number to a separate Google Voice number (in which case she wouldn’t then be able to \*answer the screened \*calls on the same cell). I think. I believe she can answer the screened forwarded phone calls, same as any other GVoice call. It’s a little convoluted, but it’s free and available. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2010, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-rid-of-a-psycho-ex/536942/44 "2010-04-22T18:17:55Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Plus, recording phone calls without the consent of the other party is illegal in several states. True, but so is holding your ex in a dry well until she’s moisturized enough for your skin suit. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2010, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-rid-of-a-psycho-ex/536942/45 "2010-04-22T18:21:19Z")
Cite? ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2010, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-rid-of-a-psycho-ex/536942/46 "2010-04-22T18:50:22Z")
I’ve been through this sort of thing. The main thing is to tell your girlfriend never to communicate with him. Any communication will encourage the ex and start they cycle all over again. Recording the new voice mail message with a deep man voice would be a good non-agressive way to convey she’s no longer available or interested. ---
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2010, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-rid-of-a-psycho-ex/536942/47 "2010-04-22T19:06:41Z")
> [@Snickers](#): > > I’m not understanding this correctly, but then I’ve never blocked calls, either. When you block a number, is there some sort of notification to that caller that his or her calls are blocked? For example, do blocked calls not go to voice mail, so the caller would know that way? How does a caller know that his or her call has been blocked? I knew someone who had Call Block and we tested it. (No really, we were just testing it. I am _not_ a stalker! Stop looking at me that way!) This was over ten years ago, but at the time when I called her number from my cellphone I got a recording that said the recipient was “not accepting phone calls at this time” or some similar recording. My call did not go to voice mail. I think I was instructed to hang up, but I don’t remember. We also tested it to see what would happen if I blocked Call Display. Even if the person’s number is hidden and you don’t know it, you can hit some kind of \*6X sequence (I don’t remember the last number) and it would block the last number that called whether or not it was unlisted or hidden from Call Display. I don’t know if any of the above has changed, since we did that little test. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2010, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-rid-of-a-psycho-ex/536942/48 "2010-04-22T19:08:25Z")
Great username/post combo. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2010, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-rid-of-a-psycho-ex/536942/49 "2010-04-22T19:14:31Z")
If your gf has a Verizon cell phone, you can block the number yourself on the Verizon Wireless web site. Here are some instructions, although their site might have changed since they were made: > **[How to win a complaint dispute with verizon wireless](https://itstillworks.com/win-complaint-dispute-verizon-wireless-2278090.html)** > > Winning a complaint dispute with Verizon Wireless can be a challenge if you are not prepared. Verizon Wireless, like all cell phone companies, want to retain your wireless business, but they also do not want to lose money. If you have a complaint or... ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2010, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-rid-of-a-psycho-ex/536942/50 "2010-04-22T19:24:38Z")
> [@Student\_Driver](#): > > When I’ve had this issue in the past (whether my own psycho ex or a g/f’s psycho ex), the phone company has told me they cannot block numbers. When my psycho ex started calling me 100 times a day, I called ATT (cell provider) and they immediately blocked his number with no charge to me. That was four years ago. A month ago, someone’s security system in Florida was somehow misdialing my cellphone every 5 minutes, so I called ATT and they immediately blocked that as well. ---
**Author:** ![cwthree](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9de0a6/32.png) [@cwthree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cwthree)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2010, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-rid-of-a-psycho-ex/536942/51 "2010-04-22T20:32:07Z")
> [@Algorithm](#): > > He’ll give up eventually if you pay him no attention. It is not safe to assume that this will happen. A _normal_ person will get bored and give up if there’s no reward. The ex’s behavior suggests that he already isn’t thinking like a normal person. He could just as easily decide that she’s ignoring him because he’s not being pushy _enough_, and then escalate his efforts to contact her. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2010, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-rid-of-a-psycho-ex/536942/52 "2010-04-22T22:36:25Z")
Answer the phone and say your girlfriend’s dead. ---
**Author:** ![Algorithm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/algorithm/32/12204_2.png) [@Algorithm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algorithm)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2010, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-rid-of-a-psycho-ex/536942/53 "2010-04-22T22:49:11Z")
> [@cwthree](#): > > It is not safe to assume that this will happen. A _normal_ person will get bored and give up if there’s no reward. The ex’s behavior suggests that he already isn’t thinking like a normal person. He could just as easily decide that she’s ignoring him because he’s not being pushy _enough_, and then escalate his efforts to contact her. Possible, but the advice remains the same. Do not pick up, do not respond, do not communicate, not even once. Having dealt with a similar situation very recently (50+ calls/emails/texts on random days months after contact was severed, not a single response on my part) I can say that the ignore strategy can pay off even if the person is “not normal”. It can take months, sometimes. If the situation does escalate, contacting a lawyer ensures your ducks are in a row if legal action is necessary. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-rid-of-a-psycho-ex/536942.md?page=2)