On Jan. 4, Marilyn Reid received a call from 909-259-5560 on her Verizon Wireless cell phone. No one answered. Every two hours or so, it happened again. The next day, four more calls came in. On Jan. 7, it was up to seven.

“I was at wits’ end from the constant calls interrupting my work day,” said the Punta Gorda resident. “My business clients call on that number, so I could not shut it off.”