34 gripping true crime docuseries on Netflix

Don’t Pick Up the Phone

Oftentimes, the true crime docuseries we watch can have us feeling all types of emotions. Whether we’re sick to our stomach over the crimes we’re seeing on our screen or absolutely enraged that people can commit such terrible acts, these shows can really get to us. And that’s exactly how I felt while watching Don’t Pick Up the Phone, Netflix’s docuseries that was released in Oct. 2022.

The three-episode series follows the real-life strip search phone hoax which took place across the United States over the span of at least a decade. The show focuses on a few cases in particular, including the Mount Washington incident which really brought attention to the heinous crimes being committed by the prank caller.

This particular incident saw the prank caller contact a McDonald’s assistant manager named Donna Summers while she was at work. The person pretended to be a police officer and told Donna that one of her employees was stealing. Though the caller never gave a name, the brief description he gave was enough for Donna to believe he was talking about her employee Louise Ogborn. She fully believed she was speaking with a police officer and was ready to comply with his requests.

Over the course of hours, Donna and her fiancé obeyed all of the prank caller’s orders, which started with a strip search of Louise and ended in forced oral sex. When an investigation into the incident started, it became apparent that this was not a one-time offense for the prank caller.

Don’t Pick Up the Phone is incredibly frustrating and disheartening, showing what lengths sick and twisted individuals will go to once they’re able to gain the trust of innocent people.