Running a small business is demanding enough without unexpected threats creeping into your day. Most of us accept that the modern world brings its share of spam calls, phishing emails, and the occasional nuisance message. But nothing prepares you for the moment when a stranger decides to target you—not just as a business owner, but as a person.
Recently, I found myself at the centre of a harassment case that escalated far beyond anything I could have anticipated. It began with repeated nuisance calls from someone who had clearly found my mobile number through my business website. Given the nature of my work, my contact details are public—something most small business owners can relate to. What I didn’t expect was how quickly this would spiral.
After blocking the initial number, the individual moved to WhatsApp. When blocked again, he enlisted a female acquaintance to call me so he could deliver a “warning” and demand I unblock him. When that failed, he used my number to sign me up for dating apps, triggering a flood of verification codes. In a single day, I received around 40 calls from the same number, starting late morning and continuing past 10pm.
This wasn’t an inconvenience. It was harassment—persistent, targeted, and designed to intimidate. The police are now investigating it as a harassment crime, and rightly so.
The Hidden Cost of Harassment on Small Businesses
Harassment isn’t just emotionally draining; it has a very real impact on business operations. When you’re self‑employed or running a small practice, your time is your most valuable asset. Every hour lost to dealing with unwanted calls, blocking numbers, reporting incidents, and managing the fallout is an hour you’re not serving clients, completing work, or growing your business.
Here’s what harassment like this can cost a business:
⏳ Lost Working Hours
When your phone is ringing every few minutes, you can’t focus. You can’t take legitimate calls. You can’t maintain the calm, professional headspace your work requires. Even after the calls stop, the mental disruption lingers.
📉 Damage to Professional Confidence
Harassment blurs the line between personal and professional boundaries. When someone weaponises your publicly listed business information, it shakes your sense of safety. You start second‑guessing what you share, how you operate, and whether being visible puts you at risk.
📱 Communication Disruption
Blocking numbers, filtering messages, and dealing with spoofed or unknown callers becomes a daily chore. For businesses that rely heavily on phone communication, this is more than an annoyance—it’s a barrier to doing your job.
🧠 Emotional Toll
Harassment is designed to unsettle. It creates anxiety, frustration, and a sense of intrusion. When someone repeatedly invades your personal space—your phone, your time, your peace—it chips away at your wellbeing. And when you’re the business, your wellbeing is the business.
🔒 Security Concerns
Being signed up for dating apps without consent isn’t just irritating—it’s a violation. It raises questions about data misuse, identity protection, and the lengths someone is willing to go to cause disruption.
Why Harassment Crimes Must Be Taken Seriously
Harassment is often dismissed as “just calls” or “just messages,” but anyone who has experienced it knows it’s far more than that. It’s a deliberate attempt to intimidate, control, or unsettle another person. When it targets a business owner, it becomes a threat to livelihood as well as personal safety.
The police treating this as a harassment crime is not only appropriate—it’s essential. These behaviours escalate. They rarely stop on their own. And they can have long‑term consequences for victims if left unchallenged.
A Message to Other Small Business Owners
If something like this happens to you:
- Document everything—dates, times, screenshots, call logs.
- Report early—don’t wait for it to escalate.
- Protect your boundaries—block, filter, and secure your accounts.
- Don’t minimise it—your safety and peace of mind matter.
- Seek support—from police, from peers, from professionals.
Harassment is not “part of the job.” It’s not something you should tolerate because you’re visible or accessible. You deserve to run your business without fear, disruption, or intimidation.