Say a business publishes a phone number and they typically get X calls per day. After doing something that pisses a lot of people off, they start getting 1000X

Say a business publishes a phone number and they typically get X calls per day. After doing something that pisses a lot of people off, they start getting 1000X calls per day on the same number, almost all complaints. This cases actual damages (no "normal" customers can get through) and is also clearly outside the scope of "normal" usage. Do you think the same rules apply?