Police warn about text message hoax and pocket dialing
Posted April 14, 2011 8:45 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The Peel police switchboard has been lit up thanks to a hoax and authorities across the GTA, meanwhile, are also reminding people about the problems pocket dialing can cause when it comes to unintended 911 calls.
A text message has been circulating falsely warning people that authorities may be monitoring their cellphones. The message urges people to press *777 and it claims that if the caller is connected to police their phone is being tapped.
The dial code *777 is a legitimate shortcut to the Peel police switchboard and is only meant to be used in emergencies. This hoax has tied up the phone lines — a problem that could possibly lead to a delay in the event of an actual emergency.
The OPP has a similar shortcut. Dialing *677(OPP) will take you to the police switchboard.
Authorities in both York and Durham Regions issued releases Thursday about so-called pocketing dialing and the amount of inadvertent 911 calls it causes.
Approximately 20 to 30 pocket-dialed 911 calls are made every day in Toronto, representing about 10 per cent of the city’s daily volume of 911 calls.
Police are advising people to lock their cellphone keypads or put the device in standby mode when putting it in a pocket or purse. If a mistaken 911 call is placed, police say you shouldn’t hang up, but tell the operator you didn’t mean to contact them.
The pocket dialing warning is part of National Public Safety Telecommunications week.
