Social Media Prank using “SIRI” Ties up 9-1-1 Lines

Snohomish County, WA:  The two agencies that provide 9-1-1 services in Snohomish County – SNOPAC and SNOCOM – have reported numerous false 9-1-1 calls stemming from a social media prank that is currently trending in the online world.

The prank tells people to “ask Siri (a personal assistant feature on the iPhone) to call 112, because her answer is hilarious”. 112  is the equivalent to 911 in Europe.  Siri in turn dials 9-1-1 and connects the person who “tries it”  to an emergency call-taker near you.

When you place a 9-1-1 call, the emergency services dispatchers have to follow a protocol. The protocol states that they have to try to get  you help, even in the trickiest of circumstances.

For example, you might be able to dial 9-1-1, but then be too injured or scared to continue the call. This happens for people who have been injured and cannot talk or people in “high risk” situations, such as a domestic or home invasion or break in where the suspect is still around.   In an attempt to reach you and find out what type of emergency services you need,  the call center will call you back in the hope of being able to assess the situation further and send the required people to help you, such as police, fire or EMS. Note that, Emergency Services get your Caller ID, even if you have  it blocked for regular calls. This ties up valuable 9-1-1 resources if there is no actual emergency.

Apple has taken some extra steps to program its voice assistant, Siri, to make every effort to detect when someone is trying to call out for help from 9-1-1, too. Whether you blurt out “nine-one-one” or “nine-eleven,” or 112. Siri will take no chances if she thinks that’s what you just said and she will connected you to  the nearest emergency call center, whether you realize it or not.

This has tied up 9-1-1 operators around the country, making it harder for others to report actual  emergencies.

SNOPAC and SNOCOM as well as emergency dispatchers from around the globe,  ask everyone to be aware of the seriousness of calling 9-1-1 as a prank and do not share the “Ask Siri to call 112” forward that is being plastered all over social media.  How would you feel if you were in a real emergency and couldn’t reach 9-1-1 because someone was playing around with  SIRI on their iPhone and tying up the emergency 9-1-1 phone lines?

Now you know what happens when you ask “Siri” to call 112. Please don’t try it.

As we head into the July 4th holiday,  residents are asked to help keep 9-1-1 lines open for emergency calls only.

Share this information with your kids, your family and your friends.