New national Amber Alert system surprises cell phone owners with shrieking text messages [View all]
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The next time a child is abducted near you, your cell phone may shriek to life with an alert message.
A new national Amber Alert system officially rolled out earlier this month to millions of cell phones, and because the alerts are automatically active on most newer phones, the messages have already taken tens of thousands of people by surprise.
The newly-expanded emergency alert system is an effort by FEMA to update the way it reaches people with new technologies, but local officials and others worry that the lack of public education and some initial stumbles may undermine the program's purpose, especially when people are startled and annoyed and choose to opt out.
Lisa Rott was jolted from her sleep at 1:44 a.m. earlier this month in her Sarasota, Fla. home. A high-pitched tone sounded in spurts for about 10 seconds while her phone buzzed multiple times.
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/shriek-texts-missing-kids-startle-cell-users
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