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velvetpageA few days ago, I received an email forward from my mother, who persists in sending them even though I've asked her not to. Anyway, it told the story of a young woman who saw an unmarked car behind her which flashed lights at her and asked her to pull over. Being a wary young woman, she called *677, which is the dispatch number for the Ontario Provincial Police (basically, the highway patrol cops). They told her that there was no unmarked car in that area, and she should not pull over but wait for backup. THe backup arrived, the stalker was apprehended, and all was well with our young woman.
Pyat and I discussed this, because much of the advice which comes from emails like this is false. We pointed out to each other that 911 would have exactly the same effect, and probably faster. I decided to ignore it, since this situation doesn't come up for me very often anyhow.
In the newspaper, I saw a very small article saying that *677 does in fact work, but it sends callers to the 911 dispatch, and 911 calls get priority. So a *677 call might not get answered at all if the dispatch is busy with "real" emergencies. The article asked people to stop calling *677 if the only reason for the call was to find out if the email was correct!
So, for the first time as far as I know, one of these emails actually gave valid information. However, the OPP dispatcher who was interviewed for the article had never heard of the story in the email happening in Ontario.
Urban Myth (sort of) confirmed! What is the world coming to?
Pyat and I discussed this, because much of the advice which comes from emails like this is false. We pointed out to each other that 911 would have exactly the same effect, and probably faster. I decided to ignore it, since this situation doesn't come up for me very often anyhow.
In the newspaper, I saw a very small article saying that *677 does in fact work, but it sends callers to the 911 dispatch, and 911 calls get priority. So a *677 call might not get answered at all if the dispatch is busy with "real" emergencies. The article asked people to stop calling *677 if the only reason for the call was to find out if the email was correct!
So, for the first time as far as I know, one of these emails actually gave valid information. However, the OPP dispatcher who was interviewed for the article had never heard of the story in the email happening in Ontario.
Urban Myth (sort of) confirmed! What is the world coming to?