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ICE - Campaign to add emergency contact info to your mobile phone
I got an email today that I was sure was a hoax but turned out to be true.
It advised me to add emergency contact information under the heading ICE - In Case of Emergency. That way, medical technicians searching for emergency contact info will know where to look.
According to www.Snopes.com, the idea started with Bob Brotchie, a paramedic for the East of England Ambulance Service. I think it's in Europe but I can't find a website for anything. Vodafone is an easier find with a press release from May 2005.
The idea gained a lot of attention in 2005 but there seems to be little internet activity after that, meaning that I found no Google listings for anything more recent than then.
Snopes had some interesting info from that time in their article including a few drawbacks. I did not think their drawbacks were a big deal; cell phones are more easily damaged than ID cards, it may be hard to access. To me they pointed to a more relevant warning; Don't depend on it as your only list of emergency numbers.
For me and for other people who lock their phones with a password the ICE info won't help since the paramedics won't be able to get into my phone. This is the first time I have seriously considered removing the lock but I will probably print out a list of important numbers and attach it to my wallet instead. I want the satisfaction of knowing that someone who steals my phone will at least have to go to some effort to make use of it.
One other point to note from Snopes is that a rumour circulating about a virus connected to ICE contacts is false. Adding ICE as a contact on a phone does not make you vulnerable to an evil text message virus that will trigger charges to your phone account.
Here is some useful info (my favourite kind) about adding ICE contacts to your phone:
ICE ADVICE (from the Vodafone press release)
- Make sure the person whose name and number you are giving has agreed to be your ICE partner
- Make sure your ICE partner has a list of people they should contact on your behalf - including your place of work
- Make sure your ICE partner’s number is one that's easy to contact, for example a home number could be useless in an emergency if the person works full time
- Make sure your ICE partner knows about any medical conditions that could affect your emergency treatment - for example allergies or current medication
- Make sure if you are Under 18, your ICE partner is either your mother or father or an immediate member of your family authorised to make decisions on your behalf - for example if you need a life or death operation
If you are a Bahamian working in emergency medical services or know someone who is, please ask them if they have heard of this and leave a comment or send me an email so I can update the post. If you live anywhere where this system is popular please do the same. I would love to find out where this is working.
Thanks goes to my Mum for today's post. Thanks!
Entering your PIN number backwards DOES NOT send an emergency message
You may have seen an email or heard from a friend that if you are being robbed at an automated teller machine (ATM/ABM) you should enter your pin backwards.
The idea is that the ATM will respond normally but will also send a message to the police, who, ideally, will come to help.
Sadly, this is not so. Thank you www.Snopes.com. According to Snopes, the story began making the rounds in 2006.
Chicago businessman Joseph Zingher patented the idea in 1988. He even had workarounds for palindromic numbers (2002, 5445).
Sadly, the banking community showed little interest (surprised anyone?) and despite some progress in making such a system a legal requirement, nothing materialized.
The reasons quoted by Snopes include:
- The technology would be expensive
- The police would arrive when you and the thief were already long gone
- Victims fumbling around might frustrate assailants who may then turn their anger towards the victim
- ATM customers might have a real problem typing their PINs backwards which is not easy for many of us, much less when there is a gun pointed at us
I have a few responses to that:
- The expense may be a genuine concern, we will all have to pay for it with higher bank fees. Still, I'd be interested to see an objective cost/benefits analysis.
- Yeah, the police will probably get there after I leave. But if I'm in a potentially murderous situation I'd want someone with a gun to know as soon as possible. Plus it might even be able to send a photo or video to them which would help them find me faster.
- Victims are going to fumble anyway since most of us are nervous in life or death situations
- I think if we all knew that typing our ATM number backwards could save our lives maybe we'd all practice a bit.
Here are some other sites that say the same thing:
Whenever you hear some great news like this be sure to ask Google. Reporters are often lazy, political et cetera but they are happy to write about things like this. Somewhere, someone will have info on emergency ATM systems.
Tommy Hilfiger never said he did not make his clothes for black people either. The only time he went on Oprah was to say that he never said anything like that. We have the internet now people, no need for excuses.
