WILMINGTON — The U.S. Coast Guard responds to calls up and down the Carolina coast year round, but an increasing number of them are hoaxes.
According to the Coast Guard, crews responded to 150 suspected or confirmed hoax calls last year. The Coast Guard’s 5th District released these “important things to know” about these hoaxes.
(1) Making a hoax call is a crime.
“It’s illegal! Making a hoax call may result in 10 years in prison, a $10,000 fine and financial reimbursement to the CG and other involved agencies,” according to the Coast Guard.
(2) Responding to hoaxes costs the Coast Guard a lot of money.
“Fuel is pricey! A search using an HC-130 Super Hercules plane costs approximately $15,000 per hour, and a MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter operates at approximately $10,000 per hour. Boat rescues costs top out at approximately $5,000 per hour,” the Coast Guard release said.
(3) Technology is making it harder to make a hoax call anonymously.
“It’s getting easier to catch callers! In addition to the capability to triangulate the location of most radio calls, the Coast Guard is developing new technology to identify hoaxers. The Coast Guard Research and Development Center’s newest tech can determine the unique vocal identity, like a fingerprint, of hoax callers. Yes, that includes silly voices,” the Coast Guard release stated.
(4) Technology also makes it easy to report a hoax call.
Hoax calls can be reported through the Coast Guard Mobile App at https://www.uscg.mil/mobile/. Reporting hoax callers helps save time and resources and stop further hoax calls.
