Wireless AMBER Alerts FAQs
What is the Wireless AMBER Alert Program?
The Wireless AMBER Alert Program is a voluntary partnership between the wireless industry, law-enforcement agencies, and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), to distribute an urgent bulletin in the most serious child-abduction cases to consumers who opt in to receive the messages, free of charge, on their wireless devices.
Participating wireless carriers, acting through CTIA-the Wireless Association™, use a central clearing house (hosted by Syniverse) to distribute a description of the abducted child and suspected abductor.
Why was the Wireless AMBER Alert Program created?
Statistics show that the first 3 hours after abduction are most critical to recovering a child alive. Recognizing that wireless technology can help galvanize communities to expedite the search for and safe return of the child, CTIA and its industry partners are pleased to support the AMBER Alert Plan.
By joining efforts with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) and law enforcements agencies, the Wireless AMBER Alert program will serve as the catalyst for the wireless industry's 180-million subscribers to opt-in to receive notices on their wireless devices that can aid in the safe return on an abducted child.
Additional notes:
AMBER stands for "America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response" and was created in 1996 when Dallas-Fort Worth broadcasters teamed with local police to develop an early warning system to find abducted children. The AMBER Alert Plan was soon adopted across the nation and is a legacy to Amber Hagerman, a 9-year-old girl who was kidnapped while riding her bicycle in Arlington, Texas and then brutally murdered. According to a February 2005 report by the U.S. Department of Justice states, more than 190 children have been recovered since AMBER Alert began in 1996. More than 80 percent of the total number of successful recoveries to date has occurred since October 2002, when AMBER Alert became a coordinated national effort. President George W. Bush authorized the AMBER Alert program as part of the PROTECT Act signed in 2003.The law formally established the federal government's role in the AMBER Alert system and made punishment for federal crimes against children more severe.When will Wireless AMBER Alerts be distributed?
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) will call for the transmission of AMBER Alerts when law enforcement has received notification of an abducted child and the following criteria, recommended by the U.S. Department of Justice, has been met:
- There is reasonable belief by law enforcement that abduction has occurred.
- The abduction is of a child age 17 years or younger.
- The law-enforcement agency believes that the child is in imminent danger of serious bodily injury or death.
- There is enough descriptive information about the victim and the abduction for law enforcement to issue an AMBER Alert to assist in the recovery of the child.
- The child's name and other critical data elements, including the Child Abduction flag, have been entered into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC).
How does the Wireless AMBER Alert Plan work?
By design, law enforcement initiates the primary emergency AMBER notification, defines the geographic boundaries of the Alert notification and has the legal jurisdiction, through the child's entry into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC), to act upon the information contained in an AMBER Alert.
Department of Justice (DOJ), the agency responsible for coordination of AMBER Alerts on the national level, has asked the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) to act as its agent for coordination of secondary AMBER dissemination. NCMEC's role is to receive AMBER Alerts from DOJ-recognized AMBER coordinators and disseminate those Alerts to secondary distributors, as approved by NCMEC.
Wireless AMBER Alert, an NCMEC-approved secondary distributor, will compliment broadcast networks, highway billboards and other catalysts working together to rapidly transmit the approximately 200-250 abducted children bulletins that are issued annually.
Syniverse will serve as the clearing house for the wireless carriers to receive and deploy AMBER Alerts to their subscribers in a designated region, based on zip code, that have opted-in to receive the bulletins. Information transmitted will be the same, regardless of the customer's wireless provider and make and model of their phone.
How can consumers participate in the program?
Wireless subscribers whose devices are capable of receiving SMS text messages, may opt-in to the Wireless AMBER Alert Program by registering at www.wirelessamberalerts.com.
Consumers need to provide their cell phone number, including area code, and designate up to five zip codes from which they like to receive alerts if a child is abducted.
IMPORTANT: Information provided by the subscriber will be used solely for the Wireless AMBER Alert program and will not be shared with additional parties.
Is the Wireless AMBER Alert Plan available in all 50 states?
The Wireless AMBER Alert Plan is available to wireless subscribers in 49 states. Currently, Hawaii is the only state where this service is not available.
Will I be getting AMBER Alerts from all over the country?
Subscribers that have opt-ed in to the Wireless AMBER Alert program, will only receive a bulletin if a notice on their wireless device if a child has been abducted from the region the subscriber designated through the selection of up to five zip codes during the registration process.
How will opting in the Wireless Amber Alert program affect my wireless device?
Wireless AMBER Alert notices will appear on you device in the same manner as any other text message.
Is there a cost to sign up for the AMBER Alert program?
No. The wireless industry is pleased to provide this public service to its customers who use the SMS text messaging feature.
Will I be charged when I receive and AMBER Alert text message?
No. You will incur no costs for receiving AMBER Alert text messages on your wireless phone.
If I change my mind, how can I unsubscribe to the Wireless AMBER Alert program?
You may unsubscribe to the Wireless AMBER Alert program at any time. To do so, go to www.wirelessamberalerts.org, enter your mobile number, then follow the directions to be removed from further AMBER Alert distribution.
Will I receive Wireless AMBER Alerts when I'm traveling?
Yes, Wireless AMBER Alerts, for the zip codes you have selected, will be delivered to the mobile phone number you designated when you opted-in.
How many AMBER Alerts will I get in a day/week/month/year?
Approximately 200-250 AMBER Alerts are deployed nationwide each year. You will only receive an AMBER Alert, if a notice is sent pertaining to the up to five zip codes you designated when you opted-in to the program.
I received an AMBER Alert and believe I have information that could be helpful—who do I contact?
Please call the number that appears in the text of the AMBER Alert notice you received.
