Have you ever received a ‘missing persons’ alert email from NSW Police? 

On Monday 7 August I received a text (pictured) from NSW Police to assist them to find a missing person. 74-year old Shirley Hanes went missing from Shellharbour at 5:45pm. 

Police sent out their alert at 9:51pm and fortunately Shirley was found safe and well, as NSW Police confirmed at around 10pm. That was a quick and successful mission!

It’s obviously a worthwhile endeavour to use the community to assist in finding missing people. 

So, how are they able to do this?  

SMS messages from number +61 444 444 444 are not a scam. They are official text messages from the NSW Police Force as part of the new geo-targeting alert system.

With the assistance of the phone companies, you will receive a message if you have been within 5km (in metropolitan areas) or 20km (in regional areas) of a missing person’s last reported location. “The NSW Police Force and NSW government works with mobile providers such as Telstra, Optus and TPG under the Emergency Alert Framework,” NSW Police reveal. 

The Emergency Alert is a national telephone warning system that allows emergency services to send out alerts in emergency events. The system has already been in place for several years and is used during other emergency situations like bushfires, floods and other extreme weather conditions.

An alert is only used in high-risk circumstances, with an assessment of all available information to be undertaken by police before a geo-targeted SMS message is sent.