Call from Plano PD

[GJwitha45]

While working a little late yesterday evening my phone rings @ 6:37pm and the caller ID shows "City of Plano". When I pick up it starts a automated/recorded message about a missing elderly gentleman in the 14th St - Woodruff Park area. This has to be something new, I have never in 19 years of having the same phone number gotten a call like this. Why my number? Who else got the same call? Was it only business numbers?

I am not complaining, but just curious.

[urnoodle]

I received a call yesterday just after 5pm but it wasn't from the City of Plano. Mine came from the City of Lewisville that informed me that 2 cases of west nile virus were reported. Like yours mine was an automated message. I have never received messages like this before either. I don't even live in Lewisville. I thought it was strange too.

[RSJ]

I'd rather have those pieces of information than the random area codes that call and I hear "this is political survey of America! ..." or "we are offering a chance to win a cruise for 5 if you answer our simple survey..."

[RPB]

I'd rather have those pieces of information than the random area codes that call and I hear "this is political survey of America! ..." or "we are offering a chance to win a cruise for 5 if you answer our simple survey..."

I signed up for no call lists and reverse 911, but I still get cruise ship phone calls and read in the paper that we no longer need to boil water ... and no one told me we needed to ...

[Jim Beaux]

What you guys have experienced is the Emergency Notification System (ENS). Its purpose is to inform of life threatening events...of course, being a government program it has been expanded to include missing persons, Amber Alerts, potential disasters and dangerous weather. Being in SE Texas with rain every day for the past 10 days I recd 3 within 4 hours warning me of Flash Flooding. (duh)

Having a Blackberry I can disable ENS on the handset (all alerts but presidential). If you cant disable on your handset you can go to your cell provider's web site and disable. (Verizon)

[WildBill]

What you guys have experienced is the Emergency Notification System (ENS). Its purpose is to inform of life threatening events...of course, being a government program it has been expanded to include missing persons, Amber Alerts, potential disasters and dangerous weather. Being in SE Texas with rain every day for the past 10 days I recd 3 within 4 hours warning me of Flash Flooding. (duh)

Having a Blackberry I can disable ENS on the handset (all alerts but presidential). If you cant disable on your handset you can go to your cell provider's web site and disable. (Verizon)

I got a couple of these calls from the city before the last tropical storm.

[GJwitha45]

This is not a cell phone, I-phone or other type mobile device. It is a 2 line desktop hardwired phone w/ caller ID and service from AT&T.

Like I said in the original post, I wonder who is getting this and how it is determined who does get the messages.

[talltex]

This is not a cell phone, I-phone or other type mobile device. It is a 2 line desktop hardwired phone w/ caller ID and service from AT&T.

Like I said in the original post, I wonder who is getting this and how it is determined who does get the messages.

Most towns that use an automated phone notification systems base it on the tax roll & utility bill...if you have a water/sanitation account or pay city property tax, they use that info to put you on the list.

[Jim Beaux]

This is not a cell phone, I-phone or other type mobile device. It is a 2 line desktop hardwired phone w/ caller ID and service from AT&T.

Like I said in the original post, I wonder who is getting this and how it is determined who does get the messages.

The communication is location specific and since you received it via a land line I would guess it was through reverse 911.

Mass text messaging services such as Twitter, mass automated dialing services such as Reverse 911, and the common town siren systems that are used to alert for tornadoes, tsunami, air-raid, etc., are examples of emergency notification systems

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergency_ ... ion_system

The bulk of emergency warnings in the United States are sent through the Emergency Alert System. The EAS can be activated by national, state, regional, or local authorities, including police, fire, weather, and other governmental authorities. EAS is often activated when an unpredicted emergency such as a tornado, earthquake, or release of toxic gas happens. The vast majority of EAS alerts are generated by the National Weather Service.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergency_ ... on_warning

Specific Audiences or Recipients

Emergencies often require delivery of different versions of the same communication at the same time. For example, in an armed hostage-taking incident, occupants of a building may need to receive instructions to lock and barricade the door until further notice, while first responders to the incident need to be aware of the lockdown instructions and be provided more specific details of the hostage-taking event to inform their actions.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergency_ ... ion_system

[Deltaboy]

We have this and I signed up for it on my and the wifes cell. 90% of our calls are weather related.

[Katygunnut]

I'd rather have those pieces of information than the random area codes that call and I hear "this is political survey of America! ..." or "we are offering a chance to win a cruise for 5 if you answer our simple survey..."

I love these calls. I usually ask them how long the survey will take. When they say 10 minutes, I tell them that I am feeling generous and will give them 15. I then tell them "it is now 5:33, so I will be hanging up the phone at precisely 5:48 if we have not finished by that time". They always proceed anyway, never get done before the appointed deadline, and I hang up and then ignore any attempts to call me back.

[Royal Goober]

Flower Mound has been doing this too. A couple messages were about West Nile and a third was about an emergency meeting at city hall to discuss spraying.

[knotquiteawake]

City of Rowlett uses a similar system called Blackboard Connect. I signed up for my cellphone but my landline was actually automatically added probably because its a publicly listed number with this address in Rowlett.
I have no problems with it, like others said its better than cruise ship surveys. I actually found out from the phonecall that the city council had actually approved the aerial spraying for the mosquitoes. I wouldn't have known otherwise.

[SewTexas]

our city won't call us...we only use our cell phones and our cells are outside of the area code.