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The phone charging myth that lead to a ton of fake emergency calls

Popkin
Jun 12, 2025
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Image: TaraPatta / shutterstock.com

A phone-charging myth once kept emergency operators busy responding to thousands of pointless 999 calls from people who wrongly believe dialing the emergency number will boost their dying phone batteries.

The urban legend, which gained traction in UK BlackBerry forums around 2012, claimed that calling 999 (Britain's eme…

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