Have you received the following text message in the last few days? “A 7 year old girl was taken by a man driving a newer silver truck. The license plate reads 72b381 please, please pass on.” This turns out to be a known fake Amber Alert, but something that is quickly circulating across the country as a hoax.

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) would ask that instead of forwarding AMBER Alert messages, the public is referred to the official locations designated by your particular state for receiving AMBER Alerts. This will ensure the AMBER Alerts are geographically targeted, they are updated, and there is a cancellation at the conclusion of the incident.

The AMBER Alert program is a highly successful nationwide effort that has resulted in 443 children being safely returned to their families. The success of the AMBER Alert program depends on the involvement of the entire community. The public has many ways to receive official AMBER Alerts via radio, television, roadway and digital signage, internet service providers, and through their wireless carriers.

To receive official AMBER Alerts on a cell phone, wireless customers can enroll in the Wireless AMBER Alerts program by visiting www.wirelessamberalerts.org or by texting the word AMBER followed by a space and their 5-digit ZIP code to 26237. Wireless AMBER Alerts is a free public service of the wireless industry, National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and the United States Department of Justice.