Quiet in the south, despite false SMS on the mobilization

Although the "RCB Alert" project is officially launched in mid-December, the Government Security Center sends SMS messages to all those who may be in danger from July. Its advantage is the speed and the fact that the message addresses directly to people who might need help.

– 95% of warnings "RCB Alert" will refer to atmospheric phenomena – said in November Grzegorz wiszcz, Deputy Director of the Government Security Center. Earlier, he reported that from July about 31 million text messages were sent with a warning against threats. Among others for In early October, officials warned of the storms of northern residents.

False SMS on the mobilization

On Monday, in social media, SMS photos were to be received by residents of two municipalities in southeastern Poland: Dukla and Horodła. The SMS came from the "RCB Alert" number and contained the following content: "Warning! Men between the ages of 18 and 65 living in the municipality of Dukla / Horodło are obliged to report to the communal office on November 27, 2018 at 10 am due to the crisis situation in Ukraine. Expect other messages. "

It was only the next day that officials refused this information both on their website and on the Facebook and Twitter profiles.

– We have not sent such messages – confirmed Tuesday a conversation with Konkretem24 Anna Adamkiewicz, pzef from the information policy department of RCB. She explained that officials had been informed that in two communes in southern Poland, someone was sending such messages. – We forwarded this to the police and the Homeland Security Agency for verification.

Adamkiewicz pointed out that it was the first case of this type since the start of the piloting. On Wednesday, she added that "no bwe pirate our servers, databases, etc., because we do not have one. "

Stanisław Żaryn, spokesman for the minister of services, confirmed that the ABW had received a false warning signal and started to explain all the circumstances of the incident. As he informed in a message sent to the media on Wednesday, "it appears from existing information that the activities listed were local".

Anxiously on the web, quietly on the ground

The information has caused a lot of hype on the Internet. The biggest media has written about it. However, locally – in the poviats and communes, whose inhabitants had such messages, he was and remains very peaceful. Unlike SMS calls, no one went to the Dukla or Horodło office.

In total, there are 19,000 in both communes. people. It is unclear how many of them have received fake SMS. There is also no confirmation of the authenticity of photos circulating on the network. RCB only confirms that he has received information about such messages. We tried to reach people who said they had them, but we did not get any answers.

Telephone of the inhabitant

Local authorities calm their residents and deny false information. – At 10 o'clock, nobody was in our office – said Konkretowi24 Andrzej Bytnar, Mayor of Dukla. It is a municipality of the province of Podkarpackie, in the Krosno poviat. – We have only received one resident call. We explained to him the whole situation because earlier we were informed of the case by RCB – explains Bytnar. The mayor says that he and his family have received text messages on warnings, but that he has not mobilized men in Dukla. – It did not make a big impression on our residents. Maybe a silly fun? Maybe someone wanted to make a joke – he wonders.

Under the Facebook entry, one of the local portals with fake sms is dominated by a cheerful tone: "Just in case, I cleaned the sport weapons 🙂 "," I have a slingshot: D "," Jak they will distribute Ukrainian fudges to the crisis – I will report "- netizens write, there are not many comments, there are only 186 shares available.

We also contacted Krzysztof Bożek, head of Horodło municipality (Lublin province, Hrubieszów poviat). – As far as I know, no one has received such an SMS from us – he says. – It's very calm. None of the men came to the office, he said. I do not want to speculate when we ask who and why he can imitate RCB. – There are appropriate services. Let them explain, he says.

Ewa Bukowiecka, spokeswoman for the star of Krosno in the press, has learned. – I hear first – he says. – I have not received any information that the inhabitants of our country would receive such text messages – he says.

– We have heard about it, but no one of the locals has reported it. Even with RCB, we have not received any official information that such misleading messages are being sent. This is peaceful – informs us in turn an officer of the Department of Civil Affairs, Defense and Crisis Management of the Hrubieszów starostie.

The officials slept too long?

The Znajnik.pl portal points out that RCB messages denying false information were also sent to people who had not yet received these false messages. He also insisted that officials had refused 20 hours after the appointment time set in the fake messages. "If the senders of the first message were interested in chaos, the RCB's current message was making it bigger (or at least we have such an impression) "- wrote the portal.

He also explained that it was not necessary to enter a government system to convey such a message. "Anyone can do it with the help of the appropriate door "- he writes and recalls the case of fake messages, which was sent by one of the grocery chains or by a courier company.

– As soon as we had this information – we reacted – refutes Adamkiewicz's accusations. – You can always check this information in the municipality.

Internet users also do not spare RCB's critics: "We are safe with this level of service", "Exactly. They would be ashamed. Apparently, we are not safe anywhere. "- they comment – We always try to draw conclusions from such situations. Unfortunately, we can never exclude the will of someone else – says Adamkiewicz.

How to recognize an authentic SMS?

Internet users also ask how they can tell if they have received an authentic message or a fake message.

Anna Adamkiewicz explains that "RCB Alert" is triggered by truly exceptional cases. – This is just one of the tools. We always place information on our website and on social media. We inform the media. It is never that it is not verifiable. Whatever the case may be, SMS is a support tool only. They only have 160 characters – says Konkretowi24.

What is the government security center?

RCB is a state unit of crisis management system. This is to prevent seizures and, if they occur, to minimize the effects. RCB analyzes all possible threats based on information provided by the "crisis centers" of the public administration and international data. It also develops solutions to crisis situations and coordinates the flow of information about them. RCB has been operational since 2008.

According to the June 2018 Telecommunications Law Amendment, when the program comes into full effect – on December 12, mobile operators will be required to immediately send RCB messages to all users staying in the area. indicated by the director of this institution.

You do not need to sign up for a RCB alert. People in a potentially life-threatening crisis zone will receive a short text message (SMS) on their mobile phone containing information on the type of threat, the location and the source of the alert. Messages should be broadcast only in exceptional situations that may actually threaten the life and health of a person.