WIRELESS AMBER ALERT PROGRAM LAUNCHES
Cell phone text alerts now available

If you’re a wireless subscriber, you now can help the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children search for abducted children. A new initiative created jointly by the Center and the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association allows you to receive Wireless AMBER Alert text messages.

AMBER stands for “America’s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response,” and the alerts have been highly successful. By rapidly broadcasting descriptions of abducted children and suspected abductors to millions of Americans, the program increases the chances of finding missing children. More than 240 children have been safely recovered since AMBER Alerts began in 1997.

With nearly 200 million wireless phone users in the country — more than 60% of all Americans — Wireless AMBER Alerts have the potential to dramatically increase the number of people on the lookout for an abducted child.

It’s easy to sign up to receive Wireless Amber Alerts as cell phone text messages. If your wireless phone is activated for text messaging, visit www.wirelessamberalerts.org, or your wireless carrier’s website. Enter your 10-digit wireless phone number and up to five ZIP Codes for which you wish to receive alerts. You will receive only alerts for your specified areas, targeted geographically by the law enforcement agency issuing the particular alert.

 The service is voluntary. There is no charge to sign up and, in most cases, no charge to receive the text message alerts. Check your wireless carrier’s website or customer service office for details of your coverage.

The Postal Service has long been a supporter of AMBER Alert and other child protection programs. With thousands of concerned employees acting as the eyes and ears of their communities nationwide, it’s a natural fit for USPS to partner in this effort. Wireless AMBER Alerts offer another way to assist.

For more information, go to www.wirelessamberalerts.org.

source: U.S. Postal Service - www.usps.com