I’m not quite sure who could possibly believe that dialling 999 on your phone would charge the device’s battery, but the police have had to respond due to the number of hoax calls.
Just as the hoax that the iOS7 software update does not make your iPhone waterproof, calling a phone number does not charge your battery. It can’t, and if anyone actually took a second to think about it they would know this!
Dialling 999 on your phone (even when the phone is otherwise locked or there is no signal from your network) connects you with the emergency switchboard if you are in desperate urgent need of the police, fire service, or an ambulance.
Police have been forced to respond after the hoax has continued to persist for six months, with Inspector Claire Ackerman of Bedfordshire Police saying:
“This myth has been circulating for some time now and we are not the only force to have suffered from these false calls.
Calling 999 for anything other than an emergency or a non-police matter puts additional pressure on resources, ties up an operator and wastes valuable time that could be better spent helping genuine callers possibly in a life-threatening situation.
The only way to boost a mobile phone battery is to use a charger.”
Come on.