Türkiye's 112 Emergency Call Centers have been inundated with fake calls, including one person asking for help with heartbreak, another reporting a conspiracy by friends, and someone complaining that honey purchased via television didn’t taste sweet.
According to information obtained by the state-run Anadolu Agency (AA), 28% of the calls received by emergency centers in 2023 were unfounded. Another 38% were disconnected during the announcement phase, while only 34% were genuine emergency reports. Since the beginning of 2024, the rate of fake calls has hovered around 30%.
Authorities issued administrative fines amounting to more than TL 1.75 million (approximately $45,800) in 2023 for such calls. So far this year, fines have reached around TL $17,100.
A draft bill submitted to Parliament proposes to raise the administrative fine for those who intentionally occupy the 112 hotline from $6,5 to $39,2. If emergency teams verify on-site that a call was fake, a fine of up to $392 lira may be imposed.
Examples of recent non-emergency calls include: “Can the police scare my child into doing homework?”, “Can you tell me my transit card balance?”, “What time does the bus arrive?”, “Can the fire department retrieve my shoe from the roof?”, and “Can we chat? I’m really bored.”
Some callers even asked if a firefighter could open a stuck pressure cooker or escort them home after drinking. Others requested medical appointments or pin codes for locked phones.
Funda Darıcı, director of the Ankara 112 Emergency Call Center, said such hoax calls endanger lives by diverting resources away from real emergencies.
“In cases like heart attacks, traffic accidents, fires or natural disasters, every second counts,” Darıcı said. “If we receive a false report of a fire in a five-story building, we dispatch at least four fire crews, two ambulances, and three to four police or gendarmerie units. That’s seven to eight teams mobilized for nothing.”
Darıcı emphasized the toll this takes on personnel, adding that if a real emergency occurs while teams are tied up on a false alarm, it could result in loss of life or property.
“This is not something to joke about,” she said.
Darıcı welcomed the proposed legal changes and said the increase in fines would be an important deterrent.
“Such measures not only reduce our workload but also protect the motivation and psychological well-being of our teams,” she said. “We’re racing against time to save lives and property. Every fake call stands in the way of someone truly in need.”
