WARNING *77

@MySpot (2600)
United States
November 29, 2006 6:13pm CST
YOU MUST KNOW ABOUT *77 (STAR 77) ON YOUR CELL PHONE......... I knew about the red light on cars, but not the *77. It was about 1:00 p.m. in the afternoon, and Lauren was driving to visit a friend. An UNMARKED police car pulled up behind her and put his lights on. Lauren's parents have always told her never to pull over for an unmarked car on the side of the road, but rather to wait until they get to a gas station, etc. Lauren had actually listened to her parents advice, and promptly called *77 on her cell phone to tell the police dispatcher that she would not pull over right away. She proceeded to tell the dispatcher that there was an unmarked police car with a flashing red light (!) on his rooftop behind her. The dispatcher checked to see if there were police cars where she was, and there weren't, and he told her to keep driving, remain calm and that he had back up already on the way. Ten minutes later 4 cop cars surrounded her and the unmarked car behind her. One policeman went to her side and the others surrounded the car behind. They pulled the guy from the car and tackled him to the ground. The man was a convicted rapist and wanted for other crimes. I never knew about the *77 Cell PhoneFeature - did you? - but especially for a woman alone in a car, you should not pull over for an unmarked car. Apparently police have to respect your right to keep going to a safe & quiet place. You obviously need to make some signals that you acknowledge them (i.e. put on your hazard lights) or call*77 like Lauren did. Too bad the cell phone companies don't generally give you this little bit of wonderful information. Conversation with a service representative at **Bell** Mobility confirmed that *77 was a direct link to state trooper info. So, now it's your turn to let your friends know about *77.
4 people like this
23 responses
• United States
30 Nov 06
Actually, *77 doesn't work everywhere. In most areas, at least in the united states, you're supposed to just call 911 and you will be linked with the police dispatcher in the area you are driving. It's definitely a good tip. You can get more information from http://www.snopes.com/horrors/mayhem/fakecop.asp There's a link to a list of what number you should call based on where you are. But in general, your best bet in this situation is actually to call 911.
• United States
30 Nov 06
Here is the direct link to the site to find what number you should dial in each state: http://www.shopoakpark.com/info-cellnumbers.html
1 person likes this
@MySpot (2600)
• United States
30 Nov 06
That's great information. Thanks for sharing : )
• United States
30 Nov 06
You're very welcome! I go to snopes every time I get an email that sounds at all fishy. That one turned out to be at least partially true, but had some useful supplemental information :)
@nana1944 (1365)
• United States
30 Nov 06
I am so glad to know about*77. It is something I didn't know til I read your post. AS far as pulling over in a deserted place, I wouldn't unless it was in this county because I know the officers and also the hiway patrol. But if they would have a new officer and I didn't know him, you can bet I would be calling them.
@MySpot (2600)
• United States
30 Nov 06
See the posters response on page one to find a link for the number for your state. Sorry, I wasn't really sure if it was just the U.S. : (
@heartonfire (4119)
• Denmark
2 Dec 06
i must say this story gave me chicken skin,as i am a girl and i am always scared to go out alone,especially at night..i don;t have a driver's lisence yet but i was thinking to get one,because in a car you are safer than by foot,or at least so i thought.. is this a real story or a made up one?cause it's a great way of reminding people not to be trustworthy and that not even police have entire rights on making us do something we don't feel comfortable with...not to mention that maybe in that moment u don't think that it might be a scam,you just wonder what u did this time and the first impulse is to pull over..
@rracers89 (3246)
• United States
30 Nov 06
Thank you for this I emailed it to several of my friends
@MySpot (2600)
• United States
30 Nov 06
Me too. That's why I decided to share it with my fellow myLotters : ) Thanks for responding!
@soulist (2985)
• United States
30 Nov 06
I knew about this before, but I wanted to thank you for posting it for the other women here on mylot. I'm going to print out a couple copies and give to my friends so they can remain safe.
1 person likes this
@MySpot (2600)
• United States
30 Nov 06
That's sweet. Saying, "Stay Safe" is another way of saying, "I love you!" I was hoping people would find this helpful and share with their loved ones.
@crazyrk (817)
• Brazil
30 Nov 06
Warcraft III Frozen Throne Menu in 1280x1024. - Warcraft III Frozen Throne Menu in 1280x1024.
Wow, that's a good telephone number, bad that the cell phone companies never told us about that, this only works in the USA ? Because I live at Brazil ! Thanks, bye !
@crazyrk (817)
• Brazil
30 Nov 06
Sorry, some kind of problem happenned here and I uploaded the image without the intention !
@leese29 (340)
• United States
2 Dec 06
I didn't know about *77 thanks, I emailed it to family and friends
@jade17901 (597)
• United States
30 Nov 06
thanks for posting! thats really something everyone should know
• United States
1 Dec 06
Some people might know this as *SP (for state Police)
@forfein (2507)
30 Nov 06
Oh BOy !!!!!!! I bet you that we dont have that facility here!!! The UK is ALWAYS TEN years behind the US I will try it, but I bet you it dont work here!! I hope it does... BRILLIANT !!!
• India
1 Dec 06
i am fed up
• United States
1 Dec 06
Just imagining being in that sort of situation is rather creepy. I didn't know about *77, which is definitely a great piece of information, although I did know that cops are required to let you drive to a safe, public place if you feel threatened. I've also heard that one of the best places to go to if you're being followed by a suspicious vehicle, the best thing to do is to pull into a police station because being that close to a building with authorities tends to scare attackers off. Thanks for sharing the information about *77, but since I don't have a cell phone, all I can do is drive to the most well-lit, public area I can think of if anything like that ever happens to me.
@kaspyv (1011)
• United States
30 Nov 06
thanks so much for the information ...am passing it on to everyone I know with a cell phone
@rosey2006 (945)
• United States
30 Nov 06
I didn't know that. I did know not to pull over for any police officer until you get to a public place, because you never know if someone might have stolen a cop car.
@rainbow (6761)
30 Nov 06
that's fantastic - I onder if there's an equivalent in the UK, will try to find out and if there is I'll let you know. Thank-you
@nickyhyd (370)
• India
30 Nov 06
I knew about this before, but I wanted to thank you for posting it for the other women here on mylot. I'm going to print out a couple copies and give to my friends so they can remain safe.
@starr4all (2863)
30 Nov 06
Thanks for posting this! I didn't know about this function and it could come in handy!
@amy0214 (1513)
• United States
30 Nov 06
ty for the info
@beckylynn (141)
• United States
30 Nov 06
Thanks. That is very useful information. You never know what stunt criminals will pull.
• Australia
30 Nov 06
heard that one to but im in aus so not sure if it will work