Under federal law, knowingly and willfully making a false distress call is a felony. Even if a child makes the distress call, the parents are ultimately responsible. The maximum penalty for making hoax distress calls is five to 10 years in prison, a $5,000 civil fine, a $250,000 criminal fine and reimbursement to the Coast Guard for the costs incurred responding to the false call.

If a hoax caller is not caught the taxpayers pay the cost of the search. Coast Guard C-130 aircraft cost about $4,244 an hour to operate, Coast Guard helicopters cost about $4,400 an hour, Coast Guard cutters cost about $1,550 an hour to operate and Coast Guard small boats also cost between $300 to $400 an hour to run.  Maritime hoax distress calls place unnecessary risk on the rescuers responding to the calls and interfere with legitimate search and rescue cases, which costs the American taxpayer hundreds of thousands of dollars annually, and in extreme cases can cost lives.

Common sources of false distress calls include:

• Boaters trying to obtain a radio check are a common source of false distress calls. Mayday calls receive instant feedback from the Coast Guard, a concerned boater or both responding under the impression the boater is in distress.
• Some VHF marine band radios have a distress button feature that when activated emits a digital Morse code SOS signal. Improper operation of an automatic SOS feature either by accident or on purpose are a violation of law and endanger boater’s lives.
• Unsupervised children with access to radios and a lack of understanding of the consequences.
• Adults intentionally transmitting false information for the purpose of entertainment or to launch a search.

Adults are encouraged to teach their children about the importance of proper radio use and the severity and danger of hoax calls.

 The Coast Guard is taking steps now to improve its capabilities to track radio distress signals with the Rescue 21 system. This system will allow the Coast Guard to pinpoint the origin of all distress calls to within plus or minus two degrees. With this new technology, the Coast Guard will be able to track down both legitimate and hoax distress callers quickly, which will minimize the use of Coast Guard assets for unnecessary search and rescue efforts. This will allow the Coast Guard to focus on legitimate distress calls and continue to save lives.

The Coast Guard needs the assistance of the public to reduce hoax calls.  This can be done by:

• Removing radios or locking them up when not in use,
• Teach children that unauthorized use puts people in danger,
• Boaters responding to urgent marine information broadcasts (UMIB). 
• Report suspect hoaxers; U.S. Coast Guard Tipline 1-800-2NO-HOAX

 All calls are confidential. Tipsters can remain anonymous if they choose.

The U.S. Coast Guard is a military, maritime, multi-mission service within the
Department of Homeland Security dedicated to protecting the safety and security of America.