"Butt dialing" is the term used for a call made when a user sits on his cell phone, carried in his or her back pocket, and accidentally dials the last number called. We've seen that is possible to do this with a Bluetooth headset, also, if it has an overly sensitive and easy to trigger redial function.
Winnetka police Chief Joseph De Lopez said,
"You know how when you sit on your phone when it's in your back pocket and it calls the last number that was dialed? His wife was the last number he'd dialed. The conversation led her to believe there was someone holding him hostage."It wasn't really a conversation, but garbled music lyrics, according to Mark Friedman, interim co-superintendent of the District 36 School District where the man works.
"He was listening to music and he had, I don't know, hip-hop … or music like that, where there were lyrics that were gangster-like. So there were lyrics on the radio as he was driving home, and she listened to it and became concerned."His wife became so concerned she dialed 911, and she communicated her concern to the point that more than 30 SWAT members and police officers converged on Carleton Washburne School, which also houses the District 36 offices where the man works.
Fortunately, by the time the alarm sounded, the more than 500 middle school students that attend the school had already left for the day. The man was eventually found safe at home by police, ending the emergency, but embarrassing him. Friedman said,
"He's embarrassed. Who wouldn't be? He's taking it hard that it created such a response."The police determined that there was no intent to deceive police, so no charges will be filed.
The easiest way to prevent "butt dialing" is to lock your cell phone, but a Bluetooth headset's redial function will get around that. There are also apps that will prevent a number from being dialing without a confirmation.
