Latest news with #textmessage
Yahoo
06-07-2025
- Yahoo
American Airlines makes U-turn after passenger sounds alarm over message on fellow traveler's phone
An American Airlines plane was forced to return to its origin airport after a snooping passenger spotted — and misinterpreted — a text message received by another traveler. According to a report in local news outlet Primera Hora, a passenger on a July 3 flight leaving San Juan, Puerto Rico, saw another traveler receive a test message that said "RIP." Rest in peace is an idiom frequently used in relation to the recently dead. The passenger who saw the text reportedly interpreted it as a threat to the flight, according to Puerto Rico's Office of Explosives and Public Safety. The flight, American Airlines 1847, was on schedule for its trip between San Juan and Dallas, but after the passenger flagged the message the plane returned to San Juan, just 32 minutes after takeoff. Once it landed, airport security and the Transportation Security Administration gave the plane a thorough inspection, and the passenger who raised the alarm about the text was questioned by law enforcement. The passenger who received the text message was also questioned by Puerto Rican law enforcement. They explained the message was sent in response to one of their relatives who had passed away the day before the flight. The passenger was trying to get to Dallas to assist their family following the death. Once the flight was cleared, it was scheduled to depart again around 9.40 a.m. The plane was delayed by around three-and-a-half hours. Passengers had to stay on board the plane during the investigation. No arrests were made. American Airlines confirmed the incident to USA TODAY, and said the plane was eventually cleared to carry passengers and fly once it was determined there was no threat. "It was a mix-up that was handled in accordance with safety protocols. There was no real threat to the flight or its passengers," Aerostar Airport Holdings' operations director, Nelman Nevarez, said in a statement. Aerostar Airport Holdings manages the airport in San Juan. "The flight landed safely at SJU, and law enforcement inspected and cleared the aircraft to re-depart," the airline said in a statement. "Safety and security are our top priorities and we apologize to our customers for the inconvenience."
.jpeg%3Ftrim%3D0%2C89%2C0%2C88%26width%3D1200%26height%3D800%26crop%3D1200%3A800&w=3840&q=100)
The Independent
04-07-2025
- The Independent
American Airlines makes U-turn after passenger sounds alarm over message on fellow traveler's phone
An American Airlines plane was forced to return to its origin airport after a snooping passenger spotted — and misinterpreted — a text message received by another traveler. According to a report in local news outlet Primera Hora, a passenger on a July 3 flight leaving San Juan, Puerto Rico, saw another traveler receive a test message that said "RIP." Rest in peace is an idiom frequently used in relation to the recently dead. The passenger who saw the text reportedly interpreted it as a threat to the flight, according to Puerto Rico's Office of Explosives and Public Safety. The flight, American Airlines 1847, was on schedule for its trip between San Juan and Dallas, but after the passenger flagged the message the plane returned to San Juan, just 32 minutes after takeoff. Once it landed, airport security and the Transportation Security Administration gave the plane a thorough inspection, and the passenger who raised the alarm about the text was questioned by law enforcement. The passenger who received the text message was also questioned by Puerto Rican law enforcement. They explained the message was sent in response to one of their relatives who had passed away the day before the flight. The passenger was trying to get to Dallas to assist their family following the death. Once the flight was cleared, it was scheduled to depart again around 9.40 a.m. The plane was delayed by around three-and-a-half hours. Passengers had to stay on board the plane during the investigation. No arrests were made. American Airlines confirmed the incident to USA TODAY, and said the plane was eventually cleared to carry passengers and fly once it was determined there was no threat. "It was a mix-up that was handled in accordance with safety protocols. There was no real threat to the flight or its passengers," Aerostar Airport Holdings' operations director, Nelman Nevarez, said in a statement. Aerostar Airport Holdings manages the airport in San Juan. "The flight landed safely at SJU, and law enforcement inspected and cleared the aircraft to re-depart," the airline said in a statement. "Safety and security are our top priorities and we apologize to our customers for the inconvenience."
Daily Mail
04-07-2025
- Daily Mail
American Airlines flight diverted mid-air
By A frightened passenger caused an entire American Airlines flight to divert back to the airport after they wrongly panicked over a seatmate's text messages. The AA Flight 1847 to Dallas, Texas, was forced to abort and return to Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Thursday due to concern the flight was in immediate danger. An unnamed female passenger became spooked when she oversaw her neighbor receive a text that said 'RIP [rest in peace]' 30 minutes into their journey. She interpreted the message as threatening, causing staff to declare an emergency and divert back to the island, according to local news site Primera Hora. Pilots told the tower they were treating the threat as a 'level three,' meaning it could be life-threatening to passengers. 'We have a threat onboard,' the pilot said in audio obtained by Daily Mail. 'With text messaging between passengers and flight members, so we're going to need authorities at the gate to meet us just to figure out what's going on here.' The tower asked if the cockpit was secure and the pilot confirmed, before reiterating: 'We just have a threat from out back, we're not even sure it's even credible at this point. 'But, you know, with the way things are this holiday weekend and everything else, we figured the best course is just to be safe as possible.' It was determined that the passenger had received the text about a relative who had died the day before. The passenger was traveling home from vacation early, Primera Hora said. TSA also inspected the aircraft and did not find a threat. Nelman Nevárez, Aerostar's director of operations, told the outlet: 'It was a mix-up that was handled in accordance with safety protocols. 'There was no real threat to the flight or its passengers.' The plane took off for Dallas shortly after the fiasco and landed in the States shortly before 2pm local time. 'Safety and security are our top priorities and we apologize to our customers for the inconvenience,' an American Airlines spokesperson told Daily Mail.
Geek Wire
25-06-2025
- Geek Wire
‘Ignore or delete': Traffic ticket text messages are a scam, Washington state drivers warned
A screenshot of a scam text message targeting drivers in Washington state. (@WA_DOL via X) Scam text messages from Washington state and Seattle agencies that don't exist are targeting drivers with warnings of outstanding traffic tickets that could result in suspension of driving privileges and prosecution. Messages received by GeekWire staffers have come from such fake agencies as the 'Seattle Vehicle Administration' and the 'Seattle WsDOT.' Others have received messages from the 'Washington Department of Motor Vehicles.' The messages cite city code 15C-16.003 and warn that records show an outstanding traffic ticket that must be dealt with in the coming days. For those who don't take action, the sender threatens a number of consequences including having the driver reported to a 'violation database.' People are urged to pay up before 'further legal trouble' and directed to open the message and click a link. The state's official — and very real — Department of Licensing posted about the messages on social media this week, call them 'obviously fake.' The international area code of the senders is one giveaway. The agency told people to 'ignore or delete messages you suspect are fraudulent' and 'never click on links in unsolicited emails and text messages.' A scam text received this week. (GeekWire Image) But the scam's ability to confuse and scare drivers was on display at a state Department of Licensing office in Shoreline, Wash., on Tuesday. While dozens of people waited more than an hour for normal business such as driver's license renewals or to get their Real ID, I witnessed several people who made the trip and waited in line just to ask about the text messages. Some held their phones up to the clerk's window asking, 'Is this real?' The agency rep reiterated in person what DOL is telling people online: ignore or delete. The Washington State Department of Transportation is still warning drivers about scam messages related to the Good To Go! toll paying program. Scammers have been pretending for more than a year to be from a collections agency working on behalf of Good To Go!, the program that allows drivers to automatically pay fees for toll roads in Washington, such as SR 520.
Daily Mail
12-06-2025
- Daily Mail
Spooked Americans terrorized by texts from shadowy 'Ministry of Communications'
Arizona residents have been terrorized by a sketchy new text message scam that uses a fake government agency to convince people into handing over their personal information. Spooked residents across Arizona and several other states have been hit with alarming texts this week claiming to be from the non-existent 'Arizona Ministry of Communications.' The chilling messages warn recipients they have outstanding traffic tickets and threaten to suspend their vehicle registration. The scam has become so widespread that even Good Morning Arizona anchors Scott Pasmore and Tess Rafols both received the identical threatening messages at exactly the same time on Wednesday, they shared on AZ Family. 'We got hit with the SAME SCAM at the same time this morning!!! Don't fall for it!' Rafols warned her Instagram followers alongside a photo of the sketchy text. 'Scott and I literally got this text around 9am saying we had an outstanding traffic ticket and to pay up or else….' she continued in the Instagram post. Hundreds of users commented on the warning admitting they had also received the same text that week. Scammers behind the fake texts are attempting to trick Americans into clicking dangerous links and sharing sensitive personal information. The chilling messages warn recipients they have outstanding traffic tickets and threaten to suspend their vehicle registration Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes has confirmed that the messages are an elaborate scam designed to steal personal data and potentially drain bank accounts. Mayes issued an urgent warning to residents: 'If you get a text from the 'Arizona Ministry of Communications' ignore and delete it.' 'And you can always report text scams to my office or to the FTC,' Mayes warned. In March, the FBI warned that a texting scam targeting Americans for months is now spreading to even more states. The ongoing scheme has been trying to trick people into thinking they have unpaid road tolls and that they have to pay them off immediately to avoid expensive late fees. Federal officials said smartphone users need to delete these messages immediately and alert the actual toll service the scammers are claiming to represent. According to the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), they've already received over 2,000 complaints about this smishing scam. 'Smishing' is an attack by cybercriminals using fake text messages to get people to share private information, send money, or download malware onto their smartphone. In spring 2024, IC3 warned that the scam was targeting smartphone users in at least three states. A year later, the criminals appear to be targeting most of the US, from New York to Washington state. And in March, FBI agents in Seattle said locals need to be on the lookout for more fake messages about unpaid tolls, mounting debt by drivers, and threats of stiff fines.
