The U.S. Coast Guard’s Great Lakes District is sounding the alarm on bogus distress calls and sketchy social media posts that look like emergencies but are not, saying the hoaxes are yanking crews away from real crises and putting responders in danger just as summer boating on Lake Erie and the other Great Lakes hits peak traffic.
According to WOIO, the district has logged 187 false distress calls since January 2026, with three confirmed hoaxes so far. “Intentionally misleading emergency responders is both dangerous and illegal,” Capt. Mark Kuperman, the district’s chief of staff, told the station.
The Coast Guard stresses that knowingly sending a false distress message violates federal law, 18 U.S.C. § 1038, and can result in up to 10 years in prison and fines as high as $250,000, according to a U.S. Coast Guard press release. The agency has shared audio examples of suspect calls and says the Coast Guard Investigative Service may pursue cases when callers can be identified…