The national 112 emergency system says fake calls to the emergency number have fallen by 30% in recent months, but malicious calls still come in.
In the past two years, 295 people have been punished for false reports. Of them, 49 were fined more than €5,100 because emergency crews were sent out after their calls.
Twenty-seven teenagers aged 16 to 18 received a "public reprimand". Between October 2024 and September 2026, 49 schoolchildren called 112 with pranks and false alerts.
The system runs campaigns in schools and universities. It tells young people what the emergency number is for and why they should not give misleading information. Its message is to think before making an unnecessary call, because at the same moment someone in trouble may be waiting for help.
An operator with 14 years of experience in the system showed how the emergency line works, how information comes in and how fast a call is picked up. When the map was filmed, it showed 532 active alerts from across the country.
The operator said people call 112 every day to ask for help, report people hurt in road crashes or suspect violence. There have also been reports of possible aircraft incidents. After crashes, operators have stayed on the line until the crew arrives.
The map shows the mobile operator's cell and the exact location of the device the call comes from, whether it is a phone, a watch or a car. The operator said that in most cases he can easily spot a malicious call. There are different ways to check, but at the very least he sees the exact location and checks whether the caller is where he says the incident happened.
According to Krasimir Dimitrov, director of the National 112 System directorate, the operator can tell a call is fake during questioning, and sometimes the caller gives himself away by laughing or by his behaviour.