Facebook messages giving wrong ‘Suicide Prevention’ number in UK

Messages are spreading across the Internet – in particular Facebook – that claim to show the National Suicide Prevention hotline phone number. However the messages were designed for US readers, and give incorrect information for those in other countries, especially the UK.

While the messages are almost correct for US readers, the messages are also being copied to other countries, including the UK. For readers in the UK, the phone number is going to be incorrect.

An example can be seen below –

Would 10 Of My Friends Please Copy & Paste?
National Suicide
Prevention
0800 273 8255
It’s Ok Not To Be Ok

In the United States, there is a National Suicide Prevention Lifeline phone number, and that number is 1-800-273-8255. In the United States, 1-800 numbers are toll free (free of charge.)

In the UK, it is 0800 numbers that are free of charge. It appears someone has tried to “convert” the US phone number into a UK number by replacing the first 1 with a 0. Needless to say, that isn’t how it works. As such, anyone calling that number from the UK will get an incorrect number error message.

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In the UK, there is no organisation or hotline known as the “National Suicide Prevention“. However there are plenty of phone numbers a person who is seeking help can call.

These include –

The Samaritans – 116 123 (free of charge)
Hopeline UK – 0800 068 4141 (free of charge from landline, mobiles may vary.)
Childline – 0800 1111 designed specifically for children and young adults, and free of charge.
PAPYRUS – 0800 068 4141 designed for young adults

Of course we don’t need to explain why circulating information that is inaccurate regarding such a serious subject is not a good idea. If you do want to raise awareness, please ensure the information you share is accurate for the country in which you reside and the people you want to reach out to.