Authorities are investigating a false text message sent out to New Jersey phone users in Monmouth, Ocean and Middlesex counties this afternoon, citing a civil emergency and telling residents to "take shelter now."



In response to the mysterious alerts, police in Rumson issued its own alert to citizens in the Monmouth County community: "THERE IS NO EMERGENCY. The 'take shelter' message that Verizon sent IS NOT a VALID message. DO NOT CALL THE POLICE."

"There is no reason to panic here," said Monmouth County Sheriff Shaun Golden. "It is a false text done maliciously today at 12:27 p.m."



The mass text message that residents received stated: "CMAS Alert. Civil Emergency in this area until 1:24 PM EST Take shelter now."



Golden said it appeared that residents who are Verizon cell phone customers with Droid-operated phones in Monmouth and Ocean counties and other parts of central New Jersey received the text message at 12:27 p.m. today. He said the number of 911 calls his office received quadrupled around lunchtime today following the text.

South Brunswick police also said they received calls from concerned residents who received text message alerts saying there's a "national emergency" and instructing them to take shelter immediately.

The New Jersey Office of Homeland Security this afternoon issued a tweet announcing there is no actual emergency.

On Twitter, many New Jerseyans reported they received the emergency alerts, and some said they were scared and didn't know how to react.

Police said the alerts appear to be a false alarm, and South Brunswick officials said they are contacting Verizon to find out why the alerts were issued.

Golden said Verizon has given no indication that the message was sent out intentionally.



State Police are investigating the incident and are "trying to locate the source of the information," said Cynthia Scott, a spokeswoman for the Monmouth County Sheriff's Office.

Jim Zawistowski, a planner in the Middlesex County Office of Emergency Management, said the county received calls from police departments in East Brunswick, Jamesburg, Monroe and South Brunswick, asking if the county was doing "any kind of tests."

"We told them it wasn't us," Zawistowski said, adding that there was nothing from the federal emergency management agency either.

Staff writers Eunice Lee, Sue Epstein and Tom Haydon contributed to this report.