1.

Start here

You have received a request for emergency assistance. 

Do not ignore the message. Do not delay taking action. 

Do not attempt to contact the sender until you have read the guidance below - particularly if the assistance request relates to terrorism or kidnap.

You should assume any message is genuine until proven otherwise. There are several safeguards incorporated into the International SOS system to prevent accidental use.

2.

Important Background Information

GOEX Worldwide LIMITED is an international security agency with offices in the United Kingdom and Mexico.

GOEX offers a range of security services including a free app for iPhones. This app includes an International SOS service which allows the user - at the push of a button - to send an emergency notification to their incident management team or other persons responsible for their safety.

GOEX has no contractual responsibility to provide support. But we will assist government departments whenever possible and affected persons when separately contracted. 

3.

Understanding the Text Message

The GOEX International SOS service was designed by a team of former government crisis managers. It is designed to send just enough information to (i) allow a message to be sent over limited cellular networks and (ii) allow a message to be sent before a device becomes unavailable to the user, while at the same time containing enough useful data to allow the user’s emergency contacts to mount a crisis response.

A message sent by the GOEX International SOS service will look like this:

A message requesting assitance is made up of seven parts:

1. Type of incident
2. Name of person sending the SOS request
3. Their nationality 
4. Their passport number 
5. Their GPS coordinates including accuracy range. Note you can type these coordinates into Google Maps.* 
6. The IMEI number of their phone
7. Their phone MAC ID number
8. Our SOS support website 

* The app collects the GPS coordinates from the user’s device at the time of pressing the SOS button.

4.

Action to Take

If the assistance request relates to terrorism or kidnap:

- Do not attempt to contact the sender. This could give away a person in hiding or reveal a hidden device.

- Make an assessment of the validity of the assistance request. You might want to check news reports. If in doubt, assume the request is genuine. There are several safeguards incorporated into the International SOS system to prevent accidental usage.

- Contact the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the sender’s nationality and, if appropriate, your nationality. Encourage the Ministry to take immediate action.

UK: +44 207 008 1500
USA: +1 202 501 4448
Australia: +61 2 6261 3305
Canada +1 613 996 8885

- Direct them to this website, which has a special section for Government departments: www.GX55.eu or www.GOEXworldwide.com and select International SOS

- If you are not satisfied with the response from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs you can contact the Police in your country of residence, the country of residence of the sender or in the country where the incident has occurred. You can find telephone numbers for emergency services online or in the free GOEX app for iPhones.

- GOEX has no contractual responsibility to provide assistance (the sender has not paid to use the International SOS service). However, we will help if we can. You can contact our 24 hour operations room on SOS@GOEX.world or +44 (0) 207 971 1453 and select option 1. 


If the assistance request relates to something other than terrorism or kidnap:

- Contact the user on the number from which they sent the emergency request, or any other contacts you may have for them. If they are not available, contact others in their party.

- If no response. follow the steps above for terrorism or kidnap.

5.

How can we help?

GOEX is full spectrum crisis management and incident response agency. Our people managed the most serious incidents of the last decade on behalf of national governments and have undertaken operations on every conflict affected continent worldwide.

If you need advice about what to do next, get in touch.

And rest assured, if we haven’t already done if for a Permanent Member of the UN Security Council we won`t offer to do it for you. That’s a promise.