Kate Middleton hospital prank call turns tragic

[MillCreek]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2012/12/07/report-receptionist-duped-by-middleton-prank-call-dies/1753341/

The young woman who was tricked into revealing Princess Middleton's medical information has killed herself.  She left behind a husband and two small children. 

I wonder if the Royals have the legal ability to send the SAS after the Oz radio DJs who came up with this stunt?

[MillCreek]

Although it suddenly occurs to me if the Royals sent the SAS after the receptionist, as a warning to others.......

[mtnbkr]

That sort of thing is a big issue in the IT world as well.  It takes advantage of many people's natural inclination to help others, especially if they think there's a critical problem.  I've seen folks fired for divulging info without proper verification of the requester identity (even if they were authorized to receive it).

Chris

[ArfinGreebly]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2012/12/07/report-receptionist-duped-by-middleton-prank-call-dies/1753341/

The young woman who was tricked into revealing Princess Middleton's medical information has killed herself.  She left behind a husband and two small children.  

I wonder if the Royals have the legal ability to send the SAS after the Oz radio DJs who came up with this stunt?

That [USA Today] web site is possibly the most mobile-device-hostile web site I've ever seen.

Pop-overs, pop-ups, pop-outs, "transparent" overlays . . . Christ on a friggin' crutch!

[AmbulanceDriver]

SWMBO and I were *just* talking about this....   Apparently the DJ's figured that with the ridiculous accents they were affecting, they would just get hung up on.   Instead, they actually got through...  

I'm gonna play devil's advocate for a second here...  Let's say you're pulling a prank on someone, and it's ridiculous enough that you think there's no way they're gonna fall for it.   And yet they do.   Would you keep it going to see just how far you can take it?

Now I'm not defending the prank...   I think it was a stupid prank.   And yes, this young lady's suicide is absolutely tragic.  But last I knew, killing yourself was not the usual reaction to falling for a prank...  

[Balog]

Yeah, I'm seeing a lot of correlation assumed to be causality here. If you kill yourself because you fell for a prank, chances are there may be some underlying issues that might have led to you killing yourself without the prank.

[mtnbkr]

Yeah, I'm seeing a lot of correlation assumed to be causality here. If you kill yourself because you fell for a prank, chances are there may be some underlying issues that might have led to you killing yourself without the prank.

Probably, but they also hold the Royal Family in much higher regard than we understand.  There's the possibility that this lady felt she had materially harmed them and possibly felt the social and legal repercussions were more than she could bear.

Chris

[MechAg94]

Probably, but they also hold the Royal Family in much higher regard than we understand.  There's the possibility that this lady felt she had materially harmed them and possibly felt the social and legal repercussions were more than she could bear.

Chris

That still doesn't mean the pranksters are guilty or anything.  I find it hard to believe the tabloids don't already do this as well as paying off people for info. 

[ArfinGreebly]

According to USA Today, the two DJs involved have "stepped down" and will not be returning to their show "until further notice."

[mtnbkr]

That still doesn't mean the pranksters are guilty or anything.

Exactly where did I say that?

Chris

[Lee]

Calling a hospital and saying you are a family member, is not being guilty of anything?  Don't know about that.

[Balog]

How do they go about verifying that sort of thing over the phone, I wonder? Anyone in the healthcare biz know offhand how that's handled?

[gunsmith]

I was about to post something but everything I typed seemed mean.

The whole royalty thing is a waste of time and money. They should worship important people, like soccer players.

[Lee]

How do they go about verifying that sort of thing over the phone, I wonder? Anyone in the healthcare biz know offhand how that's handled?

My experience is that no information is given out over the phone.
Typically a caller would go through an operator first...then be connected directly to the room.  I find it odd that this call was connected at any level, considering who the patient was. 

[zxcvbob]

Yeah, I'm seeing a lot of correlation assumed to be causality here. If you kill yourself because you fell for a prank, chances are there may be some underlying issues that might have led to you killing yourself without the prank.

Maybe she just wanted to have the last laugh  



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