Verizon has apologized for sending out a text message that alarmed New Jersey residents.

According to CBS, state police said there was a fake text that around 12:26 p.m. on Monday, urging people to take shelter before 1:24 p.m. This was sent to residents in Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris and Ocean counties.

The message was labeled as an extreme alert, Monmouth County Sheriff Shaun Golden said, noting that the message also stated there was civil emergency.

Golden told the media that this led to an increase in 911 calls.

CBS reported that Verizon has stated that the alert was to say test message.

This test message was not clearly identified as a test, the company said in a statement, as reported by CBS. We apologize for any inconvenience or concern this message may have caused.

Residents were since told to ignore the text message.

New Jersey Verizon Communications Inc. Broadband New Jersey