Swatting, is not a new threat; it has evolved over the last decade or so and includes a range of tactics and techniques used to cause false public alarm and divert law enforcement resources to a hoax threat.
The callers often tell tales of hostages about to be executed or bombes about to go off. Swatters have become more sophisticated in their targets and use of technology. Those who attempt to cause a swatting incident use several techniques, including: caller ID spoofing, TTY relay technologies, and social engineering. These actors will often have a reasonable scenario and will sometime include personal information.
Swatting should be considered a serious threat to the operations of a public safety agency. In many of the cases, the suspects have been successful in having a large response to a fake incident.
What is swatting?
