What is swatting?

Swatting is a form of harassment commonly carried out by members of the online gaming community. It involves intentionally provoking an emergency law enforcement response against a chosen victim through deceitful means. Swatters accomplish this by placing false emergency calls to services like 911, fabricating dangerous situations such as shootings or hostage scenarios.

While swatters may view their actions as pranks, the repercussions can be severe. Swatting diverts law enforcement resources away from genuine emergencies, creating potential delays in providing assistance. Tragically, there have been instances where swatting incidents have resulted in law enforcement officers firing their weapons, and in one case, the victim of a swatting prank was fatally shot by law enforcement.

In an effort to deter swatting, the United States has implemented strict penalties for those responsible. However, swatting remains a persistent issue as many swatters employ advanced methods to conceal their identities. Techniques like caller ID spoofing enable swatters to disguise their true location, making it challenging for law enforcement to address this problem effectively.

Who are the victims of swatting?

Swatting primarily affects individuals involved in online gaming, particularly players of popular games like Call Of Duty, Counter Strike, and DOTA. Perpetrators of swatting employ techniques such as social engineering and doxing to acquire personal details about rival gamers.

Notably, swatting incidents have extended beyond gaming communities, with celebrities like Rihanna and Justin Bieber also becoming targets. Furthermore, some politicians advocating for laws against swatting have themselves been victimized, as swatters resort to retaliation.

Renowned cyber security journalist Brian Krebs has faced multiple swatting incidents orchestrated by attackers worldwide. In a particularly malicious attack, a hacker arranged for heroin to be delivered to Krebs’ residence just before the police response team arrived, aiming to frame him on drug-related charges. Subsequently, several swatters involved in targeting Krebs have been arrested and charged with cyber crimes.

Doxing, the act of gathering personal information such as identity, address, and phone number to publicly expose an individual, is an integral aspect of swatting. Its purpose is to disrupt the victim’s privacy and cause harm.

How to prevent swatting

In order to safeguard online privacy, it is essential for all individuals to exercise caution. However, online gamers should be particularly vigilant to protect themselves against the malicious practice of swatting. To begin with, gamers ought to refrain from disclosing personal details or whereabouts through in-game chat channels or gaming forums. It is also advisable to steer clear of using screen names that may readily reveal their true identity to strangers. Taking additional measures, gamers can enhance their security by employing a VPN service to conceal their IP address. By doing so, they can effectively thwart any potential swatter from tracking them down based on their IP address.

• Swatting registries

In 2018, the police department of Seattle introduced a “swatting registry” containing the names and addresses of individuals who voluntarily report their vulnerability to swatting attacks. This proactive measure enables the police to conduct an investigation before dispatching a full SWAT team in response to a 911 call targeting a registered person. Wichita’s police force has also adopted a comparable strategy. Although this approach is not yet widely adopted, swatting registries represent a notable effort by police departments to address this issue.