What is 'swatting'? Calls threatening shootings, bombs disrupted Flagler schools this week
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Someone is live-streaming himself playing videogames and interacting with viewers, when suddenly police SWAT teams break into the room, guns pointed at the individual.
That is how “swatting” began some years ago — a sort of prank or practical joke that today is making its way onto school and college campuses and even targeting politicians.
This week, Flagler County schools have been dealing with a series of swatting calls, which have momentarily disrupted school life and local police operations — Sheriff Rick Staly even held a press conference Thursday to address the issue.
What exactly is ‘swatting’?
The term refers to the act of making a fake 911 call to law enforcement in the hopes of deliberately causing a large police or SWAT team response.
According to the FBI, “the callers often tell tales of hostages about to be executed or bombs about to go off.”
More coverage: Nikki Haley, Florida Sen. Rick Scott, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene swatted. What is swatting?
While these calls were initially directed toward individuals and residences, “the FBI (increasingly) sees swatters targeting public places such as airports, schools and businesses.”
Why is swatting dangerous?
Swatting calls are dangerous both to police and first responders and victims, according to the FBI.
“The community is placed in danger as responders rush to the scene, taking them away from real emergencies, and the officers are placed in danger as unsuspecting residents may try to defend themselves.”
It is difficult to catch swatters?
As Staly mentioned in his Thursday press conference, “these calls can be made from someone local or someone outside the United States, which makes it difficult to trace.”
According to the FBI, swatters use different techniques to get authorities to respond: caller ID spoofing, TTY relay technologies, and social engineering.
According to the Vermont Agency of Education, there are some indicators that law enforcement can recognize as potentially part of swatting call attempts, such as:
The swatting call is routed through a non-emergency dispatch line. Swatters using VOIP services cannot dial 911 directly so instead they look up non-emergency lines of dispatch operations.
The caller’s tone and background noise are inconsistent with the claimed emergency or threat. For example, the caller claims to have murdered a family member, coworkers or innocent bystanders, yet their demeanor is suspiciously calm, with minimal background noise.
The caller can be heard typing or clicking a computer mouse in the background. Swatters will conduct internet searches or use online mapping and geospatial tools during the call to answer follow-up questions and provide exterior descriptions of buildings or residences.
The caller is unable to answer follow-up questions requesting details such as their full name, phone number or current location. Swatting callers may attempt to provide descriptions of interiors or exteriors of buildings gleaned from photos on social media or internet searches.
Is swatting a crime?
Yes. Issuing a threat over social media, by text message or through e-mail is a federal crime (threatening interstate communications). People posting or sending such threats can receive up to five years in federal prison, or they can face state or local charges.
You can also face a variety of charges, such as conspiracy to commit access device fraud and unauthorized access of a protected computer, misuse of 911 systems and other related crimes.
On Jan. 17, Sen. Rick Scott, himself a victim of swatting, Sen. Tommy Tuberville and Sen. Mike Rounds, and Rep. David Kustoff, introduced a bill to expand the federal criminal hoax statute and impose stricter penalties, including "up to 20 years in prison if someone is seriously hurt because of a swatting attack."
Chris Bridges, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida, contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: What is 'swatting?' Threatening calls disrupt Flagler Schools
