Swatting: What is the latest pranking craze? - Gaming - Gadgets and Tech - The Independent - Rose Troup Buchanan:
September 2, 2014 - "Last month an American gamer accidentally filmed himself being arrested by a highly trained SWAT team. His crime? He was the victim of an online prank called ‘swatting’....
"An anonymous individual rings the local police force, describing a credible threat or situation (often involving hostages) bringing a SWAT team to a chosen location and giving the prank [its] particular name.
"It has been given a 21st-century twist by many of the 'swat' calls coming from online gamers, who watch the reactions of their victims in real time, via live streaming software.
"Recently, cases such as Jordan Mathewson, an online gamer with over 200,000 Twitter followers, who filmed himself being ‘swatted’ have brought the craze to national attention in America....
"However, it is not only online gamers who are targeted. In 2012 the conservative political blogger, Erick Erickson, was a victim when an anonymous caller claiming to be Mr Erickson 'confessed' to shooting his wife, before giving his address and hanging up.
"The call was later confirmed as a hoax.
"Obviously, making false claims to police drains police time and can cause extreme distress to the victim or first responders. Although there have been some arrests, ‘swatting’ is notoriously difficult to trace."
Read more: http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/gaming/swatting-what-is-the-latest-pranking-craze-9706452.html
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September 2, 2014 - "Last month an American gamer accidentally filmed himself being arrested by a highly trained SWAT team. His crime? He was the victim of an online prank called ‘swatting’....
"An anonymous individual rings the local police force, describing a credible threat or situation (often involving hostages) bringing a SWAT team to a chosen location and giving the prank [its] particular name.
"It has been given a 21st-century twist by many of the 'swat' calls coming from online gamers, who watch the reactions of their victims in real time, via live streaming software.
"Recently, cases such as Jordan Mathewson, an online gamer with over 200,000 Twitter followers, who filmed himself being ‘swatted’ have brought the craze to national attention in America....
"However, it is not only online gamers who are targeted. In 2012 the conservative political blogger, Erick Erickson, was a victim when an anonymous caller claiming to be Mr Erickson 'confessed' to shooting his wife, before giving his address and hanging up.
"The call was later confirmed as a hoax.
"Obviously, making false claims to police drains police time and can cause extreme distress to the victim or first responders. Although there have been some arrests, ‘swatting’ is notoriously difficult to trace."
Read more: http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/gaming/swatting-what-is-the-latest-pranking-craze-9706452.html
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