Swatting prank traumatizing for targets, dangerous for everyone, police say

More than two dozen officers, including 12 tactical SWAT members,descended on aParma, Ohio, home Sunday night after a man called police to say he had shot his father andwas holding his mother and sister hostage.

Inside the home were two people completely unaware what was going on until one spotted movement outside.Thesupposed shooting and hostage-takingweren't real, just one of the morerecent examples of the dangerous trend known as "swatting."

• Teen who 'swatted' Disneyland had too much time on hands
• 'Swatting' hoax leads to 'traumatic' night for Richmond Hill family

The so-called prankwhich authorities say is more accurately described asa crimeinvolves calling police to falsely report an ongoing seriousincident like a shooting, hoping to draw the type of response seen in Parma. Incidents have been reported at the homes of single individuals or families with young children.

Some use it as a way to settle personal scores with perceived online enemies or seemingly as a form of misguided fun.It is familiar in the online gaming community, where gamers call pranks on players and watch via livestream as tactical teams burst into a home with guns drawn.

Fortunately no one was harmed during Sunday's incident, said Lt. Kevin Riley, from the Parma PoliceDepartment, but things could have turned out much worse. It's possible that the homeowner could have seen movement outside his home and come out to investigate with his own gun, for example.

"You have the makings for a very terrible tragedy," he said. It is traumatic for the homeowners and dangerous for everyone involved, including nearby bystanders.

It also ties up significant police resources both during and after the incident.

"These are very, very difficult cases to follow up on, there is a lot of technology used by these perpetrators to mask their identities," he said.

'Hack du jour'

Perpetratorsuse spoofingtechnologyto make it appear to an emergency dispatcheras if the phone call is coming from the home of the presumed swatting target.

"It's relatively easy for anyone to make it appear that they're calling from somewhere where they'renot,"saidCarmiLevy, a technology analyst based in London, Ont. "There are any number ofapps, rogueappsand rogue services that allow you to spoof your location."

Levy said hackers are spurred on by the fact thatit's a fairly simple process that generates a high-profile response from policeand sometimeswidespread media coverage.

"They realize that it's a relatively easy way to raise awareness, to raise their credibility in the hacking community, which is what it's all about," he said.

"It almost seems to be the hack du jour."

Unfortunately, Levy said, that means police forces will have to continue dealing with swatting incidents at least for the near future.

Swatting targets celebrities, lawmaker

A B.C. teenager said he had conducted a North American swatting spree out of boredom at a court appearance on Monday.

"I had a lot of time on my hands," he said. "I don't do anything productive, and that leaves me time to do criminal activity."

He pleaded guilty earlier this springto23 charges, including harassment,extortion, and public mischief for swatting incidentsinvolving more than two dozen mostly youngfemale fans of the gameLeague of Legends.

Swattinghas also been used to target celebrities, including Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus, AshtonKutcher and Tom Cruise.

In April, a New Jersey lawmaker who is seeking to increase the penalties and fines for swatting, was the victim of one himself after someone called to say there was a shooting at his house, local media reported.

'Not a joke to us'

York Regional PoliceConst.Laura Nicolle said individuals who call in swatting hoaxes typically describe very dangerous situations that involveweapons and injured people, prompting an immediate response from officers.

"In the event that this was a legitimate call, we can't possibly hesitate and wait," she said."We're not going to assume that they're false, we're going to assume that they're true."

In May, York police were called to a house after an unknown caller said a man had shot his family with an assault rifle and was barricaded inside. It, too, was a hoax.

Police banged on the door prompting the homeowner to open his door. He and his wife were handcuffed while their young children were escorted outside.

"It's not a joke to us," Nicolle said.