n. A hoax that involves phoning police and providing false information that causes the dispatch of a SWAT team to the hoax victim's home.
2015
A Canadian teen has plead guilty to more than 23 counts related to a series of “swatting” incidents across Canada and the US. … In a swatting incident in February, Minnesotan air force veteran Joshua Peters had his house raided by armed police while he was broadcasting live to thousands of viewers.
2014
The Chiasson family and Hannah's friend, who lives there, had been "swatted."
Like others around the country, the Chiassons were victims of a false report, one so extreme it requires a massive police response, often a special weapons and tactics, or SWAT, team. Whether reporting mass murders or hostage situations, "swatters" sometimes use technology that makes it look as if their calls originated at their victims homes. …
It's hard to tell if swatting is on the rise. According to a search of Google trends, Web interest in the term increased last year, but that could be partly due to media interest.
Like others around the country, the Chiassons were victims of a false report, one so extreme it requires a massive police response, often a special weapons and tactics, or SWAT, team. Whether reporting mass murders or hostage situations, "swatters" sometimes use technology that makes it look as if their calls originated at their victims homes. …
It's hard to tell if swatting is on the rise. According to a search of Google trends, Web interest in the term increased last year, but that could be partly due to media interest.
2008
Remember the "phone phreakers?" The term hit our national consciousness in the 1970s, when a magazine reported on a small group of techie troublemakers who were hacking into phone companies’ computers and making free long-distance calls.
Today, there’s a new, much more serious twist on this old crime. It’s called "swatting," and it involves calling 9-1-1 and faking an emergency that draws a response from law enforcement—usually a SWAT team.
Today, there’s a new, much more serious twist on this old crime. It’s called "swatting," and it involves calling 9-1-1 and faking an emergency that draws a response from law enforcement—usually a SWAT team.
2007 (earliest)
Other law enforcement agencies have seen similar breaches into their 911 systems as part of a trend picked up by computer hackers in the nation called "SWATting", Barnes said.