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Police raid on Nikki Haley’s home: What is swatting and why is it dangerous?

2024-01-28 00:00:00.0 海峡时报-世界原网页

The American police raided the home of Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley in December 2023 after a man falsely claimed he had shot a woman at her residence.

In January, a bomb squad arrived at the home of an American judge involved in former United States president Donald Trump’s civil trial in Manhattan after someone made a hoax bomb threat.

The Straits Times unpacks the practice of swatting, the deadly dangers of prank calls and notable swatting incidents.

What is swatting?

According to the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), swatting is the act of making a hoax emergency call in hopes of sending the police to a person or a location.

The bogus reports made often involve murders or hostages to trick police forces into sending a heavily armed strike force like a Swat team.

The New York Times reported that the practice has a history in the online gaming world as perpetrators prank video gamers who play live on the Internet to online audiences with surprise police raids.

Why is swatting dangerous?

The LAPD said swatting “places the community and first responders in harm’s way”.

For example, a Kansas man was fatally shot by the police who responded to a swatting call in 2017. The perpetrator had reported a fake murder and hostage situation at the house.

In 2021, a 60-year-old Tennessee man died of a heart attack when he was swatted at his home after a perpetrator made a hoax report of a shooting at his property.

Republican US Senator Rick Scott, who was swatted at his home in December 2023, wrote on X that perpetrators “wasted the time & resources of (the) law enforcement in a sick attempt to terrorise (his) family”.

How does swatting work?

Perpetrators use various digital tools that disguise their location.

This includes spoofing where they can make their call, or making their message appear to come from a different location or person.

Perpetrators also use doxxing, which refers to publishing someone’s personal information via the Internet without their consent, to disrupt their privacy.

Who are some targets of swatting incidents?

Aside from high-profile politicians and judges, activists and video gamers have been swatted.

In 2020, the police were outside the home of American academic and Black Lives Matter Los Angeles co-founder Melina Abdullah after a man claimed that he was holding people hostage there.

In 2019, the police turned up unexpectedly at the home of Kyle “Bugha” Giersdorf, a then 16-year-old American video gamer who won the Fortnite world championship.

The authorities had received an emergency call from someone claiming that Mr Giersdorf had shot his father and tied his mother up in the garage.

What are the penalties for swatting?

Depending on the state, penalties in the US for swatting can vary from a fine to jail time.

For instance, one can be jailed for five to 10 years and fined up to US$150,000 (S$201,000) under New Jersey law.

In more extreme cases, a California man was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2019 after pleading guilty to 51 counts of making fake emergency calls and threats around the country.

What has been done to prevent swatting?

CNN reported that Ohio, Washington and Virginia have strengthened laws against swatting amid the spate of swatting incidents.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) also launched a national database to track and prevent swatting incidents in May 2023, Forbes reported.

The FBI uncovered 129 such incidents between May and June 2023.