The FBI is ramping up efforts to combat a rising wave of swatting incidents across the United States, prompting the agency to issue a public service announcement.
Swatting, the malicious practice of making hoax calls to emergency services to provoke a large law enforcement response — often involving SWAT teams — to an unsuspecting victim’s location, has seen a significant uptick, according to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). The IC3 advisory highlighted that swatting is intended to “draw a large response from SWAT teams or other law enforcement resources,” causing “chaos and the potential for injury or violence.”
FBI Director Kash Patel addressed the issue directly on X, stating, “Swatting is not a prank—it’s a crime that puts lives at risk. My team and I are already taking action to hold perpetrators accountable. This has nothing to do with politics and everything to do with public safety. We won’t tolerate the weaponization of law enforcement.”
The FBI’s advisory detailed how “threat actors” use various tactics to facilitate swatting, including compiling “sensitive information from a wide range of publicly available sources, including online accounts,” and employing spoofing technology to conceal their identities. This often involves falsifying the origin of calls or messages to make it appear as though a threat is coming from the intended victim, the IC3 noted.
Swatting targets frequently include high-profile public figures, schools, hospitals, places of worship, and centers of mass transportation, though the IC3 stressed that “anyone can be a victim.”
The crime is often motivated by a desire to “harass, intimidate, or retaliate against intended targets.” It can have “deadly consequences” due to confusion during law enforcement responses and diverting resources from legitimate emergencies.
The FBI urged the public to take proactive steps to protect themselves, including reviewing their online presence for sensitive personal information that malicious actors could exploit. The agency also recommended that individuals report any swatting incidents immediately to local law enforcement and the FBI.