What happens when online harassment crosses the digital divide? For a decade, the practice of swatting has been on the rise, and featured in news stories the world over. 

Swatting is a weaponized form of harassment that turns digital conflict into real-world danger—sometimes with deadly consequences. And in 2025, it’s not slowing down. False reports designed to trigger SWAT team deployments have surged globally over the past decade, putting lives at risk and draining emergency resources. 

In this article, we’ll explore what swatting is, how it works, why it’s still on the rise, and what legal consequences perpetrators face. Most importantly, we’ll break down how to protect yourself—and how to preserve the digital evidence that may be key to prosecuting this dangerous crime.

What Is Swatting? 

Swatting is a harassment technique designed to endanger, scare, and inconvenience its victims. The practice involves making a false report to emergency services—often involving hostages, bombs, or armed threats—so that a heavily armed SWAT team is dispatched to a victim’s home or workplace. Often, swatting is an escalation of smaller scale residential harassment tactics, for example, placing large, cash only pizza orders to be delivered to an unsuspecting person’s home address, or signing them up to controversial or embarrassing mailing lists. 

The roots of swatting often lie in doxxing: the malicious release of private details like a home address. Once a victim’s location is exposed, swatters can operate from anywhere in the world. Swatting can be incredibly shocking, with no prior warning, or often even a conscious interaction with the individual who has instigated the attack. Victims may have no idea they’re being targeted until armed officers burst through their front door.

Swatting is terrifying because it hijacks what should be a victim’s safest space—their home. And thanks to modern technology, it can happen with a single spoofed phone call.

New Trends: Live-Stream Swatting

One disturbing trend is the rise in swatting during livestreams, where perpetrators get to watch the chaos unfold in real time. Gamers, influencers, and podcasters are often targeted while they’re broadcasting live, amplifying the humiliation and danger. In fact, this overlap with online gaming culture has led to swatting being widely (though inaccurately) associated only with streamers in competitive online gaming.

It should be noted that although swatting is most commonly associated with residential attacks, businesses or public attractions can also be targeted, as in the case of Space Mountain.

Fake Calls – Real Consequences: Notable Cases Of Swatting 

Political or Racially Motivated Swatting Attacks

In 2020, a swatter falsely reported a hostage situation at the home of Black Lives Matter leader Melina Abdullah. Armed LAPD officers arrived while Abdullah was inside with her children. She live-streamed the terrifying encounter, highlighting how political figures are now common targets.

U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan, who oversaw high-profile January 6th Capitol riot cases, became a swatting victim in July 2022. An unknown caller falsely reported an emergency at the judge’s residence in July 2022, prompting a heavy police response. The incident underscored that even senior judicial figures were not immune to swatting harassment.

In April 2013, a California State Senator, Ted Lieu, was advocating for anti-swatting laws in the state when he himself was swatted when perpetrators called police pretending to be Lieu and said he had shot his wife. 

In 2022, trans activist streamer Clara Sorrenti was swatted at her home after trolls impersonated her and sent emails claiming she was armed and dangerous. Heavily armed London police burst in, arrested Sorrenti at gunpoint, and detained her for 11 hours before confirming the report was a hoax. The attackers (believed to originate from the extremist forum Kiwi Farms) targeted Sorrenti for her transgender activism. In that same week, multiple American streamers were likewise swatted live on stream, as a broader wave of such attacks hit the streaming community.

Celebrity Pranking

Many celebrities have been victims of swatting, with the guarantee of prolific news coverage doubtless encouraging on attackers who are looking for the thrill of causing high profile chaos. The practice seemed to be becoming something worryingly close to a craze at one point, with police called to the homes of Sean Combs, Justin Timberlake and Rihanna in a single week in 2013. Ashton Kutcher, Chris Brown, Miley Cyrus, Iggy Azalea, Jason Derulo, Snoop Dogg, Just Bieber and Clint Eastwood have all been victims of swatting. When Tom Cruise’s Beverly Hills home was falsely reported as the site of an armed robbery, the Beverly Hills Police Department reported that half of its emergency resources had been occupied with the swatting attack.

In summer 2023, Nicki Minaj’s Los Angeles home was raided twice in swatting hoaxes. In July, police rushed to her house after a caller falsely alleged a child was being abused there; in August, another prank call claimed someone had been shot on the property.

Targetting Schools & Religious Institutions

In September 2022, a wave of swatting attacks on schools swept across at least 16 states. Over a three-week period, more than 90 false reports of active shooters were phoned in to schools from California and Texas to Florida and Ohio. Each prank call claimed there was a gunman or mass shooting in progress, triggering urgent law enforcement responses – SWAT teams stormed campuses, schools went into lockdown or evacuation, and terrified parents and students scrambled amid the chaos. Every report turned out to be a hoax; no shooters or threats were found.

In late 2023, Jewish communities across America were hit with an unprecedented swatting/bomb-threat campaign. Over a single weekend in December, nearly 200 synagogues and Jewish centers in multiple states received emailed bomb threats and hoax shooter reports.

Revenge, Extortion, and Bullying

Sometimes, swatting can simply be a petty attack made out of spite or jealousy. As an intimidation tactic, it can be used to pressure and bully an individual. In a tragic 2021 case, a Tennessee man died of a heart attack when armed police raided his home. The swatter had been harassing the man by phone previously, intent on acquiring a Twitter handle that the Tennessee man had already registered. So the swatter escalated the harassment and called in a fake threat. It was just one incident in a growing pattern of using swatting as a tool for extortion and digital bullying.

In 2018, Patrick Tomlinson posted a Tweet about a comedian that online trolls did not like. They began to stalk, harass, impersonate and defame Patrick and his wife. They were swatted 43 times. Patrick's senior parents were also targetted. 

In 2017, during an online dispute between two men about a video game, one threatened to have the other swatted. In response, the man gave a false address for his residence. The address belonged to an uninvolved party named Andrew Finch. During the swatting, Andrew exited his house to see what was going on and was shot by police and died. 

What Are The Legal Implications Of Swatting?

Swatting is a criminal offense—and in many jurisdictions, a felony. In the U.S., perpetrators can be charged under a variety of federal laws, including:

• "Conspiracy to retaliate against a witness, victim or informant" (18 U.S. Code § 1513 - Retaliating against a witness, victim, or an informant)
• "Conspiracy to commit access device fraud and unauthorized access of a protected computer" 18 U.S. Code § 1030 - Fraud and related activity in connection with computers
• An accomplice may be found guilty of "conspiring to obstruct justice" 18 U.S. Code § 371 - Conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud United States
• Even on a State level, in the State of California, swatters abusing rapid response and law enforcement resources must bear the “full cost” - which may amount up to $10,000.

In Canada, swatting may be prosecuted under laws for:

• Uttering threats

• Public mischief

• Conveying false information

• Mischief to property

When it comes to charging swatters, there’s a lot to consider – from the implications of wasting emergency resources through to the very real danger of damage to property, or even injury and loss of life.

The Evolution of Swatting Legislation 

Legislation has evolved in line with the emergence of swatting. In 2015, a bill was introduced that would make swatting a federal crime and increase penalties. In 2018, a bill was introduced to Congress that would amend the Communications Act of 1934 to “provide enhanced penalties” for swatting, and demand the swatting reimburse expenses incurred.

In June 2023, the FBI announced that it would create a database to track swattings and improve information-sharing among local police agencies.

In May of 2025, Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, signed bill HB 279, known as the "False Reporting" bill, into law. The legislation increases penalties for the misuse of emergency communication systems, targetting swatting calls. Under the bill, a false reporting that leads to a death will be a second-degree felony, while a false report that leads to serious injury will be a third-degree felony.

The Problem Identifying and Prosecuting Swatting Perpetrators 

Unfortunately, owing to the nature of swatting, it is incredibly difficult to identify and unmask the perpetrators. When placing a hoax call, swatters will typically lean upon caller ID spoofing (where deliberately falsified information is transmitted to the caller ID display to disguise identity) of the use of teletypewriter (TTY) relay.

Regardless of this, prosecutions can be and are achieved, with some significant sentences of up to 20 years.

In 2025, a California teenager was sentenced to 48 months in federal prison for four counts of making interstate threats. The teenager had made 375 calls in over two years to religious, educational, and government institutions, including FBI agents. 

In 2025, a California teenager was sentenced to 48 months in federal prison for four counts of making interstate threats. The teenager had made 375 calls in over two years to religious, educational, and government institutions, including FBI agents. 

How Can Swatting Attacks Be Prevented? 

Swatting is difficult to prevent outright, but here’s how you can reduce your risk and respond effectively:

1. Protect Your Personal Information

Swatting goes hand in hand with doxxing. Without access to your private address information, anonymous swatters cannot undergo their campaigns of harassment. So, in the first instance, avoid being doxxed by practicing exemplary care when it comes to revealing any data that could lead to your home address being exposed.

This might include hiding your IP address and using a proxy/VPN for an additional layer of privacy.

2. Monitor for Doxxing and Threats

Stay alert to any signs of escalating harassment online. This includes unusual activity on social media, livestream chat rooms, or forums where your personal info may be shared.

3. Preserve Evidence Immediately

Time is critical. Content from chat rooms, social media threads, comments or posts, that could help identify a swatter, can be deleted or modified within seconds, so you need to be ready to capture digital evidence. 

In order to capture this kind of evidence, speed is of paramount importance. With content easily deleted, modified or reattributed, it is important to collect data quickly and efficiently, preserving it in a manner that will stand up to the rigours of court when provided as evidence.

WebPreserver offers the ability to capture online evidence in a couple of clicks. Comments and replies can be auto-expanded, saving you crucial time as you act to collect incriminating data before it disappears forever. Critically, ​​WebPreserver generates authenticated evidence that will stand up in court, placing a 256-bit digital signature and timestamps on all captured files, in addition to a range of other authentication and security features.

Swatting: Hope For The Best, Prepare For The Worst

Swatting represents a rare but potentially devastating form of harassment – and thanks to the “copycat” effect that widespread online coverage provides, it's a growing problem. As a result, it’s important to maintain awareness of and proactively prevent swatting wherever possible.

Hopefully, with legal consequences also starting to scale up, and some high profile prosecutions leading to long jail sentences, this irresponsible and highly dangerous practice will hopefully start to subside. 

Catch Evidence of Swatting with WebPreserver

WebPreserver offers the ability to capture online evidence in a couple of clicks. Comments and replies can be auto-expanded, saving you crucial time as you act to collect incriminating data before it disappears forever. Critically, ​​WebPreserver generates authenticated evidence that will stand up in court, placing a 256-bit digital signature and timestamps on all captured files, in addition to a range of other authentication and security features. This ensures your evidence is not only saved but admissible in court.

Want to learn how you can collect online evidence of swatting, or any other online attack? Have a look at our Online Investigation Guide.