Thursday, August 20, 2015
Just what kind of punishment should a 17-year-old get for making fraudulent 911 calls (a crime known as swatting)?
This happens more than you think. What’s outright astounding is how these teens could think they won’t be discovered. Have they been living in a cave all their lives, using a torch for light?
A 17-year-old boy in Ottawa, Canada, has made several fake 911 calls, including several in the U.S.
- Told dispatcher his mother was lying in a pool of blood; pretended to follow the CPR instructions.
- Pretended to be holding people hostage, demanding $100,000.
- Threatened to blow up a school.
- Arrested in May 2014, he faces 34 charges.
- Evidence includes recordings of the phony calls found on the boy’s computer, plus Skype and Twitter logs.
- So based on the evidence, it’s clear that this boy knows something about modern technology. Wow, he must be as dense as a box of bricks to think he couldn’t be traced.
Maybe if kids, perhaps starting in adolescence, were taught in school how easy it is for authorities to track down a swatter, there’d be a lot fewer swatters. Certainly there would be; it’s not a “maybe.”
It’s the parents’ job to raise good kids, but we know this happens only some of the time. The kid may still be a rotten apple (thanks to a dysfunctional home life), but at least if he’s educated in how simple it is for detectives to trace fraudulent 911 calls, there at least wouldn’t be all of these fake 911 calls that tie up staff while other people really need their help.
And while we’re on the topic of swatting, is there a name for the authentic 911 calls—but that deal with absurd complaints? People will call 911 to report lightning—simply in the sky. Other examples:
- Caller couldn’t figure out how to exit a locked car.
- Caller complained her husband was viewing porn.
- Complaints about inadequate restaurant service.
- Caller complained her boyfriend wouldn’t warm her cold feet.
- Caller (drunk) complained a bouncer wouldn’t let him into a night club.
I say no jail time for these morons. Instead, make ‘em stand all day at a busy intersection wearing a sign that says, “I’m a stupo. Called 911 because (fill in the blank).
Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to BestHomeSecurityCompanys.com discussing burglar proofing your home on Fox Boston. Disclosures.
About the Author
ROBERT SICILIANO, CEO of IDTheftSecurity.com is fiercely committed to informing, educating, and empowering Americans so they can be protected from violence and crime in the physical and virtual worlds. His "tell it like it is" style is sought after by major media outlets, executives in the C-Suite of leading corporations, meeting planners, and community leaders to get the straight talk they need to stay safe in a world in which physical and virtual crime is commonplace. Siciliano is accessible, real, professional, and ready to weigh in and comment at a moment's notice on breaking news.
Similar Posts
- SWATting, Using Technology To Hurt
Robert Siciliano Identity Theft Expert Swatting is making prank calls to emergency services. In the field of information security, swatting is an attempt to trick an emergency service (such as a 911 operator) to dispatch an emergency response team, generally a SWAT team. SWAT is (Special Weapons and Tactics). Caller ID spoofing technologies are used to send - What is “Swatting” And How Do I Protect My Family
Swatting is making prank calls to emergency services with the intent of sending those services to the victim’s home. Emergency services, such as a 911 operator may dispatch an emergency response team, and depending what the story is being told by the prank caller, the operator may dispatch a SWAT team. SWAT is Special Weapons - Swatting is potentially deadly
No, not deadly to a fly that you swat at, but to the homeowners who are subjected to aggressive police searches after the police receive a 911 call that someone was shot at the house. But the call is a hoax. This happened to Jesse Vanremortel at 3:30 am, says an article at theoaklandpress.com. He and - Watch Out For Caller ID Spoofing
Caller ID spoofing is the practice of causing the telephone network to display a number on the recipient’s caller ID display which is not that of the actual originating caller. Similar to e-mail spoofing which can make it appear that a message came from any e-mail address the sender chooses, caller ID spoofing can make - Caller ID Spoofing Effective in Identity Theft
Caller ID spoofing is when a telephone’s caller ID displays a number that does not belong to the person calling. The telephone network is tricked into displaying this spoofed number as a result of flaws in caller ID technology. Caller ID spoofing can look like the call is coming from any phone number. People inherently trust