The FBI has created a nationwide database to track swatting incidents and suspects of swatting, a prank in which individuals contact the police to report a phony emergency.
This database will allow law enforcement agencies to share information and collaborate on investigations. The FBI hopes that this database will help to prevent swatting and prosecute the perpetrators, even as swatters may conceal their identity with technological improvements.
Swatting victims are frequently innocent persons who have been targeted for harassment or retaliation. In one incident, author Patrick Tomlinson and his wife, Niki Robinson, were subjected to more than 40 instances of swatting, in which bogus emergency calls elicited armed police replies.
The persecution began after Tomlinson made a casual remark on Twitter, which prompted internet bullies to torment him and his wife across many platforms. The harassment peaked when Tomlinson’s house was swatted 43 times. Even his elderly parents, who lived outside of Milwaukee, became victims.
Law enforcement is also battling swatting instances on college campuses like Clemson, Florida, Harvard, and Rutgers.
The sources for this piece include an article in NBC.