Swatting

Sean P. Whitcomb, Director, Public Affairs & Digital Technology Development, City of Seattle

Luke had a long day at work.

Following his routine, he went home, changed, and went on a 5-mile run to clear his head. Returning home refreshed, he places a bag of popcorn in the microwave and turns on the television for some much-needed down time.

It doesn’t take long for the microwave to work its magic.

(pop pop pop)

(pop poppop knock knock knock)

Luke tilts his head. He wasn’t expecting any visitors or deliveries. Was someone at the door?

(pop poppop KNOCK KNOCKKNOCK pop pop pop)

There is no mistaking it. Someone is at the door. But why are they knocking so loudly? It better be important.

“Police open up…open up the door…”

What? The police??

(KNOCK KNOCKPOUND POUND POUND)

“POLICE, OPEN UP THE DOOR NOW!!”

Luke’s heart begins to race. He moves quickly to the door, abandoning all thoughts of popcorn or streaming network television.

Why are the police at my door? What’s happening? Is everything OK?

Luke opens the door, eyes wide in amazement. The two police officers at his door have handguns at the ready. In his peripheral vision, he sees other officers at either side, but he can’t take his focus off the guns pointed at his feet. Luke is both bewildered and terrified. It takes him a moment to register that the first officer is speaking to him.

“Someone reported a shooting in this home. There are reports of multiple victims. Do you know anything about this?”

“N-no, nothing,” Luke stammers. “Shot? No one’s been shot. Everything’s fine. Umm, I’m, I’m just watching TV. I’m OK.”

But Luke knows everything isn’t OK. None of this is OK. Not even remotely.

“We’ll need to search your home to make sure everyone is safe.”

This is swatting.

Swatting is the act of creating a hoax 911 call typically involving hostages, gunfire, or other acts of extreme violence, with the goal of diverting emergency public safety resources to an unsuspecting person’s residence. It is a deliberate and malicious act that creates an environment of fear and unnecessary risk, and in some cases, has led to loss of life.

And while this specific act is not reflected in any criminal code, it happens across the United States with alarming frequency.

Anyone can be the target of swatting, but victims are typically associated with an elevated online profile, the tech industry, the video game industry, and/or the online broadcasting community.

In Seattle, we believe we have a solution that mitigates some of the worst elements of swatting.

This all started in Spring 2018, with a community request to register residential addresses with our 911 Center. Just months earlier, an innocent man was shot and killed by police in Wichita, Kansas, following a swatting incident.

Our challenge was to move forward and implement an improved business process while protecting the privacy of the community we serve. To our knowledge, no solution to this problem existed, so we engineered one: enter SMART 911 and Rave Mobile Safety.

SMART 911 is a service that allows residents to create a web based profile tailored specifically to the needs of your household. This information is conveyed directly to 911 operators whenever a call for emergency service is placed. For example, someone who is deaf or hard of hearing, or who has a medical condition or allergy, could enter pertinent information on a SMART 911 profile page.

First responders would have real time access to your specific needs before they even knock on your door.

While incredibly useful, SMART 911 did not meet the criteria for our solution, since profile data is triggered by calling 911 from a registered phone number rather than association to a specific address. And in many swatting cases, calls to 911 Centers are spoofed using the victim’s actual telephone number.

This is where Rave Facility comes in. Rave Facility is a solution that is designed as a SMART 911 counterpart for commercial properties. For registering swatting concerns, it works. Here’s how. A 911 call taker receives a report of a critical incident. While ensuring first responders are dispatched to that call for service as quickly as possible, the call taker simultaneously checks whether swatting concerns have been registered at that address. If swatting concerns have been registered, the 911 call taker will call the registered person to make sure they are OK, and to determine whether the call was real or a hoax. The call taker will also share this information with responding officers, who will still proceed to the call.

This process is similar to existing residential or business alarm protocols. In law enforcement, false alarms are a reality of the business. Alarm companies will call the subscriber to determine whether the alarm was tripped deliberately, and if so, to obtain more information to ensure the best police response. The same holds true for swatting responses.

As technology improves, this process may be updated, but key principles remain. Personal information will be kept confidential.

Police will still respond to all calls for service, but can tailor those responses to depending on the needs of the call, reducing the likelihood that 911 services can be weaponized against by a malicious cybercriminal.

(pop pop…pop)

Luke sits down on the couch, queuing up his favorite program. The aroma of butter-flavor permeates the air. Popcorn is almost done.

Luke’s cell phone rings. He reaches into his pocket and answers it quickly.

“This is Luke.”

“Hello Luke, this is your local 911 Center. We just received a call from you that people in your home have been shot and that the survivors are being held hostage. Youcreated a profile with us indicating that you have swatting concerns at this address. Are you alright?

“A shooting? There’s been no shooting here. I’m perfectly fine.”

“I’m glad to hear that. We have two officers responding to your address. They want to check on you in person, and take a report from you since someone deliberately called in a hoax at your address.”

“Thank you so much. I’ll wait for the officers at the door.”