FBI Warning On Swatting

One victim called it a "cheap form of terrorism." FBI Warns of Swatting Amid a Wave of Politically Motivated Attacks

You would think that the cops would have heard of this by now, but apparently they haven't.

I recently reached out to the local sheriff's office and did something I hadn't previously expected would ever be on my radar: I asked that, if they ever receive a call regarding my residence that requires an emergency response, they keep in mind the high likelihood that it's a hoax. I was assured that the word would be passed to the local commander and deputies. There was no surprise on their part at what would have been a weird request just a few years ago, for good reason. The director of the FBI and other government officials have been sounding the alarm about an uptick in swatting attacks, many of them targeted at people whose political opinions rub somebody the wrong way.

Here is the truth that the "tolerant Left" doesn't want spoken.

On March 20, CNN's Hadas Gold reported that "at least a dozen influencers" had been swatted in the previous two weeks. "Almost all the influencers who have publicized their recent swattings are conservative supporters of President Donald Trump." In the article, one victim referred to swatting as a "cheap form of terrorism."

Go read the whole thing.

Hat tip to Tom Knighton at Bearing Arms: FBI Issues Warning On Swatting.

He had this to say about reaching out to the cops...

Honestly, I have mixed feelings about putting myself on any kind of voluntary registry. It's not that I don't trust the government, mind you, it's that I don't trust the government.

That said, if people think they might become targets of swatting, it might be worth it.

If you trust the government, you know next to nothing about history.

Nine SWATting Calls to Five States and No One Shot or Killed

It seems cops are finally learning that they are being played. Teen from Monroe County charged for swatting calls across the US and child porn possession

On the juvenile's computer, a total of nine swatting calls were found to be made to Texas, Florida, Oregon, California, Tennessee, and Kentucky, as well as other locations across the country.

Though Texas law enforcement turned out in the expected levels of insanity. Like I say, at least they didn't kill anyone.

Multiple law enforcement agencies in that part of Texas responded to a home in Princeton, Texas. In total, 32 peace officers, EMS, and firefighters arrived at the Meadow Creek Drive home.

Princeton Police Department says the homeowner was contacted and was not dead but very much alive.

Since no one was killed, I imagine they will try him as a juvenile, but at 17 do we really believe that he didn't know right from wrong in this instance?

But holding people to account for their actions is unfair. Just ask the Left, and they will tell you that.

Jeremy at the Quartering Was SWATted Wednesday

Leftists HATE people who disagree with them. And Jeremy at the Quartering disagrees with the Left.

It apparently interrupted his morning live stream. I wasn't watching it, but he was discussing Steven Crowder's move to Rumble, where he will be creating at least some content only on Rumble. A call from local PD - with whom he has a relationship - ended the live stream.

SWATting is a serious crime, and I suppose it would be nice if the telco companies could do something to combat it, but apparently they can't, because it keeps happening.

This is The Quartering's video My Stalker Tried To End My Life Again Today

On the Subject of Being Anonymous Online

The people who hate privacy are usually pontificating from the safety of gated communities, and they are not dealing with the insanity of denizens of the net. Swatting Hoax at Bennett Street Residence in Saline | The Saline Post

Another SWATting episode perpetrated (probably) by a gamer who was playing online against one of the children in the home. At least no one was injured or killed.

So what to do about SWATting?

Online gamers can prevent swatting by keeping their identity concealed and not divulging information that identifies them or reveals where they live. Some suggest using a VPN service to mask their IP address.

The next time someone gives the opinion that there should be no privacy on the internet send them some links including the article listed above. You could also send them stuff on the various people who have picked up stalkers because they have YouTube channels.

Cops STILL Haven't Figured Out SWATting

Someone calls 911 it MUST be true. They wouldn't lie, would they? South Fulton family victims of 'swatting' call 'traumatized' by ordeal

Imagine police surrounding your house and ordering you and your kids to come out with your hands up, but you've done nothing wrong. "Swatting" is when someone makes a fake 9-1-1 call to get officers and SWAT to a specific location. The fake calls are dangerous and weigh on department resources. They're also potentially traumatizing to the unsuspecting victim.

Idiots with badges. Idiots with a 911 system. Idiots who can't be bothered to verify if the phone call was legit or faked.

How many SPAM calls have you received where the area code makes it look like a local call? I get several a week, though it has tapered off some.

At the time, Danny's wife and kids were home. He says even now they have yet to talk about what happened.

"My wife, she was shaken up. My kids were as well," he said.

Because what would a SWAT team do? Sit at home and wait for the techs to check the phone number?

At least they didn't kill anyone.

At Least They Didn't Shoot Anyone

It seems police may be waking up to the reality of SWATing. Charlotte SWAT team pranked with “swatting” call

County 911 dispatchers received a call at about 5 p.m., from a man saying he had just shot his father and was suicidal, the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office said.

Deputies immediately responded to a home in the Shell Creek RV Resort and Marina on Washington Loop Road.

After a complete search of the area, it was determined that the caller who claimed to be “Joshua Wilson” is not a resident of the park and has no relation to the homeowner at the address where deputies were dispatched.

They apparently don't have much information. The name and the phone number didn't yield much to go on.

Swatters could face five to 15 years in prison, depending on the cost incurred by law enforcement and whether the incident resulted in bodily harm or death.

SWATting - Will Cops Ever Learn?

Cops really need to STOP seeing themselves as the Cavalry riding to the rescue after every 911 call. It seems like a lot of the time they are being played for the fools they are. Family Sues Village of Bellwood After Prank Call Leads to Raid

Geroge Soto, who is running for village trustee, said his back was fractured after a police officer handcuffed him, threw him to the ground and forced a knee into his back.

As for the 911 call...

The Bellwood Police Department released a statement that said its dispatch center received a 911 call regarding a man in possession of a high-powered rifle and a person shot. The department said Bellwood police officers, along with officers from surrounding departments, were dispatched to the address.

Because they all had to get in on the act of being heroes. Instead, they were all in on the act of being puppets.

Hackers Just Want to Watch You Die

I can't convince most people to take security seriously. "I don't have any money for them to steal," is a common refrain. (IDENTITY THEFT is not always about the money in your bank account.) But this takes things to a disturbing new level.

I was going to use the title "NEVER Use the Same Password on Multiple Services," but I figured no one would read it. Recent Swatting Attacks Targeting Residents With Camera and Voice-Capable Smart Devices.

Recently, offenders have been using victims’ smart devices, including video and audio capable home surveillance devices, to carry out swatting attacks. To gain access to the smart devices, offenders are likely taking advantage of customers who re-use their email passwords for their smart device. The offenders use stolen email passwords to log into the smart device and hijack features, including the live-stream camera and device speakers.

They then call emergency services to report a crime at the victims’ residence. As law enforcement responds to the residence, the offender watches the live stream footage and engages with the responding police through the camera and speakers.

You read that right. Your life means nothing to these hackers except as entertainment value. Are you interested in security yet?

The hackers take over the security doorbells, or other cameras, with stolen credentials.

How do they get stolen credentials? People use their email passwords as their Ring Doorbell (or other security system) account PW. And they have used the same PW for decades, because how would anyone know? (Hint: They know.) Especially if you are using a sports team, pet's name, kid's birthday, alma matter, or even most dictionary words. Not that any of you will take security seriously because of this.

"Security is hard," you say. I have great security. For all of my on-line accounts, I really only need to remember the password to my password-manager. (And that is a PW that would be tough to crack in under a century or 10. Or longer.) How hard is that? One password. The PW manager remembers all the other passwords, for email, banking, shopping sites, whatever. Every one of which is unique, long, and gibberish. Just don't lose access to the PW manager, because no one can reset your PW for you.

Recommendations: Have strong, unique passwords. Enable 2-factor authentication.

To their credit, Ring and a few of the other large companies are trying to fix this, but they can only do so much. They cannot always protect you from yourself. But they are trying.

Never underestimate the power of human stupidity.
  —  Robert A. Heinlein, Time Enough for Love

Cops Seem to Be Learning

Learning that SWATting is a thing. Scary Central NY swatting call: Man told police he shot mom, planned to kill kids. It was all a hoax

The man told dispatchers he had shot his mother and planned to kill his three kid sisters. He also claimed to have a pipe bomb.

The New York State Police responded in force to the address given by the caller in Herkimer County, troopers said. Bomb squad and SWAT team members stood by as crisis negotiators tried to reach anyone inside home, troopers said.

Not to long ago they would have just stormed in and shot anyone who was there. Because that is what SWAT teams do. Think? Realize that people lie? Do you think they are detectives? They are Super Heroes! Come to save the day. Or not, as the case may be.

“Based on the caller’s inaccurate information, the fact that the female was alive and well, along with some technical work done on the phone the number provided to 911, it was determined this was a ‘swatting’ incident,” troopers said.

No one was hurt, so there's that. And they are learning, so that's not insignificant.

People Buy Security Cameras to Increase Security

Doesn't always work out that way. Hacker makes false report of shooting, causing deputies to force entry into home

So a Ring doorbell was "hacked" and a SWATting call made.

“We get a call from someone who says they’re 13 years old, gives the name of the people who live there, and says he just shot and killed his father. So, we get there, we start giving verbal commands, commands over the speaker, knocking on the door. We actually see somebody crawling on the floor and we assume it’s the homeowner who’s been shot,” said Mancuso.

Mancuso says deputies burst through the door to possibly save someone’s life.

But it was all fake.

The cops are going on about "double security" so I am guessing that they did not have 2-factor authentication installed in their Ring system. I am also going to make a guess that they had an easy-to-guess password, because why go to all the trouble of having a password manager. It could only have cost them their lives in this case.

The moral of the story is two-fold. Get and use a Password Manager. LastPast and 1Password both allow for the coordination of passwords among family members. (I know exactly one family who went with 1Password.) You don't need to, and more importantly, you SHOULD NOT, use an easy-to-remember password for anything. And even if you just use SMS messages for 2-factor authenticaion, that is better than nothing. The last few incidents of SWATting I've read about ended up with the homeowner being shot and killed.

Cops also need to be better about this kind of thing. At least they didn't shoot anyone in this case.

By way of full disclosure, I use neither LastPast nor 1Password. I use KeePass. An open-source, trust-no-one solution that appeals to me. It isn't for everyone. It can be made to work with shared passwords among family, but I'm not sure that is its strength, but then again I have not delved into that aspect of things.