SWATting
A harassment tactic in which a false emergency report is made to draw armed police response to a target's home address.
Full definition
SWATting is the practice of placing a hoax emergency call, typically reporting an active shooter, hostage situation, or similar, to trigger a heavily armed police response at a victim's home. The tactic depends on the attacker obtaining or inferring a target address, which can involve data brokers, public records, social media, or other sources. Some jurisdictions have specific offences or enhanced penalties for swatting conduct. Reducing unnecessary address exposure is one defensive measure, not a guarantee against targeting.
Related terms
Doxxing
The act of publicly revealing personally identifying information about an individual, typically without consent and often as part of a harassment campaign.
Daniel's Law
A shorthand often used for privacy and public-record protections designed to reduce address exposure for covered judges, prosecutors, law-enforcement personnel, and other eligible people.
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