Elyssa Durant, Ed.M. αδψ
Intelligence Analyst
Black CoOperations
HATE Highest Anti Terror Effort
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Showing posts with label SWAT. Show all posts
Showing posts with label SWAT. Show all posts
Saturday, 20 April 2013
This is NOT one of "those" stories!
HATE Highest Anti Terror Effort
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Tuesday, 2 April 2013
FBI: 'Swatting' Cases Across The Country May Be Copycats - ABC News
At 9:18 p.m. on Aug. 3, the San Francisco Police Department received a call from a man reporting that his brother was being held hostage in his own home. After three hours of trying to reach the victims, SWAT teams burst into the house.
Once inside, they found a husband and wife in their mid-thirties with their two small children, spending a quiet evening at home.
"There was no merit to any kidnapping or actual hostage situation," said Sgt. Michael Andraychak, a public information officer for the San Francisco Police.
The SFPD had been the victim of "swatting": placing prank phone calls to police to lure them to mobilize SWAT teams to respond to fake hostage situations.
Courtesy of Myles Ma/Patch.comOn July 23, the Bergen County Police... View Full Size
New Jersey Swat Team Called in Response to 'Prank' Watch Video
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Say What? Bizarre 911 Calls Watch VideoSwatting has spread throughout the United States and Canada in recent months.
"Once you catch a swatter or a group that is committing these crimes, they are usually responsible for multiple swatting incidents," said Kevin Kolbye, the assistant special agent in charge of the FBI's Dallas office, which headed the first federal swatting case in 2007. Kolbye has been piecing together what appeared to be isolated swatting cases around the country since 2004.
In the past, offenders have solicited private information about their intended victims from phone companies and slipped the victims' numbers into the caller ID of the 911 emergency system -- a method called spoofing.
But according to Kolbye, it doesn't take an experienced hacker to trigger a fake hostage situation and mobilize SWAT teams.
"It's not like it's a hard crime," he said. "It just takes somebody who has a little bit of savvy about computers and telephone systems."
Recent swatting incidents may be copycats of earlier crimes, Kolbye said, instigated by past offenders who brag about their methods on blogs.
"I think you find a lot of copycat violations," Kolbye said. "Same as you find when a highly publicized serial killer is around, you find a lot of copycatting. So when crimes receive national attention, you find people who are intrigued with this type of crime and they emulate it."
Swatting perpetrators tend to be males between in their 20s and 30s -- social misfits who mobilize SWAT teams for nothing more than "bragging rights," Kolbye said.
Swatting in Canada and the U.S.
In Canada, local media report that SWAT teams were prank called to family homes in North Toronto and British Columbia last month.
In Florida, the Hialeah Police Department received a teletype on Aug. 2 with information that a shooter, armed with an AR-15 rifle, was holding a victim hostage in a local home. Public information officer Det. Eddy Rodriguez said that after five hours of evacuating surrounding buildings and attempting contact with victims inside the home, the SWAT team broached the house. Nobody was home.
Forty members of the Bergen County Police Department SWAT team burst into the home of cyber expert Perry Aftab in Wyckoff, N.J., on July 23, responding to a caller who reported that he had already killed four people and taken several others hostage. When SWAT members entered the home fighting tear gas from four bombs they thrown through the windows, they were greeted only by a cat.
"I'm not laughing," said Wyckoff Police Chief Benjamin Fox, who was in lead command of the SWAT team.
Fox said that swatting drains local law enforcement of their already scarce resources and poses a danger to innocent victims who may accidentally get hurt.
"You've got police officers running around with high powered weapons acting under belief of a potential threat against them," he said. "What's if there's an accident? What if somebody innocently comes out of their house because of the hoax and it's perceived by officers of scene as someone else? After the fact, we would have to sort out that whole tragic situation which now has been elevated to another level."
All three recent U.S. swatting incidents are federal offenses that are under investigation. Perpetrators could face charges of conspiracy and fraud, which carry maximum penalties of five and 20 years in prison respectively.
"Each time they call, they leave an investigative trail: a piece of evidence," Kolbye said. "It's just a matter of time for us to continue to put all the pieces together and come knocking on their door."
via abcnews.go.com
FBI — The New Phenomenon of Swatting
Don’t Make the Call
The New Phenomenon of ‘Swatting’02/04/08
Remember the “phone phreakers?” The term hit our national consciousness in the 1970s, when a magazine reported on a small group of techie troublemakers who were hacking into phone companies’ computers and making free long-distance calls.
Today, there’s a new, much more serious twist on this old crime. It’s called “swatting,” and it involves calling 9-1-1 and faking an emergency that draws a response from law enforcement—usually a SWAT team.
Needless to say, these calls are dangerous to first responders and to the victims. The callers often tell tales of hostages about to be executed or bombs about to go off. The community is placed in danger as responders rush to the scene, taking them away from real emergencies. And the officers are placed in danger as unsuspecting residents may try to defend themselves.
Last year, for example, a 19-year-old Washington state man was charged by California authorities after pretending to be calling from the home of a married California couple, saying he had just shot and murdered someone. A local SWAT team arrived on the scene, and the husband, who had been asleep in his home with his wife and two young children, heard something and went outside to investigate—after first stopping in the kitchen to pick up a knife. What he found was a group of SWAT assault rifles aimed directly at him. Fortunately, the situation didn’t escalate, and no one was injured.
The schemes can also be fairly sophisticated. Consider the following case investigated by our Dallas office recently in concert with a range of partners:
- Five swatters in several states targeted people who were using online telephone party chat lines (or their family or friends).
- The swatters found personal details on the victims by accessing telecommunication company information stored on protected computers.
- Then, by manipulating computer and phone equipment, they called 9-1-1 operators around the country. By using “spoofing technology,” the swatters even made it look like the calls were actually coming from the victims!
- Between 2002 and 2006, the five swatters called 9-1-1 lines in more than 60 cities nationwide, impacting more than 100 victims, causing a disruption of services for telecommunications providers and emergency responders, and resulting in up to $250,000 in losses.
- “Swats” that the group committed included using bomb threats at sporting events, causing the events to be delayed; claiming that hotel visitors were armed and dangerous, causing an evacuation of the entire hotel; and making threats against public parks and officials.
Case work. The swatters were tracked down through the cooperative efforts of local, state, and federal agencies and the assistance of telecommunications providers and first responders. In all, the case involved more than 40 state and local jurisdictions in about a dozen states. All five subjects have pled guilty to various charges and are scheduled to be sentenced in 2008.
Why did they do it? Said Kevin Kolbye, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of our Dallas office: “Individuals did it for the bragging rights and ego, versus any monetary gain.” Basically, they did it because they could.
Law enforcement agencies at all levels are currently working with telecommunications providers around the country to help them address swatting activity.
You can help, too—if you believe you’ve been a victim of a “swat” please contact your local FBI office.
via fbi.gov
Swatting | Law Enforcement Today
Swatter’s Rights?
11:18 am in Featured, Future Crime Trends, Posts, SWAT, Training by James P Gaffney
Swatting is the new rage, growing in frequency throughout the United States and is now an emerging trend in Canada as well. Both countries are experiencing bogus 911 calls requiring an immediate police response. Often a SWAT response is initiated to overcome dire circumstances based on information falsely reported.
A SWAT response requires effective coordination of effort and incident management. The Incident Commander deploys personnel and resources when a purported critical incident is in progress. SWAT deploys if needed. The swatting is complete once personnel recognize after the fact that no crisis actually exists. Once the hoax is realized, the “swatter” disappears without leaving behind witnesses, fingerprints, DNA, or a traditional crime scene.
No one has been killed yet by a “swatting” incident. However, innocent people have been forced to the ground, handcuffed, and temporarily detained following the swift action of a SWAT Team. Clearly, the potential for citizen and officer deaths as well as serious injury is simply a matter of time.
SWAT officers need to act quickly. Precise control of the scene is required. The very technical expertise and precision of SWAT teams are being used against law enforcement in swatting incidents.
Kevin Kolbye is the assistant special agent in charge of the Dallas office of the FBI. In 2007, the Dallas office initiated the first swatting case. Kolbye stated that it would be easy for an individual with knowledge of computers, telephone systems, and the desire to do so to create a false hostage situation to initiate a SWAT response. Successful “swatting” incidents tend to draw national media attention. This in turn generates copycat incidents. Each swatter desires to surpass what others accomplished previously.
There is no exact formula to create a “swatting” incident. In the past, law enforcement had to deal with false alarms and prank calls for service. However, these incidents pale in comparison to what today’s “swatter” dreams up. The greater the expenditure of time, effort, manpower, funds, equipment, and disruption of everyday services, the more a swatter is rewarded. Once swatters experience the adrenalin rush from experiencing such power and control, they need to create similar incidents. Kollbye advised that swatters do these things simply because they can.
Swatting incidents are criminal acts. The brazenness of the acts has grown with the passing of time. Generally, as information is first received by 911, an immediate police response is initiated. The severity of the circumstances requires an additional response of support personnel and equipment to the scene.
The caller and 911 dispatcher have ongoing communication. As false information is provided to field intelligence, incident commanders are hard-pressed to contact the people they believe need assistance.
From my perspective, swatting has reached a new level. It is more involved. Just initiating the SWAT action is no longer is the sole goal of a swatter. Swatters realize success when they can initiate a massive SWAT response with one or more agencies focused on saving lives…for nothing.
Following are recent examples of swatting incidents:
- As of June 27, 2012, four cases of swatting have occurred in the City of Rye, NY. Each incident called for an emergency response. Police believe that a group may be involved. A 14-year-old Rye youth was charged for allegedly making a false report of a home invasion. This investigation is ongoing. Rye Police requested FBI assistance.
- June 11, 2012 the Coast Guard received a report a yacht had exploded off the coast of New Jersey. The caller communicated updates on the situation. An immediate response was required because authorities believed that the boat was sinking.
Information provided by the Coast Guard indicates that the caller claimed three people were dead, 9 injured, and 20 in the water. The caller also advised the Coast Guard that individuals made their way to life rafts. The Coast Guard and New York City police helicopters conducted a search and rescue response of the area for approximately four hours. No sign was ever found suggesting a sinking vessel due to an explosion.
- June 11, 2011 the Coast Guard was advised via their National Distress System that a 33-foot sailboat was sinking. An hour later, a second contact indicated that the boat was almost completely submerged. The Coast Guard was advised the four boaters were changing over to a small gray boat. They were also advised that the boat was not equipped with flares or a handheld radio. A 10-hour search and rescue operation did not turn up signs of the boaters or the sailboat under water.
- Last year (2011) the Coast Guard, with the assistance of state and local agency marine responded to more than 60 suspected prank calls in the Northern New Jersey, New York City, and Hudson River region.
- On August 3, 2011, a caller reported to the San Francisco Police Department that his brother was being held hostage in his own home. After failing to make contact, SWAT Team entered the home. There was no merit to the call. A couple was at home with their two children. This detail was in place for more than three hours.
In Canada, the same kinds of events are being staged as in United States. This situation represents an extremely dangerous trend. Law enforcement agencies MUST respond to any request for help. However, response to false incidents represents a totally unnecessary expenditure of time and resources in an era of diminishing public budgets.
Assistance from federal agencies will be needed to address this new crime trend, which represents not only an unnecessary risk to personnel and expense, but also has frightening terror implications. Terror cells could deploy similar swatting incidents as a decoy to a real terror event staged while emergency resources are deployed elsewhere.
Jim Gaffney, MPA is LET’s risk management /police administration contributor. He has served with a metro-New York police department for over 25 years in varying capacities, including patrol officer, sergeant, lieutenant, and executive officer. He is a member of ILEETA, IACP, and the IACSP. Jim mentors the next generation of LEOs by teaching university-level criminal-justice courses as an adjunct professor in the New York City area.
Learn more about this article here:
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/fbi-swatting-cases-country-copycats/story?id=14257526
http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2012307040038
http://www.ems1.com/communications-dispatch/articles/1303776-Swatting-pranks-Not-so-funny-to-EMS/
http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2008/february/swatting020408
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2012/06/21/hoax-yacht-explosion-may-be-tied-to-swatting.html
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