Doug Mohoney at FierceTelecom reported this incredible (too strange to be true) story about abuse of public safety resources.
Called 'swatting' the game is really costly and quite a dangerous prank. These really stupid people get their jollies sending 911 emergency crews which can include SWAT teams, canine units and helicopters of metropolitan police forces, to unsuspecting innocent homes anticipating hostage situations, murder scenes or worse and then laughing all about the waste of public safety time and expenses, not to mention the horror of the innocents who are handcuffed and arrested.
They use an IP network to spoof telephone numbers and then make outrageous claims on the 911 operator. A software upgrade of the PSAP infrastructure would segment out IP calls from PSTN calls so a nasty crank caller in NY can't initiate a 911 call dispatched in Seattle WA.
Although tough to track, there are criminals still being charged and convicted costing them five years in jail.
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