Three British men are charged with carrying out a two-year-long “swatting” campaign involving hoax 911 calls in the US and Canada, including dozens of “active shooter threats” and targeting famous social media influencers.
The suspects were said to have “fabricated serious incidents” to prompt an extensive response from US and Canadian law enforcement and emergency services, one of the hallmarks of swatting.
“The charges relate to the online activities of an internet-based group, which planned, advertised and carried out calls to emergency services and internet celebrities reporting fabricated serious, life-threatening incidents, ‘active shooter threats,” said Detective Sergeant Steve Frame of Merseyside Police.
UK prosecutors said the alleged suspects – 22-year-old Liam White from Somerset county, and two 18-year-olds, Dylan Ash and Keiron Ellison, from Cheshire and Merseyside counties – carried out a malicious campaign from October 1st, 2022, through October 30th, 2024.
The arrests “are the culmination of an extensive investigation by Merseyside Police, working with US law enforcement, including the FBI,” the Detective Sergeant said.
The names of the celebrity influencers targeted in the attacks was not relaesed by prosecuters.
The charges, handed down in Liverpool Crown Court on Thursday, coincide with an FBI public service alert also released this week, warning of an uptick in swatting attacks nationwide.
Swatting, in which an attacker calls 911, typically claiming a false life-threatening situation, can have deadly consequences due to confusion on the part of victims and responding officials, and that also diverts limited public safety resources from valid emergencies, the FBI said.
The trio, who were said to have coordinated the swatting campaign by communicating in an online group dedicated to mapping out the targeted emergency hoax calls, have been barred from social media and communicating with one another.
All three men face multiple counts of “conspiring together and with others to do a series of acts tending or intending to pervert the course of justice,” according to the UK’s Crown Prosecution Service Counter Terrorism Division. The suspects were granted bail and will appear back in court on May 29th. , w
Protect yourself from swatting attacks
“Targets of swatting often include high-profile public figures, as well as schools, hospitals, places of worship, and centers of mass transportation, but anyone can be a victim,” the FBI said.
Threat actors will often gather information about their victims from the web using open-source intelligence (OSINT) tactics, such as from social media and other publicly available sources.
When making the hoax 911 calls, the attackers will “leverage spoofing technology to anonymize their identities, using phone numbers, email addresses, and social media profiles” so it looks as if the call is coming directly from the victim.
Some attackers have been known to use compromised smart home devices as well.
To help protect yourself from a swatting attack, the FBI says to:
- Review your online presence for sensitive personal information.
- Be mindful when posting or sharing content online.
- Consider using third-party resources to reduce/remove sensitive publicly available information.
- Use strong, unique passwords, and multi-factor authentication on all devices and accounts, including smart home devices.
The FBI also recommends discussing swatting attacks with family and work and prepare a plan if law enforcement show up at your home, business, or other location.
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