Audio Transcript

Mollie Halpern: Emerging complex technologies are changing the ways the crime of swatting is being committed.

Swatting is the use of technology to deceptively cause a heightened emergency and law enforcement response.

Supervisory Special Agent Philip Frigm says so-called swatters are now using social media to commit the crime, and…

Philip Frigm: The latest thing that we see a lot of are individuals using computers or computer voices to mask their own voice instead of being the ones that call.

Halpern: Swatters are more frequently targeting public places such as airports, schools, and businesses. Traditionally, they directed their actions toward individuals and residences.

Frigm says to mitigate swatting, have a procedure in place.

Frigm: The best policy that the private sector can practice when it comes to swatting is to be aware of the issue and to help provide as much information to law enforcement as possible.

Halpern: As swatting continues to evolve, so do the ways law enforcement address it, to include training among each other and the private sector.

With FBI, This Week, I’m Mollie Halpern of the Bureau.