‘Swatting:’ A Very Personal Version of a ‘Smurf Attack’
Wired posted a story including a telephone version of the “Smurf Attack” we learned about in class. The story was posted because of new developments concerning the suspects but the actual attack was done back in 2005.
On May 1, 2005, Richard Gasper of Colorado Springs was woken at nearly 4am to a swarm of police deputies. The deputies, having expected a desperate gunman holding hostages, held Gasper for over 90 minutes despite the fact that he walked out of the house, unarmed and quite confused.
Gasper was the victim of what is called ‘swatting.’ Prank calls were made to Emergency services, making threats of murder and hostages while spoofing the caller ID to make it appear as if the calls were coming from inside Gasper’s home. The term comes from the potential swarms of SWAT teams that surround the victim’s house.