You may be hearing about SWATTING in the media recently. Many reporters have been discussing the rise of SWATTING. However, SWATTING has been occurring with teenagers who play online gaming since 2019. In 2019, I wrote on of my first articles regarding this new teenage activity. However, at that time since the targets were average citizens nothing was really done to address the issue. Now that Congressmen, Senators and Judges are the targets the news is focusing on it and our politicians are demanding that it be addressed. Again, remember this has been already occurring to thousands of families since at least 2019, but it was not in the news and Congress paid no attention to it.
To catch everyone up regarding this issue here is a copy of the article I wrote in 2019.
On line gaming is no longer just a game. On line gaming has now become violent and deadly. Another deadly fact is that many teenagers and parents are not aware of how dangerous on line gaming has become. Most teenagers that I work with view on line gaming as just away to have fun and as away to socialize with people. Many teens see no problems with gaming. Many parents are concerned about on line predators. Unfortunately, most parents do not have many other safety concerns about on line gaming. However, there are reasons why parents should be concerned about their teenagers safety when they are involved with on line gaming.
Some parents may have heard about on line gaming and “swatting.” In fact, a teenager, who was 19, was convicted of murder this week for Swatting. Many people may be wondering what is “swatting”? Wikipedia states “Swatting is the harassment tactic of deceiving an emergency service (via such means as hoaxing an emergency services dispatcher) into sending a police and emergency service response team to another person’s address. This is triggered by false reporting of a serious law enforcement emergency, such as a bomb threat, murder, hostage situation, or other alleged incident.” In other words, if someone you are gaming with on line gets angry with you, they make a phony call to 911 trying to get the police or Swat team to show up at your house.
Remember, with on line gaming you can be gaming with people in different cities, states or even other countries. You know nothing about the person expect for what they posted on their on line gaming profile or what they say to you on line. Therefore, you really know nothing about these people. They may have an anger issue, a violent past and there is no way that you can find out. Most teenagers assume they are playing with someone who is interested in the same game and wants to play the game.
However, these people are into on line gaming. Therefore, many of them are very interested in computers and know about coding and hacking. Therefore, while your teenager does not post their address or tell the people they are playing with their address, one of their players can hack into the game system and get their address. They now have the information needed to call 911 and report your teen for a false crime.
Swatting has been occurring for years, however, it has not been widely reported in the news until recently. A few weeks ago, a man from Los Angeles called 911 to report someone he was gaming with in Nebraska. Unfortunately, he had the wrong address. The man made several allegations such as he was holding his mother and brother in a closet and was going to shoot them. He also said that he had poured gasoline all over the house and was getting ready to light a match. Now with the increase in shootings and violent attacks in the United States, the police are on high alert. These people making the fake “swat call,” also can make it look like the call is coming from the address they are giving. Now with the Nebraska situation, the prank caller had the wrong address. The man who answered the door had no idea what the police where doing at his house. He made a move towards his waistband, probably to get his wallet, but the police thought he was reaching for a gun. The man was killed. He was 25 years old and a father to a 3 year old child. His family is mourning and his child will grow up without a father because an on line gamer was mad at someone he was gaming with and decided to get payback with a Swat Prank. There is no other way to say this, but this prank is stupid and totally irresponsible. The person doing the prank is putting another family, police officers and their families at risk for a similar tragedy because they got mad about a play on an on line game. If this is where these games are going then they need to be regulated and teenagers should not be playing on line games.
As a psychotherapist who treats teenagers, I hear many teens talk about these games. They like they idea they can connect with other people in other states and countries, but they are not aware of the dangerous. They are still teenagers and assume nothing bad will happen to them. They believe these things may occur but they happen to other people. This is how teenagers think, therefore, parents you must step in. You need to educate your teenagers and possibly prohibit your teenagers from playing these games. This may not be a popular decision, but remember, being a parent is not a popularity contest. Please look into Swatting and other risks associated with on line gaming and do what you feel is in the best interest of your teenager and family.
This was the status in 2019. Since 2019, we have seen an increase in antisemitism, crimes against Asians and people identifying as Transgender (CDC). Additionally mass shootings have increased to approximately two per day in the United States (CDC, Gun Archives). As a result, we have seen a significant increase in hate and violence in our Country. Parents, Mental Health Professionals, Nonprofits and Physicians have been asking the government to address these issues for years. It has appeared that these cries for help have always fallen on deaf ears. The government has spent these years debating if there really is a problem They debate if there is a problem and the leading cause of death for high school and college students is now mass shootings (CDC). Many students have endured two school shootings. One in high school and one in college (CDC).
Now SWATTING is impacting government personnel such as Judges and Congressmen. Now they are addressing the issue and wanting a resolution because being killed for doing their jobs is unacceptable and unfair. However, it is even more unfair that a 5 year old boy is killed because he went to school and his parents will mourn him for life yes for life. Our family lost a baby at 18 months old due to a heart condition. You accept it and you move on, but you never forget. There is always an empty seat at your family table. This is what all of the families in our Country who lost a loved one in a mass shooting go through everyday for the rest of their lives.
Now the issue is confronting them and they want answers. Hopefully, we find them fast because I would not want any of them to endure the pain and grief that any of the families who lost a loved ones to mass shooting is enduring daily. We have an issue with violence and guns in this Country. Now since the problem is now affecting Congressmen, Senators, and Judges, do we have the courage to act and address reality? Did an angry mob attack the Capital on January 6, 2021, killing police officers and attempting to hang the Vice President or were they a calm group of tourists visiting the Capitol building? Until we can be honest with ourselves and start addressing these difficult issues, nothing is going to change and the violence in our Country will increase. If we can’t face reality, what will happen to our Country and what are we teaching children and teachers?
Dr. Michael Rubino is a psychotherapist who specializes in treating teenagers, children, trauma victims including first responders. He has over 25 years experience treating teenagers. For more information about Dr. Rubino’s work with teenagers or his private practice visit his website at www.RubinoCounseling.com or follow him on Twitter @RubinoTherapy.