A False Report

By chance, was the goose named grey?

Swatting
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Swatting is an attempt to trick an emergency service (such as a 9-1-1 dispatcher) into dispatching an emergency response team. The name is derived from SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics), one type of such team. Such action places law enforcement and citizens at risk and are criminal actions. In addition it reduces law enforcement officer (LEO) coverage and costs taxpayer money.


Swatting has its origins in prank calls to emergency services. Increasing sophistication of the techniques employed and the objectives, notably attempts to direct response units of particular types, and in particular attempts to cause SWAT teams to be dispatched to particular locations, spawned the term swatting. The term may have been coined by the FBI, which investigates these activities that are in the United States or are US-related.[1]
Blind phreaker Matthew Weigman pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy including attempting to retaliate against a witness.[2] He was sentenced to over 11 years in federal prison.[3]
[edit]Techniques

Caller ID spoofing, social engineering, prank call and phone phreaking techniques may be combined. 911 systems (including telephony and human operators) have been tricked by calls placed from cities hundreds of miles away. The caller typically places a 911 call using a spoofed phone number with the goal of tricking emergency authorities into responding to an address with a SWAT team to an emergency that doesn't exist.
[edit]Congressional involvement

CNN interviewed Erick Erickson to discuss an incident in which he had been the victim of swatting.[4] The caller to 911 claimed:
I just shot my wife, so.... I don't think I could come down there.... She's dead, now.... I'm looking at her.... I'm going to shoot someone else, soon.
—911 caller, [5]
That incident prompted Sandy Adams to push for a Justice Department investigation.[6]

Errn:

But.....Where did they get Judge Walls name to add to this story? I believe this story was invented a little closer to home.....

Mike_Presta wrote: <font size="3" face="Times New Roman"> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" ="Msonormal"><span style='line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;'>Our home was visited by two of Middletown’s finest early this evening.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>It seems that the Middletown Police Department (MPD) had received a call from someone at Ft. Hamilton Hughes Hospital (I’m guessing it might have originated from the mental ward) stating that “Mike Presta was holding Judge Wall at gun point in his basement”.<?: prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></span> <font size="3" face="Times New Roman"> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" ="Msonormal"><span style='line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;'>Now this is ridiculous on the face of it, but since the MPD could not immediately contact Judge Wall it was prudent for them to check out the claim at once.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>After all, stranger things do happen in this country every day.<o:p></o:p></span> <font size="3" face="Times New Roman"> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" ="Msonormal"><span style='line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;'>Of course, Judge Wall was not here at all…much less being held at gunpoint.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>I found out a couple of hours later that the MPD had been able to contact the Judge, and all is well.<o:p></o:p></span> <font size="3" face="Times New Roman"> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" ="Msonormal"><span style='line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;'>It remains a mystery why anyone would want to file such a baseless, false report and send our under-manned police department on a wild goose chase.<o:p></o:p></span> <font size="3" face="Times New Roman">

That is amazing. For sure I thought it would be the mayor or someone on council.

This is no longer a laughing matter.

errn wrote: Mike,       Do tell.

Please

Since I did introduce this topic, perhaps I do owe the members some additional explanation.

At the beginning, I didn’t take this seriously enough and joked about it, so let me make one thing perfectly clear:  There was absolutely NO ONE from City Hall behind any of this!!!  Any previous remarks hinting otherwise were strictly attempts at humor.

This has now gotten personal as there have been some additional incidents (but none involving the Judge, nor anyone other than my wife and I), but so far, they have not resulted in any physical injury or property damage.

The Middletown Police have responded promptly, professionally, and admirably.

Appropriate actions have been (and are being) taken.