Scottsdale police level to on-line gaming tradition for swatting name surge

SCOTTSDALE, AZ (AZFamily) — Gunshots, a hostage scenario and a bomb risk. What seems like actual emergencies could also be nothing greater than players in search of an even bigger viewers.

Scottsdale Police mentioned “swatting” calls, wherein nameless people falsely report main violent occasions to 911, have surged this yr. The division has obtained greater than 20 of them in 2026 alone; 4 occurring inside simply the previous few weeks.

Gamers are driving the pattern

Karen Sutherland with the Scottsdale Police Department mentioned on-line players have emerged as a supply of the calls, and their motivation is commonly so simple as chasing views.

“Number one, a lot of gamers are on video, so if the officers do rush into the area where they are, that’s all seen on video, and their viewership goes up,” Sutherland mentioned. “Also, it’s hard to win a game if you’re dealing with police.”

To make the calls convincing, Sutherland mentioned callers layer in audio from films and different recordings to promote the phantasm of an actual disaster.

“Sometimes they use sound effects from movies or other clips that might sound like gunshots, might sound like people screaming,” she mentioned. ”Anything that they’ll do to form of get a way of panic in the person who’s on the cellphone with them.”

A dangerous and costly drain on resources

Beyond the deception, Sutherland said the real-world consequences of swatting calls are serious for officers and for the people at whatever address they’re rushing to.

“It’s a huge drain on resources. It’s also very dangerous for both the officers and whoever is at the location that they’re responding to,” she said.

In response, the department has stepped up dispatcher training, teaching call-takers to flag inconsistencies that can expose a fake caller. Sutherland said the warning signs are often subtle but telling.

“If they’re not familiar with Scottsdale, or if it appears that they have to look up something on a map to answer one of our questions, or if they refuse to answer questions, those are all things that we pay a lot of attention to,” she said.

New technology in the works

As swatting calls grow more sophisticated and harder to trace, Scottsdale police are also working to identify new technology to help dispatchers detect hoax calls more quickly.

“It really just gives the officers a better chance of responding appropriately,” Sutherland said.

Identifying and prosecuting those responsible remains difficult. Callers routinely use technology to mask their phone number, identity and location. But Sutherland said getting caught carries serious consequences, including felony charges and potential prison time.

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