October 22nd, 2021
“Swatting”
On October 19th, 2021, at 8:45am, the Morden Police Service received a report of a student in duress. Police were informed that several people had received messages from the same student advising that they were being held against their will and a firearm was involved. Police responded and quickly made contact with the student, determining that no one was in immediate danger and the messages were in fact a hoax. Upon further investigation, police learned the student had their information compromised while taking part in an online gaming platform the day earlier. The suspect(s) had threatened to use this information in exchange for financial information, and when the student refused, the suspect(s) threatened to “SWAT” them.
The term “SWAT” has become prominent in recent years where the suspect makes a false emergency call to provoke a rapid police response against an innocent individual. Police would like to encourage anyone that is threatened online by scammers, that they will be targeted in a “swatting”, to contact your local police service and report the incident immediately.
Respectfully submitted,
Sean Aune, Inspector
Morden Police Service
