With some assistance from the Long Beach Police Department (LBPD), a 12-year-old Southern California boy was arrested on December 10 for creating two of the largest celebrity “swatting” phone hoaxes this year.
“Swatting” is a slang term in which those sophisticated with telecommunication technologies prank emergency phone lines in an attempt to get emergency responders—specifically SWAT teams—to appear at a targeted home. Blind hacker Matthew Weigman is probably the most well-known swatter as he originated the prank. Weigman used his heightened hearing capabilities to hack phone systems and using incredibly well-performed vocal imitations, he created many successful swats.
The most current swatting case, in which the young boy was arrested at his parents’ home in an unnamed Southern California town, involved sending SWAT teams to the homes of actor Ashton Kutcher and singer Justin Bieber. A third situation involving a bank has also been linked to the boy.
On October 3, Los Angeles police say the juvenile called 9-1-1 through a text-to-voice computer program meant to assist the deaf in making phone calls and reported that multiple people had been shot by Russian thugs in Kutcher’s home. One week later, he made an emergency call through the same method claiming shots had been fired within Bieber’s Calabasas home.
Reports noting that the investigation was conducted by the FBI and the Long Beach Police Department led some media to speculate that the boy lives in Long Beach. The LBPD, however, says they were merely contacted by the Los Angeles Police Department to assist with the case because of their previous experience in investigating local swatting incidents.
“LAPD detectives consulted with our Computer Crimes Detail who provided advice based on our prior experience with a similar swatting investigation,” said LBPD spokesperson Marlene Arrona. “LBPD wasn’t involved in any other part of the their investigation.”
It is unclear whether criminal charges will face the 12-year-old swatter or if he will instead be referred to the Probation Department due to his age.