Online ‘Swatting’ Becomes a Hazard for Popular Video Gamers and Police Responders

Practical jokers have delighted for years at tormenting celebrities at home by calling in bogus reports of violence and provoking huge police responses.Now they have found a way to turn their pranks into an instant public spectacle by setting their sights on a new set of victims: video gamers who play live on the Internet, often in front of huge online audiences. Last month, several hundred people were watching Joshua Peters as he played the game RuneScape from his parents’ home...

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