The Washington Post: Marjorie Taylor Greene isn’t the only politician to be a swatting target
UC cybersecurity expert: It is difficult to tell which 911 calls are real and which are fake
According to an article in The Washington Post, the number of swatting episodes went from about 400 in 2011 to more than 1,000 in 2019, with an estimated total of 20,000 over the past two decades.
“Swatting” is the act of calling law enforcement on an innocent person with a false claim of criminal activity.
University of Cincinnati security expert Gregory Winger told the publication that these fake calls take resources away from law enforcement assisting in true criminal activity and “weaponize” the police against the innocent victims.
The calls are usually placed from a cloaked phone number and relay that the criminal activity includes a life-threatening situation such as someone being held with a lethal weapon, thus requiring a high level of police response.
The victims of swatting are usually high-profile people such as celebrities and politicians. Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene has been swatted almost a dozen times; the last time on Christmas Eve, 2023.
“People learn of those threats, and it spreads,” says Winger, an assistant professor at UC’s School of International and Public Affairs, adding that both real and fake calls are treated the same because, as yet, it’s very difficult to tell a real call from a fake call.
Featured image at top of SWAT team outside a threat location. Photo/iStock/Zeferli
Impact Lives Here
The University of Cincinnati is leading public urban universities into a new era of innovation and impact. Our faculty, staff and students are saving lives, changing outcomes and bending the future in our city's direction. Next Lives Here.
Related Stories
Sugar overload killing hearts
November 10, 2025
Two in five people will be told they have diabetes during their lifetime. And people who have diabetes are twice as likely to develop heart disease. One of the deadliest dangers? Diabetic cardiomyopathy. But groundbreaking University of Cincinnati research hopes to stop and even reverse the damage before it’s too late.
Is going nuclear the solution to Ohio’s energy costs?
November 10, 2025
The Ohio Capital Journal recently reported that as energy prices continue to climb, economists are weighing the benefits of going nuclear to curb costs. The publication dove into a Scioto Analysis survey of 18 economists to weigh the pros and cons of nuclear energy. One economist featured was Iryna Topolyan, PhD, professor of economics at the Carl H. Lindner College of Business.
App turns smartwatch into detector of structural heart disease
November 10, 2025
An app that uses an AI model to read a single-lead ECG from a smartwatch can detect structural heart disease, researchers reported at the 2025 Scientific Sessions of the American Heart Association. Although the technology requires further validation, researchers said it could help improve the identification of patients with heart failure, valvular conditions and left ventricular hypertrophy before they become symptomatic, which could improve the prognosis for people with these conditions.