4 ms·

I am petrified of SWATting. I am in the Crypto world, and number of crazies / anarchists I deal with is insane. What steps can I take to protect my home from S

I am petrified of SWATting. I am in the Crypto world, and number of crazies / anarchists I deal with is insane. What steps can I take to protect my home from SWATting attacks?

heartles 9y ago
Do your best to avoid pissing off or making yourself known to crazies, and do your best to make sure that any actions that might piss off crazies or make you a public figure can't be traced back to an address. It's not a great solution, and there might be other ways, but this would be the common advice. It's not exactly feasible all the time though.
orf 9y ago
Move to a country that doesn't send storm troopers trained to kill you at the slightest 'provocation' (and often without) based on a single phone call from a blocked number, and then later exhonorate your killer?
Forlien 9y ago
I've heard that some minor internet celebrities will call their police department when moving to a new area to warn about potential swatting calls. You could try to do the same, but it's probably hit-or-miss.
z3t4 9y ago
Raise your hands slowly and don't move. If possible, sit down with your hands visible in the air, in the middle of the room. Talk to them if you can. But don't move. Just let them kick the door in. Don't go open it.
fhayde 9y ago
I was just thinking that even people who aren't even involved with these situations are potential victims, so what could someone do to protect themselves? Just some ideas off the top of my head: Spend some money on home surveillance, inside and outside. Cameras that are connected via some sort of home automation that can provide not just an early warning, but evidence for yourself and your family in the event something goes wrong. Offsite storage would be ideal, something that cannot be held, removed, or destroyed at the scene that only you or a limited number of trusted people have access to. Alerting when there are people outside of your home. This way you'd be able to contact 911 if there was suddenly a large police presence around your home and let them know there is nothing happening there, you are extremely willing to cooperate, unarmed, and awaiting further instructions. It might give you some time to deescalate the situation before it starts. Maybe contact the police and let them know that because of the work you do, you feel you may be targeted for these kinds of things. Ask a lot of question and see if they can put some sort of process in place like attempting to contact you or a neighbor if something comes in, or at least having the dispatcher let the responding officers know that the call might be fraudulent and to proceed with that in mind? Do everything you can to minimize your online presence. I know that's saying a lot these days, but every little bit helps. If it takes someone an extra few minutes to find information about you, that might be just long enough for them to lose interest or find an easier target. I'd love to hear other ideas because I'm kind of at a loss myself for how you can protect yourself from this.
jpindar 9y ago
Buy a house with a very, very long driveway and put in an alarm system around the perimeter of your land? At least that would give you some warning.

I am petrified of SWATting. I am in the Crypto world, and number of crazies / anarchists I deal with is insane. What steps can I take to protect my home from SWATting attacks?

heartles 9y ago

Do your best to avoid pissing off or making yourself known to crazies, and do your best to make sure that any actions that might piss off crazies or make you a public figure can't be traced back to an address. It's not a great solution, and there might be other ways, but this would be the common advice. It's not exactly feasible all the time though.

orf 9y ago

Move to a country that doesn't send storm troopers trained to kill you at the slightest 'provocation' (and often without) based on a single phone call from a blocked number, and then later exhonorate your killer?

Forlien 9y ago

I've heard that some minor internet celebrities will call their police department when moving to a new area to warn about potential swatting calls. You could try to do the same, but it's probably hit-or-miss.

z3t4 9y ago

Raise your hands slowly and don't move. If possible, sit down with your hands visible in the air, in the middle of the room. Talk to them if you can. But don't move. Just let them kick the door in. Don't go open it.

fhayde 9y ago

I was just thinking that even people who aren't even involved with these situations are potential victims, so what could someone do to protect themselves? Just some ideas off the top of my head: Spend some money on home surveillance, inside and outside. Cameras that are connected via some sort of home automation that can provide not just an early warning, but evidence for yourself and your family in the event something goes wrong. Offsite storage would be ideal, something that cannot be held, removed, or destroyed at the scene that only you or a limited number of trusted people have access to. Alerting when there are people outside of your home. This way you'd be able to contact 911 if there was suddenly a large police presence around your home and let them know there is nothing happening there, you are extremely willing to cooperate, unarmed, and awaiting further instructions. It might give you some time to deescalate the situation before it starts. Maybe contact the police and let them know that because of the work you do, you feel you may be targeted for these kinds of things. Ask a lot of question and see if they can put some sort of process in place like attempting to contact you or a neighbor if something comes in, or at least having the dispatcher let the responding officers know that the call might be fraudulent and to proceed with that in mind? Do everything you can to minimize your online presence. I know that's saying a lot these days, but every little bit helps. If it takes someone an extra few minutes to find information about you, that might be just long enough for them to lose interest or find an easier target. I'd love to hear other ideas because I'm kind of at a loss myself for how you can protect yourself from this.

jpindar 9y ago

Buy a house with a very, very long driveway and put in an alarm system around the perimeter of your land? At least that would give you some warning.