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Streamers are often the target of swatting. Swatting is when a person makes a prank call to the authorities in hopes of getting an armed team dispatched to the target's home.
While dangerous and by no means cool, the practice is especially prevalent against streamers, as players try to see if their antics get caught live on stream. It is a despicable practice and one that sometimes has devastating consequences.
5 streamers swatted during their streams
Tfue
Turner "Tfue" Tenney is no stranger to being swatted on stream. The streamer was recently playing Minecraft when a voice yelling "come out with your hands up" can be heard off-screen. Tenney complies and is off-camera for a bit, before silently returning, taking a drink, and chuckling a bit. A watcher then tips him with "get swatted" as the message as Tfue laughs the incident off.
ImperialHal
During a stream on January 5th, 2021, Apex Legends streamer Phillip "ImperialHal" Dosen was swatted on stream, thankfully with no harm coming to his person. Police showed up to his home with pistols drawn. While he calmly talked to them off-screen, his teammates sat stunned and worried.
Bugha
In 2019, Fornite champ Kyle "Bugha" Giersdorf became a target. While he was streaming, someone made an anonymous call to police that Giersdorf had shot his father. The incident was captured on stream and even covered on the news. Giersdorf was lucky that one of the officers who entered the home with a gun drawn, recognized him, and the situation quickly de-escalated.
Clix
Fortnite streamer Cody "Clix" Conrad was not only swatted while on stream, but he was also performing in a tournament at the time. Conrad continued the tournament afterwards, but commented how police were still in his home a bit after the incident.
Dellor
In 2019, Fortnite streamer Matt "Dellor" Vaugh was swatted while on stream and handcuffed by assault rifle wielding police. Thankfully, he escaped the incident unharmed, and the entire ordeal only lasted a few minutes.
Swatting is a problem with deadly consequences
Swatting streamers can lead to arrest, and even jail time for the person placing the call. Dispatching authorities as a gag takes them away from doing their jobs and makes them unavailable to handle an actual emergency or issue.
Swatting streamers is not just a waste of law enforcement's time. It can also be potentially deadly to the target. In 2017, in Wichita, Kansas, two swatters, Casey Viner and Tyler Barriss, were responsible for swatting Shane Gaskill. Gaskill, Viner, and Barriss knew each other through Call of Duty: WWII.
Gaskill provided the two with a false address that led the police to the home of Andrew Finch, a completely innocent party. As Finch was leaving his house, police shot and killed him.
Streamers can take steps to protect themselves
Streamers are an easy target for swatting due to their public nature. One way for streamers to protect themselves is by using a VPN to obscure their actual IP address and give themselves and extra level of security. Another way it to make sure that they never reveal personal details on screen or online to help maintain a certain level of privacy.
