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
From spilled milk to super-resolution microscopy
April 15, 2026
University of Cincinnati student Eddie Gerstner will graduate this semester and enter medical school later this year. Born with a severe milk allergy, he has overcome numerous life-threatening reactions since.
What are the long-term effects of expensive gasoline?
April 14, 2026
WVXU spoke with Debashis Pal on the impact of gas prices on lower-income households and the overall market.
OTR mural celebrates UC alumni innovation and impact
April 14, 2026
The UC Alumni Association (UCAA) will host its annual Alumni Celebration during Alumni Week, April 13-18, with a community art project commemorating this year’s slate of alumni honorees receiving the organization’s top awards. Taking place April 16 at the First Financial Center (Cincinnati Convention Center), the Alumni Celebration will recognize the 18 honorees for their individual and collective innovation and impact, and the resulting impact on their university, communities, and fields of endeavor.