Have you heard of swatting? If you haven’t, it is definitely time to become familiar with it, as well as learn how to protect yourself from it. Keep reading for some helpful information that will clear up your questions.
What Is Swatting?
Swatting is a serious issue that has been affecting more and more people. Basically, this is just the latest way that people can prank and harass others who are innocent. It can happen to anyone, but those who play online games, those who are in the public eye, and social media influencers might be at a greater risk.
Here’s how it works: when a swatter is annoyed or angered by someone else online, they contact emergency services to make a false report about their victim. For example, they might tell the police that there are hostages in the person’s home or there’s a shooting taking place there. Law enforcement officers then need to respond to these false claims, and serious harm sometimes occurs in the process.
Protect Yourself from Swatting by Using Internet Security Measures
There are several ways that you can protect yourself from becoming a victim of swatting. Many of the techniques are the same ones that you would use to protect your identity and location when surfing the internet on a daily basis.
Whether or not you are an online gamer, using a VPN (virtual private network) to prevent others from seeing your IP address is wise. This can prevent people from figuring out where you live, even if you never revealed that information directly. You can also take steps like selecting a username that doesn’t reveal who you really are. And, of course, keeping your private information a secret from others while you’re online is always a good idea.
Making Friends Online? Run Background Checks
If you’re interacting with people online, whether it’s in an online gaming community or on social media, there are steps you can take to figure out if they’re being truthful about who they are and where they’re located. By simply typing their name in Nuwber, you can access everything from phone numbers and addresses to property ownership information, lawsuits, police records, and more. This can quickly tell you if you’re dealing with a scammer who’s lying about who they are.
Another way to use Nuwber to protect yourself from swatters is by opting to have your information removed from the database. That way, if someone tries to search for your contact information, they won’t be able to. Taking the time to remove your information from these types of online databases can be helpful when it comes to protecting yourself.
Don’t Use Your Real Name on Social Media Accounts
If you have a social media profile, such as a YouTube channel that you post a lot of videos on, or you do a lot of live streaming on social media sites like Instagram, consider choosing a different name that you can go by.
You might, for example, only use your first name, or you might come up with a totally new name so you can hide your real identity from the masses. By doing so, when they try to look up information about you, they’ll come up empty, so they won’t be able to make swatting attempts against you.
With a few simple steps and smart strategies, you can protect yourself against swatters. Just be diligent when it comes to securing your personal information, and be aware of the risks of being a victim of swatting.
