Couple says police swarmed their home 55 times over hoax 911 calls — and Milwaukee just paid them $575K. Protect your address

It’s a practice known as swatting and it’s not just a terrifying experience for homeowners and a diversion of resources for law enforcement officials, it can prove deadly.

“Every time, you can’t not fear for your life to some degree when you have a shotgun racked and loaded, pointed directly at your face,” Tomlinson told WTMJ.

“We begged them to stop. We went so many times. We emailed everybody. We talked to sergeants and lieutenants and everything, and nothing changed,” Robinson added.

A city settlement

While officers —recorded via body cameras — acknowledged the house was a “known swatting location,” the repeated tactical presences resulted in the couple suing the city after its pleas with the department to change how things were handled resulted in no changes. In August, the city paid a $575,000 settlement to avoid a federal trial, which alleged Fourth Amendment violations, citing several unlawful searches and seizures.

To date, no one has been convicted for making the repeated swatting reports that impacted the couple.

Protecting yourself

The reasons behind someone swatting you vary. The goal could be harassment, intimidation or some sort of retaliation. Some incidents are isolated. Others are part of a larger coordinated effort. Cases like the one Tomlinson and Robinson found themselves in, where they were repeatedly targeted dozens of times are rare.

Still, even one swatting incident can be terrifying. Here’s how to protect yourself, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

• Conduct an audit of your online presence, looking for sensitive personal information that could enable bad actors to conduct a swatting attack.
• Be careful about what you post or share online, including photos and videos. What might seem like a small deal can be exploited or manipulated by criminals.
• Consider using one of the many online resources and services that reduce or remove sensitive publicly available information like DeleteMe, Incogni or Optery.
• Use strong, unique passwords and multi-factor authentication on all devices and accounts, including smart home devices—anything that has a potential tie to your address. Online gamers might want to hide their IP address via a VPN to prevent potential swatters from finding their location.
• Have a plan in place in the event of law enforcement showing up on your doorstep.

Above all, should you be the victim of a swatting incident, it’s important to stay calm and cooperate with law enforcement officials. They’re arriving on site under the impression that something very bad is happening at that address, so tensions could be running high.