swatting

1 definition • 2 examples

the action of making a false report of a serious emergency so that a SWAT team (= a group of officers trained to deal with dangerous situations) will go to a person's home, by someone who wants to frighten, upset, or cause problems for that person:

Swatting has become an increasingly popular harassment tactic among online gamers.

A "swatting" hoax led to police shooting dead a 28-year-old man.