As a society, the progression of just one decade to another has seen vast changes. Our advancements have become daily feedings not progress amassed in a century's time. Yet, has the evolution been just bragging rights for derelicts?
For example, ‘swatting’; a telephone fraud that exploits a weakness in the way the 911 system handles calls from Internet-based phone services. These attacks are called "swatting" because armed police SWAT teams usually respond! These false illusion calls are virtually unstoppable,
So a prank call from twenty years ago, say, “Jimmy got his big toe stuck in the tub faucet again,”
Has for all intents and purposes turned sometimes deadly and often times costly. To a family in Southern California their privacy, dignity and emotional security had been the price they would pay when they became the victims of this internet hoax. One simple glitch in the 911 system had the local SWAT team loaded to the teeth ready for disaster whilst the family lay on their lawn handcuffed and believed to be dangerous by the authorities.
What about New Hampshire? Well, as typical, data is spotty on ‘swatting’ phone calls and the amount that is received by 911.
However, it wasn’t too long ago that some KFC employees found themselves the unwilling participants of Pranknet. One simple phone call from Dex the fictional regional manager of KFC; lead to the dousing of fire suppressant chemicals throughout the establishment. Later on Dex would then encourage the 3 female employees to get naked, stand in the parking lot and urinate on each other. Not months later, the whole obtuse event was publicized on YouTube.
Technology, money, Internet crackdown via legislation; will not stop this new bad hobby. There have been business’s developed far and wide called Spoofers. They make money selling cheap non traceable cell phone numbers for anyone with a score to settle.
The 911 system was built on the idea it could trust the information it was receiving from callers. Upgrading the system to accommodate new technologies can be a huge task.
*Robert Hixson, National Emergency Number-911-Director
Needless to say, disaster in an emergency setting has now become our new Doomsday!
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