Swatting
Making a false emergency report to send an armed police response to someone's home.
In more detail
A hoax call reporting a hostage situation or bomb threat at a target's address. It requires exactly one piece of information: a current home address. It has resulted in deaths.
Why it matters to you
Unlike most online harassment, swatting converts published data directly into physical danger, and it needs nothing but an address.
What to do
Remove your address from free people-search sites as the first priority. Some jurisdictions let you register a note on your address with local dispatch — ask your local department.
- Doxxing
Publishing someone's private identifying information — usually a home address — to expose them to harassment.
- People-search site
A consumer-facing website that publishes a searchable profile of a named individual.
More terms
- Data broker
- Skip tracing
- Pretexting
- SIM swap
- FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act)
- Consumer Reporting Agency (CRA)
- File disclosure
- Expungement
- Record sealing
- Clean Slate law
- Ban the box / fair-chance hiring
- Adverse action notice
- California Delete Act
- DROP (Deletion Request and Opt-out Platform)
Full glossary