A teenage boy in Australia has been charged for allegedly making hoax calls to US emergency services to report false mass shootings at major retail and educational institutions.
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) alleged the boy from New South Wales caused “widespread alarm” for thousands of people and businesses in the US with his hoax reports, a practice known as “swatting”.
He was charged on 18 December with 12 counts of telecommunications offences, with the police alleging he was part of a decentralised online crime network that was making swatting calls to trigger an “urgent and large-scale emergency response”.
The offences the teenager is charged with carry a maximum penalty of five years in jail.
The police executed a search warrant at the residence where the boy lived late last month and seized a number of electronic devices and a firearm from his possession, triggering another charge of unauthorised possession of a prohibited firearm.
“In this investigation, a young boy from regional NSW allegedly caused widespread alarm and turmoil to thousands of people, businesses and services in the United States, resulting in significant financial implications," Graeme Marshall, AFP acting assistant commissioner, said.
He said the purpose of committing such offences by young males aged 11-25 was to achieve status, notoriety, and recognition within their online groups.
The police said they launched an investigation into the hoax calls after receiving intelligence from the American agency FBI.
FBI International Operations Division assistant director Jason Kaplan said swatting was a dangerous and disruptive crime that endangered lives and drained emergency resources.
“This case demonstrates that anonymity online is an illusion," he said, “and we are committed to working with the AFP, our international partners and private sector partners to identify and hold accountable those who exploit technology to cause harm to communities.”
Mr Marshall said his force’s commitment was “to stopping the harm and pain members of this online crime network are inflicting on society, under the mistaken belief they are anonymous”.
Erika Olson, chargé d’ affaires of the US embassy in Canberra, said they were grateful “for the strong partnership between the FBI and AFP that prevented further harm to US citizens”.
“Our agencies have worked side-by-side for decades to keep both our countries safe, and we appreciate our continued cooperation,” she said.
The teenager was scheduled to appear in a children’s court on Tuesday.
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