Parents Need To Be Aware Of New Law As FBI Warns About Swatting In Iowa

Swatting has been illegal in all states for sometime now, but new laws in Iowa just made the punishment worse. Over the last year the FBI has been warning parents about online privacy. It seems like kids know way more about the internet than we do. Sadly with that knowledge comes confidence. Kids may feel safe online thinking they know it well. This can lead to them accidentally releasing information about themselves.

Kids also might think it's funny to "swatt" their friends without realizing just how terrible it is. This new law has now added jail time to swatting.

Swatting Problem In Iowa

Just recently the FBI took to X (formerly Twitter) To warn about this growing issue. While anyone can be a target, the FBI went into deeper detail on people who are targeted more often. Stating,

especially LGBTQ+ youth, racial minorities, and those who struggle with a variety of mental health issues, such as depression and suicidal ideation

What Is Swatting And How Is It Happening In Iowa?

In short, Swatting is using info gathered about you to make a fake police call claiming something bad is happening at the location you are currently at. The full answer is as follows,

Swatting is a criminal harassment act of deceiving an emergency service (via such means as hoaxing an emergency services dispatcher) into sending a police or emergency service response team to another person's address. This is triggered by false reporting of a serious law enforcement emergency, such as a bomb threat, murder, hostage situation, or a false report of a mental health emergency, such as reporting that a person is allegedly suicidal or homicidal and may or may not be armed, among other things

The New Laws In 2024

In short, Iowa will now see harsher penalties to swatting call charges. Ir's a big jump up too. KCCI went on to report,

Now, charges for swatting are bumped from a misdemeanor to a Class D Felony, which could come with up to five years in prison. If somebody is injured or even killed as a result of a swatting call, then that becomes a Class C Felony with a prison sentence of up to 10 years.

This is an effort to stomp out a crime that is still on the rise in America. Marion Police Officer Tom Daubs said,

”Odds are pretty good they’re going to at least track you down ... and It’s not a misdemeanor anymore, it’s a felony,”

 

Stay safe everyone!