Swatting

Universities have experienced false emergency reports — known as swatting — in which perpetrators use technology to trigger an armed police response to a fabricated threat. These are crimes, not pranks, and they put communities at risk.

What you should know about swatting:

• What it is: A false report of an active shooter, hostage situation, bomb threat, or other threats of violence made to 911, campus safety, or other university phone numbers or emails.
• How it works: Often carried out using spoofed numbers or email addresses, VoIP, or AI-generated voices to disguise identity.
• Why it matters: Police must treat every threat as real until proven otherwise, which creates danger and disruption.
• Our new reality: Universities across the country are increasingly targeted; we must be ready to respond calmly and effectively.

IF YOU RECEIVE A THREAT

By phone: Stay calm, note details (voice, location, background noises), and alert UW-Whitewater Police immediately (262-472-4660). Call 911 when lives may be at stake, or there is the prospect of serious injury, serious crime, or serious danger.

By email: Contact UW-Whitewater Police immediately (262-472-4660) and preserve the original message. Do not reply, forward, or delete.

In all cases: Follow the instructions of UW-Whitewater Police and other law enforcement agencies. Do not attempt to investigate on your own.

WHEN THE UNIVERSITY RECEIVES A THREAT:

• Our first steps will be to immediately 1) contact law enforcement to evaluate its validity and 2) heighten the alert status of university police officers: Working with local and federal law enforcement, we seek to establish whether or not a threat is credible.
• If we deem the threat to be credible, we will communicate safety information: In the event a threat is deemed credible, we will immediately convey any necessary emergency information to the campus community, such as a directive to shelter in place or an announcement of a lockdown. If there are circumstances that warrant closing or locking down all or part of the university and moving all or some classes or activities to remote, we will not hesitate to do so.
• If, in consultation with law enforcement, a threat is deemed a hoax, we will make the decision whether or not to communicate based on the totality of the circumstances and what best serves the safety and well-being of the campus community: We will not communicate about every hoax threat because of the potential for disruption and sowing anxiety. However, in instances when we believe communicating will be valuable to explain what is going on or to reassure the community, we will always do so. Each time there is a safety incident, police and university leadership — in consultation with situational experts — evaluate the proper actions to take to address the safety of students, employees and guests while also taking account of the importance of minimizing disruption to our academic mission.