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The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) issued a public warning that ongoing swatting incidents are affecting locations across the United States and are increasingly targeting not only private individuals but also educational institutions, government buildings, religious institutions, public transportation centers, hospitals, and other public facilities. The agency said the activity appears aimed at disrupting operations and spreading fear through false emergency reports that trigger large law-enforcement responses.
IC3 said common indicators include VoIP-based calls, calls originating from outside the United States, vague or inconsistent emergency details, callers who cannot answer basic identifying questions, mispronunciation of local place names, and callers who sound scripted or unusually calm. The FBI urged communities to prepare response plans, reduce publicly exposed personal information, preserve evidence, and report suspected swatting incidents to local law enforcement, the FBI, or IC3.
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The FBI issued an updated Public Service Announcement on ongoing swatting threats, warning that incidents are targeting locations across the United States and have expanded from private individuals to public institutions and facilities. The notice also provided indicators of swatting activity and mitigation and reporting guidance for communities and potential victims.
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The FBI and IC3 warned that **nihilistic violent extremist networks** and broader communities known as **"The Com"** are targeting children and other vulnerable people online through extortion, coercion, stalking, and abuse. Federal notices said the groups operate across social media, messaging apps, gaming platforms, and other online services, using threats, manipulation, and criminal tradecraft to pressure victims into self-harm, sexual exploitation, violence, and other dangerous acts in the United States and abroad. Reporting and law-enforcement disclosures tied those networks to a wider cybercrime ecosystem that overlaps with groups linked to major intrusions, SIM swapping, credential theft, doxing, swatting, sextortion, and ransomware activity. CyberScoop reported federal investigators were probing **764** and related actors for using cybercriminal methods to facilitate violent crimes, while KrebsOnSecurity described connections among harm groups, **Scattered Spider**, **LAPSUS$**, and other actors associated with breaches and abuse campaigns. Separate FBI outreach on malware hidden in games hosted on **Steam** underscored how gaming platforms are also being used to reach and victimize users, especially younger targets.
Jun 29, 2026
The **FBI confirmed it detected and remediated “suspicious activities” on its networks** and said it is using “all technical capabilities” to respond, but provided no additional details on scope, impact, or attribution. Reporting citing an anonymous source indicated the activity may have affected a **digital system used to manage and conduct surveillance**, including workflows tied to **foreign intelligence surveillance warrants, wiretaps, and pen registers** (used to trace communications metadata such as IP addresses and dialed numbers). Public reporting did not establish who was responsible or when the activity occurred, and it was **unclear whether the incident is connected** to prior compromises of U.S. lawful-intercept and surveillance-related infrastructure (including earlier reporting about **Salt Typhoon** activity targeting U.S. wiretapping systems). The incident follows a pattern of repeated targeting of U.S. government networks; the FBI has previously disclosed other intrusions and security events affecting parts of its environment, underscoring ongoing operational risk to sensitive investigative and surveillance support systems even when public details remain limited.
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The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center reported nearly 61,000 complaints and more than **$1.6 billion** in losses from government and law-enforcement impersonation scams between January 2025 and July 2026. Of those, 6,833 complaints involving threats of arrest, prosecution, imprisonment, or comparable consequences accounted for almost $36 million in losses. Fraudsters use unsolicited calls, spoofed agency names and phone numbers, and threats of criminal charges, fines, or professional repercussions to pressure victims into immediate payment. The campaigns have targeted medical practitioners, immigrants, foreign nationals, and international students, with more sophisticated operations using video calls, AI, fake uniforms, and mock government-office settings to appear legitimate. Victims are directed to pay through prepaid cards, wire transfers, cryptocurrency, or cash collected by couriers. The FBI said genuine government and law-enforcement agencies do not demand payment or sensitive information by phone or text and advised recipients to independently verify contacts using publicly listed official agency details.
Sep 25, 2026