FBI chief Kash Patel admits his house was swatted: What is swatting and why is it increasing in America?

FBI director Kash Patel recently had an interview with popular podcaster Joe Rogan where he made a shocking revelation that his house had been swatted.Rogan, like the listeners of the podcast, appeared shocked by the admissions asking, "What? The head of the FBI gets swatted?" to which Patel replied “These people play, it’s the ultimate hypocrisy.

They have two sets of rules: One against you, and one for them.”What is swatting and why is it becoming a rising problem in America?

Explained: What is swatting?

If there's any federal law system that is popular for its alacrity in response it's the American one. Be it 911 or SWAT, every call for emergency and protection is taken into account and immediate response is assured.Recently, the country has been experiencing a rise in the cases of swatting.

Swatting includes false calls to the 911 or Special Weapons and Tactics Team (SWAT) reporting a false threat at a location.Swatters falsely report major threats like bomb threats, hostage situations and murders in order to ensure serious responses from the emergency services. The SWAT team responds to the locations and assumes the people residing there as points of threat.Swatting essentially makes the misuse of the responsiveness and alert actions of the federal teams and is also a threat to the life of the people whose houses are swatted as they are treated as points of threat with gunpoint and allegations.

In the previous months, houses of popular names such as Conservative podcast and Infowars host Owen Shroyer, US journalist Larry Taunton, Jennifer Aniston, Justin Bieber, Rihanna and Nicki Minaj have also been swatted. Now added to the list is the head of the FBI, Kash Patel who himself has been very vocal on launching active campaigns against swatting and recognising the seriousness of the situation.“I want to address the alarming rise in ‘Swatting’ incidents targeting media figures.

The FBI is aware of this dangerous trend, and my team and I are already taking action to investigate and hold those responsible accountable,” Patel had posted on X a while ago.“The one thing we will do is put out all that information to the American public.” Patel promised at Rogan's podcast.He added, “And if we can work with our partners at the DOJ to come up with a prosecution, that will be their decision.”

Why is swatting increasing in America?

Well, American society is one of the most technologically-forward societies in the world.

From social media to AI apps, there's not much hidden from people about each other.People overshare personal information on social media, their IP addresses are easily accessible by hackers, and they keep updating in real time where they are. These acts make it very easy for your abodes to be swatted.In order to prevent your house from being swatted, keep on checking the privacy settings on your emails and social media, update your passwords from time to time, and avoid sharing any kind of personal information such as your real-time location, hour or office address and more.