How Can Parents Protect Their Kids Online to Avoid Swatting Game?

In this digital world, swatting game is a dangerous prank which too easy to get away with, and this is quickly becoming an epidemic. In a recent incident, a man died who wasn’t involved but just happened to live near the home of the prank’s intended target. The unfortunate death of this demonstrates in the strongest possible terms the need to protect ourselves from swatting because it shows how it could happen to anyone in any part of the world.

What Is Swatting Game?

Swatting game is a sort of prank when someone calls in a hoax to the police in order to have a SWAT team or a similar armed police force sent to the victim’s location just for fun. But in most of the cases, the “joke” usually ends after police realize there’s no real threat. In a few of the incidents it can be found how dangerous the prank can be. Here are some facts related to Swatting game:

• Because of the false reports called in a hostage situation gone awry, and there are tense situations and police are often ready to take lethal action.
• Nowadays, swatting may start online through an argument with someone on the Internet. The prankster may first get into a dispute over a game of Call of Duty, but it could just as easily be an argument on Twitter or Reddit.
• There is a possibility that the person on the other end of the argument can use any technique to determine where your child or you live.
• Sometimes these people could also use your IP address. Every device connected to the Internet has an IP address so if they get the address then they can point to the device’s approximate location.

The Dangers of Swatting Game

In the swatting game, there are various means of determining someone else’s IP address or location. In a few situations, IP addresses are public and sent out every time you get connected to an online service or website, including online games. When they know where you stay then the prankster can call the cops and submit their hoax.  In order to hide their own location, swatters can use anonymously-registered caller ID spoofing services to make the call, so that they are able to hide their own IP address behind a proxy to prevent being tracked. These are some dangers of the swatting game:

• In some incidents, the prankster gets the address wrong, which led to the police shooting an uninvolved man. That may happen as IP addresses don’t specify exact locations like GPS does, but only an approximate location.
• When the police arrive, they believe they are responding to a situation with a high probability of violence, in the meantime when the prankster watches this they may play out on the news and cause a lot of troubles.
• This sort of dangerous prank is often carried out by minors with little regard for the consequences of their actions.

Tips to Protect Your Children from Online Swatting Game

In order to protect the children, first you need to ensure that they don’t post any information that could allow someone to determine your location in any public place. Some users who have been trapped in this game in the past left their addresses on their Steam profiles. If someone tries to SWAT you using an IP address, the prankster will not be able to determine your real location but an approx. location. By following some simple tips, you can easily protect your child. These are the tips to protect your children from online swatting game:

• If you’re using the same username that you have used on a couple of other online platforms then next time onwards be cautious before opening multiple accounts on any of the social media platforms because you may end up harassing yourself.
• You should remove all Personal and Location Information from the kids’ profiles as many times the marketers may get all our information from the Facebook account, Instagram account, and our online searches.
• You should educate children about the dangers of online swatting game. Children can be an easy catch for someone interested in gathering your information.
• It is the responsibility of you to guide children regarding the hazards of using WiFi. When a child easily gets access to wifi they tend to use it. You should always make use of parental controls to keep an eye on the activities of your child on various social media platforms.

iKeyMonitor Helps In Avoiding Swatting Game

In order to avoid the risks of swatting game, it is not possible to completely prevent the usage of the Internet on your children’s device. By taking some simple precautionary steps parents can easily protect children from the hazards of this game. iKeyMonitor makes the process much easier it enables you to remotely keep a check on the activities of the child and take the necessary steps. These are the ways by which iKeyMonitor help in avoiding the swatting game:

• You can blcok specific apps or games on your child’s device by using iKeyMonitor.
• You are able to monitor child’s online activities and check the monitoring logs remotely.
• You can also set screen time limit to restrict the time your child spend on smartphone.

Today, the swatting game has become a common prank. It is essential for the parents to keep a track of the child and ensure that they don’t become part of the prank as that may make them prone to various other problems. So, for protecting yourself and your child from becoming part of such incidents always make use of iKeyMonitor and ensure complete safety.