The Group That's Been Swatting US Universities

vintagedave 14 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

> swatting—for just $20, while faked threats against hospitals, businesses, and airports can cost up to $50. The group also offered “slashings” and “brickings” for as little as $10

> Gores tells WIRED that the group had earned around $100,000 since the swatting spree began. WIRED has not independently confirmed that figure.

While vile (I can only imagine what a 'slashing' and 'bricking' are) those numbers don't add up. At $50, that's two thousand threats called in. Does that seem remotely realistic? Across the whole of the US in just the past week?

	▲	Citizen8396 13 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Unlike what the article suggests, "The Com" is not really a formal group. They tend to be younger individuals with technical skills. As you can imagine, this demographic likes to embellish for perceived credibility. Realistically, I think the $100,000 figure is a dramatic exaggeration of what they made since they started (not just the past week). This is like playing the telephone game with the average 4chan user. Nothing should be taken too literally. Still, these people have some capability. If they're smart, they'd monetize their skills legitimately before it's too late.