| Swatting is becoming the plague of emergency | | | | Martinez's victims, including Ms. Proulx were participants |
| workers all across the country. Swatting occurs when | | | | in a party line against whom Martinez had apparently |
| someone makes a prank call to an emergency | | | | become embittered. |
| service using a spoofed telephone number so that it | | | | In the case of the 2006 swatting calls, Martinez had |
| cannot be traced back to them. They call about a | | | | called the police at their non-emergency number, |
| hostage situation, bomb scare, or other circumstance | | | | informing the police that he had murdered Proulx family |
| that will cause the dispatch of SWAT teams. | | | | members by shooting them, and that he was currently |
| In early March, 2008, a man from Washington state did | | | | under the influence of hallucinogenic drugs. He said that |
| exactly that, spoofing his telephone number and | | | | he was holding the rest of the family hostage and |
| making a call to send armed police officers into the | | | | demanded $50,000 in cash as well as the cost of |
| private homes of 12 people who were completely | | | | transportation to cross the Mexican border or he |
| innocent of the crimes he reported on the phone. | | | | would kill the hostages with an AK-47. In those |
| However, the Caller ID spoofing did not protect this | | | | instances of swatting, Martinez spoofed his number |
| man who has now been sentenced to 30 months in | | | | using Spoofcard, making it seem as though the calls |
| prison and has been fined $24,000 for restitution to the | | | | had been made from the home of his swatting victims. |
| departments of the emergency workers who were | | | | In October of 2006, the FBI became involved when a |
| scammed. | | | | police detective informed them of the case which had |
| The very first person to ever be sentenced for | | | | then involved the same victims twice. The FBI were |
| swatting by a federal court was Guadalupe Santana | | | | quick to apprehend Martinez outside a Seattle suburb |
| Martinez. A 31 year old man, Martinez was sentenced | | | | Denny's Restaurant in January of 2007. Martinez has |
| in Dallas for many different swatting crimes along with | | | | also admitted to swatting at least ten other times since |
| 4 other admitted accomplices. These additional | | | | 2004; the majority of which occurred within the state |
| co-conspirators are scheduled to face their own | | | | of Washington. |
| sentencing within the months of March and April of | | | | Experts say that you should always take extra |
| 2008. | | | | measures to protect yourself against stop |
| In his hearing, Martinez pled guilty to conspiracy (one | | | | telemarketers and annoying calls alike, as you never |
| count) and in his plea agreement, he admitted that he | | | | know when you can become the target of something |
| was the culprit behind two other incidents of swatting | | | | more involved. |
| against Stephanie Proulx and her father in 2006. All of | | | | |