Brief: Swatting attacks—hoax emergency calls that trigger armed police responses—are now targeting Canadian small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). From real-world trauma and financial losses to reputational harm and client trust erosion, the stakes are high—especially for legal, healthcare, and other professional services firms.
In this guide, we break down what a swatting attack is, why it’s evolving into a ransomware tactic, and how your business can protect itself. You’ll get real case studies, practical prevention strategies, and access to a free dark web scan to assess your exposure.
“The best way to predict the future is to create it.” – Peter Drucker
A 10am Call. A Police Raid. A Day in Chaos.
At 10:03am on a quiet Tuesday, Bright Smile Dental—a 12-person clinic in Kingston, Ontario—was running business as usual. Patients were mid-cleaning. Phones rang. Appointments flowed.
Then, the receptionist picked up a call: someone claimed a former employee had returned to the office with a weapon.
By 10:15, police had swarmed the building.
Patients were evacuated mid-procedure. Staff were interrogated. Streets were locked down. The clinic shut its doors for the day—and for several after.
But it was all a lie.
The call had been placed using a spoofed number. Investigators later discovered the attacker had accessed internal staff data through a third-party vendor breach. Bright Smile Dental was targeted using real employee information—and weaponised fear.
The result? Four days of cancellations, $15,000 in lost revenue, and a traumatised team.
What Are Swatting Attacks?
Swatting attacks involve a fabricated emergency call to law enforcement, designed to provoke a high-risk, often armed, police response. Attackers report violent threats—hostage situations, gunmen, bomb threats—at a targeted business or home.
Once considered a problem for online streamers and gamers, swatting has now entered the professional sphere.
According to CSO Online, criminals are using leaked data from corporate breaches to target executives, board members, and organisations—especially in the legal, healthcare, and financial services sectors.
Why Swatting Attacks Are Rising—and Why SMBs Should Worry
Swatting incidents have more than doubled over the last decade, with FBI data showing a rise from 400 cases in 2011 to over 1,000 in 2019. In Canada, police agencies from Ontario to British Columbia are reporting increased awareness and response efforts.
What’s fuelling swatting attacks?
- Leaked data on the dark web: Credentials, emails, internal org charts—all easily found after a breach.
- Spoofing technology: Cheap and accessible, allowing calls to appear local or internal.
- Evolving tactics: Swatting is no longer just about disruption. It’s now a tool for extortion.
Swatting Meets Ransomware: The Next Stage of Threat
As reported by KnowBe4, some ransomware gangs are now pairing encryption attacks with swatting calls. When their ransom demands are ignored, they escalate—by swatting executives or office locations.
This convergence means attackers aren’t just targeting your data—they’re using your physical safety and public reputation as leverage.
The message is chillingly clear: Pay up, or we make this personal.
The Impact of Swatting Attacks on Canadian Businesses
Swatting isn’t a digital inconvenience—it’s a full-spectrum business threat:
- Employee Safety and Psychological Trauma: Armed officers entering a workplace creates serious emotional and psychological fallout. Staff may require counselling or time off, and workplace morale can nosedive.
- Business Disruption: Evacuations and police investigations mean lost billable hours, cancelled appointments, and days of operational downtime.
- Property Damage: Officers may use force to enter premises or search facilities, causing damage to equipment or infrastructure.
- Reputational Harm: Clients may not distinguish between a hoax and a real threat. In sectors like law and healthcare, reputation is your currency—and swatting can devalue it instantly.
- Confidentiality Risks: Swatting is often the tip of a larger social engineering iceberg. Attackers using internal knowledge may also be probing for access to client data, intellectual property, or financial systems.
Case in Point: Kitchener, Ontario
In 2023, Waterloo Regional Police charged a youth in connection with multiple swatting incidents targeting locations across Kitchener. (source)
The attacker used caller ID spoofing and anonymisation tools to trigger police responses under false pretences. While no physical harm occurred, the damage to public trust, emergency response resources, and targeted individuals was significant.
If a lone attacker can do this, imagine what an organised ransomware group could orchestrate.
Why Professional Services SMBs Are Targeted
Canadian SMBs in professional services—typically 200–500 employees—sit in the crosshairs for several reasons:
- High-value data but limited cyber budgets
- Lean internal teams without full-time cyber staff
- Vendor reliance leading to third-party risk exposure
- Client confidentiality and trust as business-critical assets
Swatting is tailored to disrupt trust-heavy, people-centric firms where perception is everything.
How to Defend Against Swatting Attacks
You need to treat swatting as both a cybersecurity issue and a crisis management challenge. Here’s how:
- Strengthen Your Cyber Security Posture
- Managed Detection and Response (MDR): Catch abnormal user behaviour before it escalates.
- Firewalls and Endpoint Protection: Limit lateral movement inside your systems.
- Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): Reduce the risk of account takeover.
- Dark Web Monitoring: Proactively identify if your organisation’s data is for sale or exposed.
- Train Your Team
Educate staff on phishing, spoofing, and emerging tactics like swatting. Include real-world drills and tabletop exercises covering:
- Emergency response coordination
- Internal communications
- Client handling during crisis events
- Build a Swatting-Specific Incident Response Plan
- Designate an internal security lead or team
- Establish direct communication protocols with local police
- Create pre-approved client messaging for swatting incidents
- Coordinate with your cyber insurer on incident documentation
- Review Legal & Insurance Protections
- Ensure cyber insurance covers social engineering and third-party risks
- Document training, drills, and policies to support your legal defensibility
- Work with an MSSP Like F12
F12 delivers:
- 24/7 monitoring and incident alerting
- Custom response plans and crisis simulations
- Dark web scan and credential exposure checks
- Regulatory guidance for compliance and reporting
Free Dark Web Scan for Canadian SMBs
Is your business already exposed on the dark web?
F12 is offering a free dark web scan for Canadian SMBs in professional services. Know if your staff credentials, emails, or sensitive data are circulating in criminal forums—before someone uses it against you.
Final Thoughts: Take This Threat Seriously—Before It Hits Home
Swatting attacks aren’t theoretical. They’re here. They’re being used to intimidate, disrupt, and extort Canadian businesses like yours. The next one could be hours—not years—away.
Your best defence isn’t a firewall. It’s a mindset. Be proactive. Be prepared. And if you need help building your response plan, F12 is here to support you.
References
- Waterloo Regional Police: Swatting Charges – 2023
- KnowBe4: Swatting as Ransomware Tactic – 2024
- CSO Online: Swatting Targets Executives – 2024
- FBI: Swatting Incident Statistics (2011–2019)
- Canadian Centre for Cyber Security: SMB Guidance
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q1. What is a swatting attack and how does it affect Canadian businesses?
A: A swatting attack is a criminal hoax where someone falsely reports a violent incident—such as an armed intruder or hostage situation—to emergency services, prompting an armed police response to a specific location. For Canadian SMBs, particularly in professional services, swatting can result in operational shutdowns, staff trauma, reputational harm, and financial losses. It’s increasingly used in cyber extortion tactics like ransomware.
Q2 Why are professional services firms being targeted by swatting attacks
A: Legal, accounting, healthcare, and consulting firms are attractive targets because they handle sensitive client data, often lack dedicated in-house cyber teams, and rely heavily on their reputations. Swatting attackers often use data found on the dark web to make the threat more credible—making professional services SMBs particularly vulnerable.
Q3. Are swatting attacks becoming more common in Canada?
A: Yes. While exact numbers are harder to track than in the US, police forces across Canada—including Waterloo Regional Police—have reported a rise in swatting incidents. As spoofing technology becomes more accessible and more business data is leaked online, the frequency and sophistication of these attacks are increasing.
Q4. Can a swatting attack be part of a ransomware or cyber extortion campaign?
A: Absolutely. Recent reports, including one from KnowBe4, show that some ransomware groups now use swatting as an added layer of pressure. When ransom demands go unmet, attackers escalate by targeting executives or offices with fake emergency calls to compel payment through fear and disruption.
Q5. How can my business prevent or prepare for a swatting attack?
A: The best defence is a layered approach:
- Strengthen cyber security with tools like MDR, MFA, and dark web monitoring.
- Train employees on cyber awareness and emergency protocols.
- Create a swatting-specific incident response plan in partnership with local law enforcement.
- Work with a trusted MSSP like F12 to get tailored protection, real-time monitoring, and proactive planning. Start by booking a free dark web scan to see if your business is already exposed.
