AI Threat Watch

Case torswats-synthetic-voice-school-swattingDeepfake abuseUnited States

Torswats swatting service uses synthesized voices to phone bomb and shooting threats to US high schools

Motherboard found that a Telegram swatting-for-hire account, Torswats, used computer-generated voices in 33 of 35 recorded calls threatening bombings and mass shootings at high schools and other targets, charging $75 to close a school. The operator, a California teenager who was 16 when most calls were made, pleaded guilty to four federal counts and was sentenced in February 2025 to four years in prison for more than 375 swatting and threat calls.

HighAttack using AIStatus: ResolvedVerified case file

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Reported
Apr 13, 2023
Location
United States
Target
US high schools, colleges, religious institutions and individuals
Severity
High
Verification
Confirmed by victim, vendor or authority
Triggered by
Torswats Telegram swatting-for-hire operator (a California teenager, not named here as he was a minor during most of the calls)
Actor type
Criminal
Sector
Education & research
Reported loss
None reported
CVE
None

What happened

Motherboard found that a Telegram swatting-for-hire account, Torswats, used computer-generated voices in 33 of 35 recorded calls threatening bombings and mass shootings at high schools and other targets, charging $75 to close a school. The operator, a California teenager who was 16 when most calls were made, pleaded guilty to four federal counts and was sentenced in February 2025 to four years in prison for more than 375 swatting and threat calls.

Impact: School lockdowns and armed police responses, including a February 2023 lockdown at Hempstead High School in Dubuque, Iowa; hundreds of false threats nationwide between August 2022 and January 2024.

Who triggered it

Actor: Torswats Telegram swatting-for-hire operator (a California teenager, not named here as he was a minor during most of the calls)

Attribution: Identified with help from a private investigator and the FBI; pleaded guilty in federal court in Florida.

Motive: Fun and financial gain, per prosecutors; swatting sold as a paid service

How it happened

Attack vector: 911 and police calls using a synthesized male or female voice, with scripts changed in near real time to answer operators

Root cause: Cheap text-to-speech tools combined with caller-ID spoofing and police reliance on unverified emergency calls

Timeline

  1. Swatting and threat calls begin
  2. Synthesized-voice bomb threat puts Hempstead High School, Dubuque, on lockdown
  3. Motherboard exposes Torswats and its computer-generated voice calls
  4. Suspect arrested in Lancaster, California
  5. Guilty plea to four federal counts reported
  6. Sentenced to 48 months in federal prison

Response

Arrested in January 2024; pleaded guilty to four counts of interstate threats in November 2024; sentenced to 48 months in prison on 11 February 2025.

Current status: Resolved

Sources (open in a new tab)

Cite this case

Torswats swatting service uses synthesized voices to phone bomb and shooting threats to US high schools. AI Threat Watch, case torswats-synthetic-voice-school-swatting, Apr 13, 2023. https://aithreat.io/cases/torswats-synthetic-voice-school-swatting/

Permanent link: https://aithreat.io/cases/torswats-synthetic-voice-school-swatting/

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