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This Is the Group That's Been Swatting US Universities


WIRED spoke to a self-proclaimed leader of an online group called Purgatory, which charged as little as $20 to call in fake threats against schools.

A self-proclaimed leader of an online group linked to the violent extremist network The Com tells WIRED he is responsible for the flurry of hoax active-shooter alerts at universities across the US in recent days as students return to school. The FBI told The Washington Post that it’s investigating and, in a statement to The New York Times, said it is “seeing an increase in swatting events across the country, and we take potential hoax threats very seriously because it puts innocent people at risk.” The agency did not immediately respond to WIRED’s request for comment. “Knowingly providing false information to emergency service agencies about a possible threat to life drains law enforcement resources, costs thousands of dollars and, most importantly, puts innocent people at risk,” the FBI added.

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