[lbotos]

I don't have stats for you, but it's been written about before:

http://www.theverge.com/2013/4/23/4253014/swatting-911-prank...

also:

http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2013/september/the-crime-of-...

Seem's to be a relatively new thing in the ever-escalating war for the "lulz"...

[tinco]

IIRC, the term swatting stems from the eighties, perhaps even earlier by phreakers and such. It could be that it's more popular now, since there are more hackers/douchebags on the internet now than there were then.