A Twitch streamer was swatted live on air in front of thousands of his viewers, but managed to avoid any unfortunate mishaps as a result of one of the officers being a Twitch viewer.
Streamer Jeff Zito, known as trixxyTrix on Twitch, was the unfortunate victim of a swatting attempt last week. Swatting is the illegal practice of calling the authorities to a streamer’s home, reporting that they have carried out a major crime in order for police or, in more extreme cases, a SWAT team to arrive and disrupt their stream. It’s an incredibly dangerous tactic employed by the internet’s most underhanded trolls, but in this one instance, it actually led to a pleasant exchange between the streamer and the cops who had been called in to arrest him.
Zito was in the middle of a Counter-Strike: Global Offensive session when one of his viewers threatened him with swatting, claiming that they knew his address. After an indignant Zito dared the viewer to do so, the cops showed up at his door after receiving a bomb threat, with Zito periodically disappearing from the stream while he talked with them.
Also: Gamer Charged With “Swatting” Hoax That Led to a 20-Year-Old Being Shot
However, whereas such a situation typically results in the streamer having to nervously explain swatting to the officers and prove their innocence, this time around one of the officers was fully aware of the trolling technique and of Twitch itself. The resulting conversation, in which the officer has to explain Twitch to his peers, is as hilarious as it is surreal.
Trying to make sense of Twitch, one of the officers in the stream said: “So these guys just make crazy money doing nothing?” The other cop replies: “Not doing nothing, living the dream!” Speaking after the incident, Zito thanked the officers for their incredibly laid back reaction to the swatting attempt. Check it out below:
