After cops swarmed the Studio City mansion of Miley Cyrus last week based on a false report of a home invasion with shots fired, experts are warning that such hacker-like pranks, called SWAT-ting, are all the rage with teens.

And this could be (cue Fox 11 News-announcer-voice) dangerous for your child.

The thing with SWAT-ting, apparently, is that it’s too easy, especially for the overindulged, bratty, unbearable kids of today who have way too much free time.

The folks from the site uKnowKids sent us a handy primer on this devious activity, noting that teens can easily mask their phone numbers via services such as Spoofcard. This and other apps also let them change their voices.

This is, then, way too much technology for the LAPD.

Seriously, though: Calling out rifle-toting officers and a chopper to a celebrity’s house costs money and takes resources away from other communities.

Internet safety expert Tim Wod says:

Many teens who engage in online gaming, chat rooms or social media may be at risk. Miley Cyrus and a few politicians have already been victims of this vengeful act.

As it stands the Cyrus caller, if he/she is ever found, could be on the hook for a year behind bars under California law. But it’s still a misdemeanor.

uKnowKids says that legislation is in the works nationwide that would see much as $10,000 worth of fines and four years behind bars for SWAT-ting convicts.

So forget sexting, drugs and The Hunger Games. The real danger for teens these days is learning how to game 911.

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Los Angeles police said Thursday they were tracking the hoaxster whose call sent at least a dozen officers and firefighters to singer Miley Cyrus’ home Wednesday evening. 

“We responded to a call of a kidnapping in progress, one person shot, at an address on Amanda Drive” at 6:50 p.m. PT, a police representative told ABC News, which confirmed the location as Cyrus’ mansion.

After approaching the house with guns drawn, police determined no one was home and that it had been a false call. Law enforcement officials said it was a possible “swatting,” in which pranksters call in fake emergencies in order to have a SWAT team converge on a location.

Cyrus was not at home. During the past week, she has been spotted with her fiance, Liam Hemsworth, on the Philadelphia set of his film “Paranoia,” MTV.com said.

In California, making a false 911 call is a misdemeanor with penalties of up to a year in jail.

(source)