Modesto police: Fake emergency call from ‘spoofed’ phone number can’t be traced
A man’s call to the Modesto Police Department’s nonemergency response line triggered a major response for what is now being categorized as a false emergency report without many answers behind it.
The man called around 3:15 p.m. July 29, Sgt. Kalani Souza said. He told dispatch he had his parents locked inside the laundry room at a house on California Avenue and planned to kill both of them and then himself.
Dispatch learned the man possibly had a handgun, which triggered a partial SWAT team response with an unmanned aerial vehicle, armored cars and assistance from the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office. A perimeter was set up to block off traffic around the house.
A hostage negotiator was able to make contact with a woman inside the residence, who told police she was alone. Officers then were able to enter the home and confirm there was no one else inside and no evidence of the scene described by the caller.
MPD called off the scene before 4:30 p.m.
MPD spokeswoman Sharon Bear said the department tracked the phone number used by the caller to a home on Highmore Lane. Police did not find evidence of anything wrong at that address and determined the call was “spoofed,” meaning the person to whom the number belongs didn’t actually make the call.
Bear says there was no arrest made in the false report as of Wednesday and the department does not know a way to further figure out who called.
The call seemed like it could possibly be “swatting,” or making a fake call and sending police to a certain home as retaliation against someone there. However, Bear said it doesn’t seem anyone in particular was targeted in this instance.
“We don’t have any information, so we don’t know if this is someone who had a conflict or just a random (target),” Bear said.
This story was originally published August 8, 2021 at 6:23 AM.
