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AI hoaxes are deceiving 911 dispatchers, and they're only getting harder to detect

Nov 11, 2026 · Jaclyn Diaz

Originally published by NPR News Read the original

AI hoaxes are deceiving 911 dispatchers, and they're only getting harder to detect
A dispatcher with Anne Arundel County Fire Department answers a 911 emergency call from their department dispatch center in Glen Burnie, Md., in 2020. 911 dispatchers have long dealt with swatting calls, where callers report a bomb threat, mass shooting or some other kind of life-threatening emergen
A dispatcher with Anne Arundel County Fire Department answers a 911 emergency call from their department dispatch center in Glen Burnie, Md., in 2020. 911 dispatchers have long dealt with swatting calls, where callers report a bomb threat, mass shooting or some other kind of life-threatening emergen

Swatters are increasingly using AI technology that creates synthetic voices or sound effects to generate remarkably believable fake emergency calls to law enforcement.

(Image credit: Alex Edelman/AFP via Getty Images)

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