New Jersey Police Investigate Hostage Hoax At Home Of Cybercrime Expert Parry Aftab
WYCKOFF, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Police are trying to determine if the New Jersey home of a prominent cybercrime expert was deliberately targeted for a hostage hoax.
SWAT team members surrounded Parry Aftab's Wyckoff home for about three hours Saturday after a 911 caller said he was armed with explosives, had killed four people and taken two hostages.
The caller reportedly demanded $10,000 and wanted a police car.
The standoff ended after police shot tear gas canisters into the home and found only Aftab's cat inside. Aftab was not home.
Aftab is a frequent media commentator. She wrote the first law enforcement investigator's guide for online social networks and has testified before Congress on Internet safety.
Wyckoff Police Chief Benjamin Fox told The Record newspaper the 911 call was made through a computer that "cloned" a phone number.
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