"Spoofing" and hoaxes are downsides of just about any Internet application, and VoIP apparently is no exception. A Vancouver, Canada family apparently was the recent victim of just such a hoax, where it appears an emergency call resulted in a SWAT team being dispatched in response to a "911" call indicating that a man had killed several people and was holding more hostage.

The call was a hoax, an example of “swatting,” where bogus 911 callers trick police into sending out a SWAT team....