In short
- If there is a concrete danger, call 112 (Italy) or 117 (Switzerland) straight away.
- Take every threat seriously, even if it looks like a bluff, and report it.
- Agree a few simple rules with your family: do not reply, do not give out information, warn each other at once, use a code word.
- In Italy, a serious threat can in some cases be prosecuted even without a complaint from the victim; in Switzerland, victim support (142) also helps relatives.
When an online shaming campaign is not enough to break the victim, the people behind it sometimes turn to the family: messages to a mother or siblings, calls from foreign numbers, threats of violence, sometimes with details about the home or daily routine. It is one of the most frightening moments. This guide helps you protect the people close to you.
1. If there is a concrete danger
Call 112 in Italy or 117 in Switzerland right away. Do not wait until you have “all the evidence”: screenshots of the messages and the numbers they come from are enough.
If an address has been published, warn the people who live there and a trusted person in the neighbourhood, and tell the police.
2. A simple plan for the family
Threats work when they find people who are alone and unprepared. A few rules, agreed together, are enough:
- Explain calmly what is happening, especially to older relatives. People who know what to expect are less frightened and do not fall into traps.
- Do not answer messages and calls from unknown or foreign numbers, and do not call them back.
- Do not give information over the phone: where you live, where you work, who is at home, your schedules.
- Warn each other at once when something strange happens.
- A code word helps you recognise fake calls from people pretending to be a relative or the police.
- On WhatsApp, turn on “Silence unknown callers”: the calls do not ring but stay in the list, and serve as evidence.
- Save everything: screenshots showing the number, date and time, voice messages, the call log.
3. What the law says
In Italy
- A threat is a crime (Article 612 of the Italian Criminal Code). If it is serious, or made in certain ways, for example anonymously or by several people together, it can be prosecuted even without a complaint from the victim.
- Repeated harassment and threats that cause you anxiety, make you fear for yourself or your loved ones, or force you to change your habits are stalking (“atti persecutori”, Article 612-bis), punished more severely when committed through digital means. For this crime, the complaint must as a rule be filed within 6 months.
- If the perpetrator is known, you can ask the Questore (the provincial police chief) for a formal warning (“ammonimento”): an official warning that can stop the behaviour without a trial.
In Switzerland
- A threat is a crime (Article 180 of the Swiss Criminal Code).
- Since 1 January 2026 there is a crime of stalking (Article 181b): persistently pursuing, pestering or threatening someone, seriously limiting their freedom to live their life.
- Many of these crimes are prosecuted only on a criminal complaint, with a deadline that is as a rule 3 months.
Check the deadlines with a lawyer: they depend on your case.
4. Who to turn to, including for relatives
- Switzerland: victim support (142) is free and confidential, and helps relatives too of a person who has suffered a crime. In Zurich there is the Opferberatung Zürich.
- Italy: 1522 for violence and stalking, which directs you to anti-violence centres; for emotional support, Telefono Amico (02 2327 2327).
- All contacts are in Who can help you.
5. “Swatting”: what it is and why you should not panic
Swatting is a false emergency call made to send the police to someone’s home. In the United States the FBI reports it as a real problem. In Italy and Switzerland we have not found documented cases. But if someone threatens to do it to you, tell the police when you report: knowing that the address is at risk helps the people who answer the calls.
What to do now
- Concrete danger: 112 (Italy) or 117 (Switzerland).
- Gather the family and agree on the rules in point 2.
- Save the evidence and report.
- Ask for help for your relatives too: Who can help you.
- Also read: what to do if your address has been published and the page Someone is threatening me or my family.
Updated 14 October 2026. General information, not legal advice.