14 DAY TRIAL // LA rapper The Game claims that someone hacked into his Twitter account and encouraged people to call the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, therefore disrupting its ability to receive emergency calls at one station.
A message posted Friday from The Game's Twitter account instructed users to call the LASD Compton station's number if they wanted an internship.
The rapper has 580,000 followers so it's no wonder that people starting calling at the same time brought the station's emergency phone system down to a halt.
This attracted the attention of Captain Mike Parker of LASD who tweeted: "@TheGame U Tweeted phone# of #LASD #Compton Sheriff & said 2 call 4 internship when there is none. Lg.vol.calls R compromising publicsafety."
The Game deleted the tweet and tried to distance himself from the incident by claiming that one of his childhood friends - Twitter handle @wackstar - was responsible.
"@wackstar hacked my Twitter earlier..... Arrest him police... He is to blame," the rapper wrote. "@wackstar you betta sleep wit jeans on tonite homie..... Sheriffs come knockin' don't be in ya pajamas. #NotAGoodLook," he added.
The Game told TMZ that he was in the middle of a photo shoot when the whole incident happened and that his friend took his phone and posted the messages on Twitter.
He also claims that he didn't receive messages from the police asking him to tell his followers to stop calling, this being the reason why he didn't act quicker.
Because the incident compromised public safety by preventing legitimate calls from going through, The Game or whoever sent the messages could face criminal charges.
If the rapper is telling the truth and it was his friend who did it, the incident is a reminder of why people should protect their mobile devices with a strong password known only to them. Assuming someone else's identity is a serious thing and even pranks between friends can have serious consequences.