Cowell Prank 911 Call: ‘X-Factor’ Judge Latest Victim Of Swatting [VIDEO]

Simon Cowell is the latest celebrity to be punked by a new prank trend called 'swatting,' a term for placing a fake 911 call in order to get police to rush to a celebrity's home. So far, Ashton Kutcher, Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber have been targets of the prank.

Simon Cowell's 911 prank involved a female caller dialing 911 to report that the 'X-Factor' judge was bound, gagged and being held hostage in his Beverly Hills home. Police rushed to his estate only to discover Cowell at home safe and sound.

Police are not amused.

Sources inside the LAPD told TMZ that if the swatting continues it's likely that someone will die. It could be an innocent bystander mistaken for a gun-wielding kidnapper, or an indirect casualty like someone waiting for EMT help that's been diverted on a false emergency call.

The LAPD is aggressively investigating the calls and reportedly has several leads, including "electronic footprints" left by the callers. There may even be eyewitnesses to the Ashton Kutcher swatting incident, where police believe the caller was monitoring the actor's house in order to see the police response in person.

In addition to the dangers associated with swatting, there are also legitimate fiscal conerns as well. Police estimate that the response to the Kutcher swatting call, which included a helicopter, cost Los Angeles taxpayers an estimated $10,000.