Los Angeles ( CNN ) -- Ryan Seacrest became the latest celebrity targeted by a `` swatter '' when a hoax 911 call reported armed men were shooting their way into the `` American Idol '' host 's home Wednesday . When police arrived at Seacrest 's Beverly Hills home at about 2:40 p.m. , they found Seacrest there , but no group of armed men , a Beverly Hills police spokesman said . After speaking with Seacrest and his security team , the officers left . Seacrest joins a growing list of celebs `` swatted '' in recent months , including Rihanna , Justin Timberlake , Miley Cyrus , Chris Brown , the Kardashians , Tom Cruise , Ashton Kutcher and Justin Bieber . Russell Brand 's Hollywood Hills home was a target Monday afternoon when a 911 caller told a Los Angeles Police Department emergency dispatcher that a man with a gun was in the house . These prank calls earned the nickname `` swatting '' because law enforcement agencies sometimes would send SWAT teams to respond to the false emergencies . In most cases , though , SWAT units are not involved . Still , officers rush to the scene with guns drawn . `` It 's a very high-risk response , '' Los Angeles County sheriff 's spokesman Steve Whitmore told CNN Tuesday . `` The problem with crying wolf is that sometimes it 's not false , so we always have to respond accordingly but cautiously . '' Law enforcement agencies are `` making advances each day '' in their ability to track the calls to their origin , Whitmore said . Along with new technology , investigators have analyzed the calls to learn how to identify them . `` We 're getting better at knowing what is and what is n't a hoax , '' he said . When Rihanna 's Hollywood Hills home was swatted last week , the dispatcher suspected it was a hoax , so just one police patrol car was initially sent , LAPD Cmdr . Andrew Smith said . `` We figured it was a swatting , '' Smith said `` We really low-keyed it compared to how we 've been . '' LAPD officers are being trained on `` what to be aware of and the possibility these are swatting calls , '' Smith said . `` We 're training dispatchers to be able to recognize certain distinct characteristic of these calls and maybe change the way we dispatch them so they do n't draw as high a profile response . '' CNN 's Jack Hannah contributed to this report .
Seacrest joins a growing list of celebs `` swatted '' in recent months . Russell Brand , Rihanna , Tom Cruise are recent `` swatting '' targets . `` Swatting '' is a hoax 911 call that sends police rushing to the scene . Los Angeles police are training to identify the prank calls .