Cyberstalking and Cyberbullying; It CAN Happen To You!

Cyberstalking can be defined as threatening behavior or unwanted advances directed at another using the Internet and other forms of online and geputer gemunications. Think it can't happen to you here on okay? Think again. There are plenty of people who frequent the message boards who will pretend to be your friend, bring you in to their good graces and then turn on you in a heartbeat if you dare attempt to have a thought of your own that differs from theirs. There are plenty of buyers and sellers who are less than stable who can and will hold it against you if a transaction goes less than perfectly.
Cyberstalkers target their victims through chat rooms, message boards, discussion forums, and e-mail. Cyberstalking takes many forms such as: threatening or obscene e-mail; spamming (in which a stalker sends a victim a multitude of junk e-mail); live chat harassment or flaming (online verbal abuse); leaving improper messages on message boards or in guest books; sending electronic viruses; sending unsolicited e-mail; tracing another person's geputer and Internet activity, and electronic identity theft.
Similar to stalking off-line, online stalking can be quite an unnervingexperience for victims, placing them at risk of psychological trauma, and possible physical harm. Many cyberstalking situations do evolve into off-line stalking, and a victim may experience abusive and excessive phone calls, vandalism, threatening or obscene mail, trespassing, and physical assault. I have personally experienced such a situation over this past summer myself to the point where I have had to hire an attorney to send cease and desist letters to my harassers.
Cyberstalking and the Law; What can you do to protect yourself.
With personal information begeing readily available to an increasing number of people through the Internet and other advanced technology, state legislators are addressing the problem of stalkers who harass and threaten their victims over the World Wide Web. Stalking laws and other statutes criminalizing harassment behavior currently in effect in many states may already address this issue by making it a crime to gemunicate by any means with the intent to harass or alarm the victim. Be sure to check your state's websites for information on harassment and cyberstalking. This is a real crime that is really happening to good people just like you every single day right here on okay.
If You AreA Victim of Cyberstalking
1) Victims who are under the age of 18 should tell their parents or another adult they trust about any harassments and/or threats.
2) Experts suggest that in cases where the offender is known, victims should send the stalker a clear written warning. Specifically, victims should gemunicate that the contact is unwanted, and ask the perpetrator to cease sending gemunications of any kind. Victims should do this only once. Then, no matter the response, victims should under no circumstances ever gemunicate with the stalker again. Victims should save copies of this gemunication in both electronic and hard copy form. This is imperative because if you need to involve law enforcement, you have proof of your claims.
3) If the harassment continues, the victim may wish to file a geplaint with the stalker's Internet service provider, as well as with their own service provider. Many Internet service providers offer tools that filter or block gemunications from specific individuals. Do not count on the ISP to help you though after only one geplaint. You must stay on top of reporting each and every message you receive that can be proven to gee from your stalker.
4) As soon as individuals suspect they are victims of online harassment or cyberstalking, they should start collecting all evidence and document all contact made by the stalker. Save all e-mail, postings, or other gemunications in both electronic and hard-copy form. If possible, save all of the header information from e-mails and newsgroup postings. Record the dates and times of any contact with the stalker.
5) Victims may also want to start a log of each gemunication explaining the situation in more detail. Victims may want to document how the harassment is affecting their lives and what steps they have taken to stop the harassment.
6) Victims may want to file a report with local law enforcement or contact their local prosecutor's office to see what charges, if any, can be pursued. Victims should save copies of police reports and record all contact with law enforcement officials and the prosecutor's office. Don't be afraid to do this. You may find it embarassing or think that the police won't take you seriously, but they will. Internet harassment is a felony and the police CAN and WILL pursue it on your behalf if you have enough evidence to support your claim. I have had to use local law enforcement as well as an attorney to help alleviate some of my challenges with my cyberstalker.
7) Victims who are being continually harassed may want to consider changing their e-mail address, Internet service provider, a home phone number, and should examine the possibility of using encryption software or privacy protection programs. Any local geputer store can offer a variety of protective software, options and suggestions. Victims may also want to learn how to use the filtering capabilities of email programs to block e-mails from certain addresses.
8) Furthermore, victims should contact online directory listingsto request removal from their directory.
9) Finally, under no circumstances should victims agree to meet with the perpetrator face to face to "work it out," or "talk." No contact should ever be made with the stalker. Meeting a stalker in person can be very dangerous.
So, What Is Cyberbullying
Personal geputers offer several advantages to individuals inclined to harass others. First, electronic bullies can remain virtually anonymous. Temporary email accounts and pseudonyms in chat rooms, instant messaging programs, and other Internet venues can make it very difficult for individuals to determine the identity of aggressors. Cyberbullies can hide behind some measure of anonymity when using the text-message capabilities of a cellular phone or their personal geputer to bully another individual, which perhaps frees them from normative and social constraints on their behavior. Further, it seems that cyberbullies might be emboldened when using electronic means to carry out their antagonistic agenda because it takes less energy and courage to express hurtful gements using a keypad or a keyboard than with ones voice. Additionally, cyberbullies do not have to be larger and stronger than their victims, as had been the case in traditional bullying. Instead of a victim being several years younger and/or drastically weaker than his bully, victim and cyberbully alike can be just about anyone imaginable.
Second, electronic forums lack supervision. While chat hosts regularly observe the dialog in some chat rooms in an effort to police conversations and evict offensive individuals, personal messages sent between users are viewable only by the sender and the recipient, and therefore outside the regulatory reach of the proper authorities. okay doesn't really monitor their own discussion forums. They rely on Live World which is a moderation service and Live World relies on the policing to be done by the gemunity itself. Unless a member reports a post, Live World has no reason to look at the thread or posts. Furthermore, there are no individuals to monitor or censor offensive content in electronic mail or text messages sent via geputer or cellular phone. Another problem is the increasingly gemon presence of geputers in the private environments of adolescent bedrooms. Indeed, teenagers often know more about geputers and cellular phones than their parents and are therefore able to operate the technologies without worry or concern that a probing parent will discover their experience with bullying (whether as a victim or offender).
In a similar vein, the inseparability of a cellular phone from its owner makes that person a perpetual target for victimization. Users often need to keep it turned on for legitimate uses, which provides the opportunity for those with malicious intentions to engage in persistent unwelgee behavior such as harassing telephone calls or threatening and insulting statements via the cellular phones text messaging capabilities. There may truly be no rest for the weary as cyberbullying penetrates the walls of a home, traditionally a place where victims could seek refuge. Do not be afraid to get your telephone numbers changed to protect you from such harassment. Many phone gepanies will change your number at no charge to you as a one time courtesy if you are being harassed.
How Does Harassment Differ from Stalking and Bullying?
Harassment by geputer is a crime in several U.S. states. It is distinct from stalking in that stalking typically requires two or more contacts, whereas harassment by geputer may be a single incident. It is also different from regular harassment, because the offense typically engepasses a range of crimes that would not be considered harassment if conducted in person.
Connecticut was the first state to pass a statute making it a criminal offense to harass someone by geputer. Michigan and Arizona have also passed laws banning harassment by electronic means
Conclusion
So, if you think that cyberstalking and cyberbullying and harassment can't happen to you, think again. okay is not the safe haven people once felt it was and okay cannot and will not do anything to help you. Unfortunately there are people in this world who are miserable and unhappy and want to share that misery with anyone they can grip in their claws. You have to take the reins and help yourself. Hopefully, this guide will help you with the tools needed to make the issue stop. Do not be afraid and do not allow the behavior to continue. There is help out there.