Cyberstalking and online predators

Each year, more than a million women are stalked and 350,000 men. Stalking is a serious problem and can have dangerous consequences for the victim.

With the advent of the internet, there is now a new environment for cyber stalkers and online predators. Millions of children, adolescents and adults create billions of Internet exchanges every day. With the addition of the cell phone and text messaging, the daily exchange number reaches into the billions. Digital technology, telecommunications and the cyberspace environment are now hunting grounds for online predators.

Cyberbullying was predicted to be inevitable for 15 years, but it was only recently that parents, youth, and community agencies began to focus on this growing problem. To exemplify how this warning has been explained for more than a decade, the Department of Justice (hereinafter “DOA”) wrote and published the 1999 Report on Cyberbullying: A New Challenge for Law Enforcement and Industry.

12 years ago, the respected Department of Justice (DOJ) published a report defining cyberbullying, dangers to children, and cyberbullying resources. In this report, the Justice Department is not only thorough, but also prescient. They clearly stated the problems of cyberbullying and predicted that the number of online predators would increase with each passing year.

Twelve years have passed and the Justice Department got its predictions right. Although the resources they provide are all highly reputable with excellent information, Working to Halt Online Abuse (WHOA), National Center for Victims of Crime, CyberAngels, and the DOJ’s National Cybercrime Training Partnership are four organizations with incredible resources and educational tools.

For those interested in expanding their knowledge base on cyber stalkers and online predators, the International Association of Computer Research Specialists (IACIS) is a reputable organization.

Its mission as stated on its website is “IACIS® is an international voluntary non-profit corporation comprised of law enforcement professionals dedicated to education in the field of computer forensics. IACIS members represent law enforcement professionals. federal, state, local and international. Regular IACIS members have been trained in the forensic science of seizure and processing of computer systems. “

While experts like the DOJ and IACIS are working to stop online predators, the number of cyber stalkers will continue to grow and it should be up to citizens themselves to learn how to reduce their potential to become a future victim.

Cyberbullying refers to a man, a woman, or a group of people who use the Internet, email, or any other electronic communication device to stalk another person. Stalking is defined as behavior in which a person voluntarily and repeatedly engages in conduct directed at another person which, if known to the victim, can cause great concern and fear. Stalking generally involves harassing or threatening behavior in which an individual or group repeatedly engages as the target of a victim (s). Cyberbullying is the same, but includes the methods of intimidation and harassment through electronic communication.

Most stalking laws in the United States require the offender (s) to make a credible threat of violence against the victim. In addition to directly threatening the victim with harm, threatened family members can also be grounds for arrest. Depending on state law, the alleged harasser’s course of conduct may constitute an implied threat. The National Center for Victims of Crime is a dedicated association that can help you locate and define state harassment laws and how to proceed.

While some cyber stalking and stalking behaviors that involve annoying or annoying behavior fall short of illegal stalking, these behaviors can be the prelude to more intense stalking and violence. The goal is to treat these actions as serious and not to minimize them. Although these behaviors could be defined as bullying, the time to get proactive is when awareness of these actions becomes apparent.

Cyber ​​bullies are often motivated by negative emotions or serious psychological factors. Psychiatric illness, obsessions, revenge, hatred, anger and jealousy are common affective states that feed the cyber bully. Sometimes the victim may not even know or have never met the cyberbully, signaling another red alert flag. Once any signs of harassment or stalking are known, the next immediate step is to contact local authorities. Although contacting local authorities may seem over the top or drastic, the potential result of not doing so can be far worse.

One of the resources recommended by the Department of Justice for investigating cyberbullying is the nonprofit organization Working to Halt Online Abuse (WHOA). Its president, Ms. Jayne Hitchcock, is one of the leading experts on cyberbullying and cybercrime in the country. In 2010, the WHOA published the results of its decade-long study on cyberbullying. 2010 Cyberstalking Statistics is an eye-opening study of survey information compiled over a ten-year period. The results of this report will motivate anyone who accesses the Internet and uses it regularly.

The methods that the cyberbully uses range from beginner to advanced. The more advanced they are in new electronic technology, the more competent they will become in targeting their victim. One of the methods that few victims are aware of and used by the cyber stalker is called cyber or digital surveillance. Cyber ​​surveillance has both positive and negative applications. In the wrong hands, cyber surveillance can be deadly.

Also called Digitally Mediated Surveillance (DMS), this advanced technology is becoming increasingly prevalent and more accessible to those looking to protect their environment and those looking to spy on others. Every time a person goes online, sends text messages, or uses anything else that involves electronic communications, it produces an increasing flow of personal digital data of interest to other people. As DMS becomes more accessible to the general population, unsuspecting victims will have to be more careful.

A cyber stalker using cyber surveillance does not initially pose a direct physical threat to his potential victim, but follows the victim’s online activity to gather information about their personal habits and contacts. After collecting enough data, he begins to make threats and other forms of verbal intimidation. The anonymity provided to the cyberbully by online interactions greatly reduces the likelihood of identification.

This veil of invisibility and low probability of identification makes cyberbullying much more common than physical bullying. Although cyberbullying may seem relatively harmless to the younger generation or veteran online users, it can easily turn into psychological and emotional damage. As part of the evolution of cyberbullying and victim inactivity, covert hidden bullying can lead to actual physical bullying and / or physical / sexual assault.

Cyber ​​stalkers and online predators target their victims through websites, chat rooms, discussion forums, message boards, blogs, email, and text messages. The availability of free email, website space, and the frequency of use of electronic communications provides the online predator with a fingerprint. By having access to this information along with anonymity, the rise of cyberbullying in the form of bullying becomes as clear as day.

The cyberbully begins by quickly doing a search on Google or a search engine using the person’s alias, real name or email address or any other personal data. Other ways to collect personal information, which one would consider innocuous, is by investigating the public profile of the victim available on any social networking site such as Facebook or MySpace.

Cyberbullying is a rapidly growing form of cybercrime in communities across the country. Cyberbullying is when a person is followed, monitored, harassed and persecuted online. Whether the victim knows it or not, their privacy is invaded, their every move is monitored, and their personal information is slowly collected. Once you are aware that bullying is taking place, this form of bullying often disrupts the life of the victim and leaves her feeling very scared, threatened and worried.

Cyberbullying generally occurs with women harassed by men, but women in a higher proportion stalk men more and more. Current figures put the gender ratio at 3-1 and women are harassed three times more. One of the fastest growing victim segments is children harassed by adult predators, pedophiles, and their peer groups.

The obvious difference between physical stalking and cyber stalking is that the cyber stalker does not have to open your door. Everything you do can be done online and protected by anonymity. Cyber ​​bullies don’t need to leave your home to find and harass their targets. By having this anonymity, they do not fear physical violence or the victim’s loved ones, as they cannot be physically touched in cyberspace. They also feel confident that legal intervention is unlikely given their invisibility.

They basically have a free ticket to act and behave without repercussions. Given this blanket that prevents identification, they can be thousands of miles apart, as close as a neighbor or even closer as a relative. Your unknown potential, your geographic whereabouts, or your motivations can be a chilling experience.

Cyberbullying and online predators engaging in these behaviors are growing with each passing year. Although organizations such as the Department of Justice and the National Center for Victims of Crime work diligently to educate the public, society continues to ignore the predators that lurk in cyberspace. The reasoning for the public’s refusal to educate themselves and / or children probably lies in an honest denial. By not claiming that these dangers are real, people do not have to worry or limit the information they disclose online.

Cyber ​​stalkers and online predators depend on the public not educating themselves on the steps necessary to reduce their potential to become the predator’s next target. The steps required for reasonable online protection and security are pretty straightforward and straightforward. Educate yourself and your loved ones about the predator profile, set limits on personal information disclosed online, avoid engaging in social exchanges with people you don’t know, familiarize yourself with local laws on cyberbullying, and always have contact information of the local authorities in hand.