California was the first state to do so in when it introduced a new electronic stalking law under Penal Code In Canada, the Department of Justice outlines cyberstalking under its criminal harassment law.
Section 1. Criminal harassment can be conducted through a computer system, including the Internet. The elements of the offence remain the same, it is just that technological tools are used to commit the offence. The Protection of Freedoms Act amended the former and introduced a new section 2A. Offence of stalking. In Australia, the Stalking Amendment Act covers cyberstalking. When it meets other specific criteria, this can constitute a form of stalking.
There has been debate about some cyberstalking laws as there are cases in which there is a fine line between cyberstalking and free speech. However, these cases are more often those that concern public figures such as politicians. As you can see from the experience of others or perhaps your own, online stalking is a serious matter.
Thankfully, there are lots of things you can do to help mitigate online stalking before or after it has begun. Of course, this is not to say that anyone invites this sort of activity. Rather, these tips will help lock down your digital privacy, limiting the ability of a malicious party to discover information about you and access your online accounts. In the age of social media, it can be very tempting to share information about yourself, even if you feel uncomfortable doing so. Sharing quickly becomes oversharing and social media has made it trivially simple for criminals including stalkers to track and torment their victims.
Posting information about your home and family, your place of work, or where you like to hang out can be dangerous. Sharing your personal email address or phone number online is also a bad idea.
OSINT Open-Source Intelligence refers to intelligence consisting of information collected from publicly available sources , including social media sites, public records, and chat forums.
It can be used for constructive purposes such as improving your digital privacy or helping locate missing persons, but it can also be used maliciously. With a little know-how, you can follow the OSINT framework to see what information is available about you online and then take the necessary steps to remove that information. They may even pose as their victim, for example, to ascertain information about their relationship with someone, or to spread hate messages on their behalf.
One of the first things you can do to remove your personal information online is to reach out to people search directories and have them delete your information. Did you know that sites like BeenVerified, Intelius, and Spokeo scrape information from social media sites to create online directories?
These are mainly intended for use by marketers, but could easily be used by online stalkers. To remove your profile for these sites, most of them require that you fill out an opt-out form.
Others make it more difficult and require that you subscribe to the service or mail a request along with copies of identification. With more than a dozen such sites out there, this can be a tedious task. Along the same lines, posting or revealing information about your location is not a good idea. Online harassment can quickly progress to offline stalking.
Geotagging photos is also an issue and is something that many users are unaware of. Cellphone cameras often have built-in location tracking so when you post a photo to social media, the location in which the image was taken may also be disclosed.
You should be able to switch off this feature in your device settings. If you are having issues with someone, block them right away. On other platforms such as Twitter and Instagram, you can block specific profiles from following or messaging you.
This piece of advice is doled out time and again, but it remains an important one. If you use the same password across accounts, it only takes one data breach to enable criminals to hack into multiple social profiles, email platforms, and other accounts.
In addition, if someone has your email password and that email is linked to other accounts, it can be used to change the password for those accounts. This is because most password reset options work by sending you a reset link to your email. Many cases of cyberstalking involve a former or existing spouse or partner , someone who may be privy to account credentials. While these are two slightly different processes, the terms 2FA and 2SV are often used interchangeably. Enabling two-factor authentication means that two steps are required to access an account, or in some cases, make account changes.
One step usually requires a password, and the second might involve an email or text confirmation, or a form of biometric identification such as a fingerprint or face scan. These simply add an extra layer of protection to your accounts. However, as mentioned, if someone has access to your email account, or your phone for that matter, they may be able to bypass these safeguards. Social media sites, such as Facebook, Instagram , and Twitter come with built-in privacy settings that you can adjust.
For example, Facebook lets you decide who can see your profile, posts, friend lists, and friend requests. It should be noted that these settings are usually set to give you the least privacy by default. In addition, these features are liable to change from time to time. Be wary of emails that request you respond to with any personal information. Check that they are genuinely coming from the purported sender by examining the email address for authenticity.
Going back to the issue of webcam hacking briefly, this is a real problem that impacts victims across the globe. As a follow-on to the last tip, you may be concerned that someone has installed a spy app on your device. For example, a partner or ex-partner with physical access to your device can install an app that can track your location or spy on your communications. Or you could have unknowingly downloaded spyware from a malicious email or text. We go into detail about how to detect and remove spyware in a dedicated post.
If a stalker is trying to install malware on your device, one of your first lines of defense is good antivirus software. This will detect and block many malicious programs before they can find their way on to your device. Note that you can install antivirus software on your mobile devices too.
I have trouble with browsers when I purchased groceries. The wrong amount is on my orders ticket. It makes me feel that someone is watching my every moves. I report this because I do not know what to do. It happen on Google browser and Edge browsers also.
My upstairs neighbors and neighbors across the street are video stalking us.. Then go back and remove your original Admin user and just make that as just a user. Dont use your New admin account at all. This will be one of the steps to take to be secure. I believe he has remote control over my phone and computers, as well as can see every letter I type in, and can record personal conversations, phone calls, and take pictures though my cameras. He can get into even my cloud files and delete evidence I try to get.
Such apps should require special registration and some cyber security organization of the government should monitor those who use them! I received a notification that my phone has been hacked 6 times. Modern technology is a necessary evil in my opinion. The Federal Trade Commission FTC has a lot of reference information to help consumers beware of scams and report scams. You can subscribe for emails to let you know… What up…. Would a cell phone lighting up whenever a human sound is made during the night be a sign that the phone may be being used as a listening device?
Have been testing this at different amplitudes and it comes on at the lowest whisper. Your email address will not be published. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.
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This blog is provided for informational purposes only and may require additional research and substantiation by the end user. With cyberstalking, the offender can be in another part of the world and still harass their victim. Some stalkers find cyberstalking more appealing because they can easily pursue their victims from distant locations.
They know that jurisdictional issues are more complex if the victim is not in the same state as the stalker. Traditional stalkers follow their victims, and they usually make face-to-face contact. Cyberstalkers typically have a high level of computer proficiency, which they use to conceal their identity. They can use several providers to hide their location and IP address.
While a traditional stalker usually makes physical contact with their victim at some point, cyberstalkers rarely find their victims in the real world.
Police tend to underestimate the seriousness of cyberstalking, mostly due to the lack of physical contact, which is wrong.
Internet stalking can have traumatic consequences, and therefore should not be taken lightly. Cyberstalkers can have different motives for harassment. They can target one person or a group of people. Offenders can be:.
Before learning how to protect yourself from internet stalkers, you need to understand what it is. Widely speaking, cyberstalking refers to the use of the Internet with the purpose of harassing, attacking, and embarrassing an individual. Here are some typical examples of cyberstalking:. Read more about what it means when the offender is harassing you. If somebody causes you harm unintentionally, they are not considered a cyberstalker. Friends who send too many messages do not qualify as harassers either.
The legal definition of cyberstalking varies across jurisdictions. Some states will qualify internet stalking offenses as misdemeanors, but if the stalkers are persistent, they can end up being convicted as felons. This means that the victim needs to prove that the stalker had malicious intent to cause harm to them. In the United States, cyberstalking is a criminal offense.
The first anti-cyberstalking law was passed in California in Although there is no legal act dedicated to cyber harassment in the U. S, some federal laws govern online stalking to a degree. In the table below, you will find which laws tackle internet harassment. Copyright Act.
Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. Federal Extortion Blackmail and Travel Act. Cyberstalking is one of the fastest-growing areas of cybercrime. Online harassment can happen to anyone, and the anonymity makes it hard to track down and prosecute the stalker. It is essential to protect yourself from online stalkers and minimize the chances of falling prey to online harassers. Using social networks and online platforms is beneficial if carried out with caution.
Following these tips can help you stay safe to some extent while browsing online. Popular targets of cyberstalking are adolescents and teenagers. Women experience cyberstalking more than men.
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