Cyber Stalking - How to put the lockdown on it!

[TåkØÐã]

I have not kept any messages but I will do so in the future. I have a local detective friend who can help me with this problem.

[Oreo]

Have you also made sure to clean out your PC so that you are sure s/he does not have anything installed which is enabling her/him to find you on every ID? Do you frequent the same chatrooms as normal?

[TåkØÐã]

Submitted to haltabuse.org Sunday, March 5, 2006:

For over a year now I keep getting messages from someone containing blatant sexual harrassment on Yahoo Messenger. I have blocked this person several times and I have changed my Yahoo ID several times and I'm still receiving these messages. I have told them to stop attempting to communicate with me. I have emails to and from Yahoo and wiredpatrol.org about this.

I emailed my local law enforcement but have not heard back from them yet. When the harrassement began I asked him politely not to contact me anymore. When he continued, I sent him instant messages on two different names stating that the harrassment had been reported to Yahoo, wiredpatrol, and my local law enforcement. He stopped for awhile, then started contacting me again with explicit messages. I sent him a short version of what the law in my state says about online harrassment:

Under Senate Act 737 Louisiana Revised Statute 14:40.3 Cyberstalking is the action of any person using electronic mail or electronic communication to communicate to another repeatedly for the purpose of threatening, terrifying, or harassing any person. Whoever commits the crime of cyberstalking shall be fined not more than two thousand dollars, or imprisoned for not more than one year, or both.

Hopefully that will deter him from attempting to contact me in the future. From now on I am saving all my instant messages, which is something I never used to do, just in case I have to file a formal police report or need something to show to an attorney.

I use ZoneAlarm AVG AntiVirus as well as several anti-spyware applications so I'm pretty sure he's not trying to access my machine in any way. I change my Yahoo ID about every 6 months, and I always us Ytunnelpro in the chat rooms. It also filters instant messages from unknown contacts.

[Oreo]

When you change your ID is it just making a new alias or a completely new ID? He may be able to figure you out by your parent ID. It seems so far that you are doing all that you can. If things get really nasty I know there is an organisation (besides the ones you've mentioned) to contact. And if nothing else works, contact a TV news affiliate and ask for the national one (of course if they do pick up your story ask that your Identity and location are kept private...perhaps they'll trace him and find he's doing it to others and write a HUGE expose. I've seen a lot of shows where this has been done and they've caught ALL sorts of people being pigs on the Internet. One way to flush out a cyber stalker is to pull away the veil they are hiding under that gives them this power to harrass others.

[TåkØÐã]

Completely new ID with blank profile

[msnDeamon]

Great information thanks

[TåkØÐã]

From haltabuse.org on Sun Mar 05, 2006:

Hopefully I'll be able to give you a hand with cutting off these unwanted Instant Messages.

The most important thing you need to do right now is not respond to anything this person says. Responding only encourages them to continue bothering and harassing you. If you get a message from them, take a deep breath and walk away from the computer if you have to. Save everything that gets sent to you, but don't respond. You've already made it clear to this person that you don't want contact with them ... you don't have to repeat it. Don't respond any more.

The simplest and most effective way to end the harassment is to configure your instant messaging program to block all users not on your buddy list. Blocking specific screen names will only work for a short period of time because the person harassing you can get around such a block by using an alias. If you block all users not on your buddy list, this can't happen.

Another option is to get a new screen name and make sure it's not associated with your current screen name in any way. If you do this, do not fill in the personal information for the profile, as this will just make you easy to find. If you feel you have to put something in there, either make it fake information or generic enough that you cannot be easily located.

I'm aware that you said you've already changed screen names. When I say that you need to create a new screen name, this means starting something over completely. Don't have it set up with any email address already associated with your current (or past) screen names. Don't fill in the profile with any personal information about you (it helps people search you out). Stay away from chat rooms where this person might know you hang around, at least for the next two weeks. Give him/her the impression that you've left permanently. Give your new identity out to people that you know and trust for now... don't advertise your information on a website or anything.

It's also possible that this person is someone you know and trust. You may want to think about that and consider running several screen names at once to see if one of them starts getting unwanted instant messages and filter it down that way.

Here are some instructions on how to increase your security on your Instant Messenger program:

Yahoo Messenger:

1. Click on Login, then Privacy Settings
2. Make sure "Ignore anyone who is not on my Friends list" is selected
3. Make sure the box for "Login as Invisible" is checked
4. It's a good idea to go through all your Preferences to make sure they are what you want them to be.

I'm available if you have any questions or want to provide clarification about your current situation and/or the extent of the harassment.




My Response:

Thanks for your quick reply to my report. I've read alot of stuff about how to respond to harrassment, and I totally agree with you on the approach that you suggest - not responding helps to discourage them from continueing with abuse and harrassment. Responding only adds fuel to the fire.

I am currently set up to block all users who are not on my friends list and to not receive communication with anyone unless I contact them first. And I always log in under invisible mode. I have also created a new Yahoo ID (not an alias associated with a previous Yahoo ID) with a profile that contains no personal information about me, not evey my sex or my age.

As for staying away from the chat room I usually frequent, that's a hard one for me because all my friends are in one chat room. However, I can stay away for a few weeks to give the impression that I've left it completely for something else. After that, I can privately inform my friends of my new name and ask them to not address me directly in the room with anything that would possibly identify me as me as much as they are able, at least until I know the situation is somewhat resolved.

Thanks again for your prompt reply. It is much appreciated. Have a great week!