Dealing with security risks

Although it is often very hard, you must avoid responding to those who harass you online. You will be tempted to give them a piece of your mind either through email, instant messenger, a forum, a newsgroup, or a chat room, but you simply must resist. Your responses – which are exactly what they want – will only add fuel to the fire, and make the problem bigger.

But, while you ignore them, do not delete any messages you receive from them. These messages may be needed as evidence at a later date, should this irritating person turn out to be a full fledged cyber stalker. Instead, make a file – somewhere on your hard drive where you don’t have to look at it everyday – and put threatening or harassing messages there. This should include emails, instant messages, newsgroup posts, the URL of threatening messages posted in forums, and chat room transcripts. Try to ensure that the messages you are saving are date and time stamped, and do not alter the messages in any way.

Should you need to report this person to the police – and you might – print out everything, including any responses you have made, and bring that documentation with you to the police station. Upon arriving at the police station, simply tell the officer you are speaking with that you are being cyber stalked, and you would like to press charges. Be prepared to explain what you mean, however, because the officer you are talking to will probably have never dealt with a crime of this nature.

Don’t allow the officer to make you believe that you are not in danger. If you feel like you are in danger, the chances are that you probably are in danger. Remember, cyber stalking is a relatively new crime, and just because it begins on the Internet does not mean that it won’t move offline. Ask to speak to another officer – don’t give up. Demand that something be done, but try to be nice about it. Make sure that you also report the person to their ISP. Most ISP’s have rules against harassment. If they live in another state or county, make sure you notify law enforcement agencies in their area as well. This can be done over the telephone in most cases. Whatever you do, don’t allow it to continue without reporting it to law enforcement. The person threatening you could be very dangerous.