Re: Nat. Ctr for Victims of Crime

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Deborah,

Interesting link. I would say that this situation definately
applies to Mike B's deeply seeded and long term hatred toward
you, while stating he knows personal things about your life
for many years; while he (she?) fails to disclose their
identity.

Some of the stuff he (she?) posts on this board about you,
gives me the willies of knowing this person obviously knows
where you live, does not like you..yet will not disclose who
they are that is in such physically close proximaty to you.
It is real obvious Mike B is not on this board because they
care of the issue of black mold. They are only here because
you are here.

"A U.S. Department of Justice report estimates that there may
be tens or even hundreds of thousands of cyberstalking
victims in the United States (Report on Cyberstalking, 1999).
A 1997 nationwide survey conducted by the University of
Cincinnati found that almost 25% of stalking incidents among
college age women involved cyberstalking (Report on
Cyberstalking, 1999).

Definition
Cyberstalking can be defined as threatening behavior or
unwanted advances directed at another using the Internet and
other forms of online and computer communications.

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...

Similar to stalking off-line, online stalking can be a
terrifying experience 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.

Cyberstalking and the Law
...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 communicate by any
means with the intent to harass or alarm the victim.

States have begun to address the use of computer equipment
for stalking purposes by including provisions prohibiting
such activity in both harassment and anti-stalking
legislation (Riveira, 1,2). A handful of states, such as
Alabama, Arizona, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, New
Hampshire and New York have specifically including
prohibitions against harassing electronic, computer or e-mail
communications in their harassment legislation. Alaska,
Oklahoma, Wyoming, and more recently, California, have
incorporated electronically communicated statements as
conduct constituting stalking in their anti-stalking laws. A
few states have both stalking and harassment statutes that
criminalize threatening and unwanted electronic
communications. Other states have laws other than harassment
or anti-stalking statutes that prohibit misuse of computer
communications and e-mail, while others have passed laws
containing broad language that can be interpreted to include
cyberstalking behaviors (Gregorie).

> Recent federal law has addressed cyberstalking as well. The
Violence Against Women Act, passed in 2000, made
cyberstalking a part of the federal interstate stalking
statute. Other federal legislation that addresses
cyberstalking has been introduced recently, but no such
measures have yet been enacted. Consequently, there remains a
lack of legislation at the federal level to specifically
address cyberstalking, leaving the majority of legislative
prohibitions against cyberstalking at the state level
(Wiredpatrol.org).

If you are a Victim of Cyberstalking
Victims who are under the age of 18 should tell their parents
or another adult they trust about any harassments and/or
threats.
Experts suggest that in cases where the offender is known,
victims should send the stalker a clear written warning.
Specifically, victims should communicate that the contact is
unwanted, and ask the perpetrator to cease sending
communications of any kind. Victims should do this only once.
Then, no matter the response, victims should under no
circumstances ever communicate with the stalker again.
Victims should save copies of this communication in both
electronic and hard copy form.
If the harassment continues, the victim may wish to file a
complaint 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
communications from specific individuals.

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 communications 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.
Victims may also want to start a log of each communication
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.

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...

Furthermore, victims should contact online directory listings
such as www.four11.com, www.switchboard.com, and
www.whowhere.com to request removal from their directory.
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.

Just because cyberstalking does not include physical contact
with the perpetrator does not mean it is not as threatening
or frightening as any other type of crime. Victims of
cyberstalking often experience psychological trauma, as well
as physical and emotional reactions as a result of their
victimization. Some of these effects may include:

changes in sleeping and eating patterns
nightmares
hypervigilance
anxiety
helplessness
fear for safety
shock and disbelief

Victims experiencing these reactions and many others might
consider seeking out support from friends, family and victim
service professionals in order to cope with the trauma
resulting from cyberstalking. In order to locate local victim
service professionals that may be able to offer assistance,
safety suggestions, and information and referrals, please
contact the Helpline of the National Center for Victims of
Crime at 1-800-FYI-CALL, 8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., Monday
through Friday, Eastern Standard Time.

Read more about cyberstalking via the Stalking Resource
Center.

For more information, please contact:
The Privacy Rights Clearinghouse
3100 5th Avenue., Suite B
San Diego, CA 92103
(619) 298-3396

Resources on the World Wide Web:

National Center for Victims of Crime Stalking Resource Center
National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV)
Working to Halt Online Abuse (WHOA) - whoa@haltabuse.org
CyberAngels
Safety Ed International
Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC)
Online Privacy Alliance
Network Solutions WHOIS - Helps determine contents of domain
name registration
Your local prosecutor's office, law enforcement, or state
Attorney General's office. Check in the Blue Pages of your
local phone book under the appropriate section heading of
either "Local Government," "County Government," or "State
Government."

References
U.S. Department of Justice. (August 1999). Cyberstalking: A
New Challenge for Law Enforcement and Industry -- A Report
from the Attorney General to the Vice President. Washington,
DC: U.S. Department of Justice, pp. 2, 6.
Gregorie, Trudy. Cyberstalking: Dangers on the Information
Superhighway. The Stalking Resource Center, The National
Center for Victims of Crime. Online.
Riveira, Diane. (September/October 2000). "Internet Crimes
Against Women," Sexual Assault Report, 4 (1).
Wired Patrol. "US Federal Laws- Cyberstalking." Accessed 15
April 2003. http://www.wiredpatrol.org/stalking/federal.html

On 10/05/10, Deborah wrote:
> http://www.ncvc.org/ncvc/main.aspx?
dbName=DocumentViewer&DocumentID=32458#4
>
> Steps to take if you are being cyberstalked.