stalking and cyberstalking: when your life changes at some else's hands
TRANSCRIPT
STALKING AND CYBERSTALKING:
When your life changes at some else's hands
What Would YOU Do If Someone
Closed all your accounts Stole all your money from your bank accounts Had your medical insurance cancelled Made false claims Destroyed your credit rating
My Stalker Was Someone I Knew
Passwords Important data Personal Information Family Information
Alexis Moore
One Woman’s Story
of
Survival
and
Advocacy
Founder and president of Survivors in Action, a national advocacy group that provides individual assistance to victims of abuse, including victims who have experienced cyberstalking, stalking and cyberbullying. As a expert, consultant, speaker, advocate and author Moore travels extensively to educate and empower the public. She provides expert testimony at Senate and Assembly Public Safety Hearings and has contributed to legislation around the globe. Through her program “High-Tech Self Defense for the 21st Century," she teaches audiences about high-tech crimes such as identity theft and cyberstalking and how to protect yourself.
Cyberstalking is a technologically-based “attack” targeting a specific person to attack for reasons of anger, revenge or control.
Victims often feel harassed, embarrassed, and humiliated.
Cyberstalking can involve the harassment of family, friends, and employers while using scare tactics to isolate victims.
Stalking is characterized by repeated harassment or threatening behavior toward an individual.
All of the following can be examples of types of stalking: following a person appearing at a person's home or place of
business making harassing phone calls leaving written messages or objects vandalizing a person's property
CyberstalkingLegislation
18 U.S.C. 875(c), it is a federal crime, punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, to transmit any communication in interstate or foreign commerce containing a threat to injure the person of another.
47 U.S.C. § 223 : US Code - Section 223: Obscene or harassing telephone calls in the District of Columbia or in interstate or foreign communications
Murphy Case
The first person charged with cyberstalking was Robert James Murphy. He violated Title 47 of the U.S. Code 223 which prohibits the use of telecommunications to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass anyone. Murphy was sending obscene messages and pictures to his ex-girlfriend for more than 4 years. The woman, Joelle Ligon, was deleting these e-mails at first but then started collecting them as evidence. Murphy pleaded guilty to two counts of cyberstalking.
Where College Meets Cyberstalking:
How Cyberstalking Occurs on Campusand elsewhere
Easy access to technology Today’s students are more tech savvy Smart phones, Tablets, WI-FI, Dorm Rooms, etc.
offer opportunity for privacy to stalk Variety of types of technology available
TMI
Avoid oversharing of your personal information Providing too much information only aids
cyberstalkers and puts YOU at risk
Stop to ThinkBefore You Send
Did You Know? Once you place something on the internet,
it’s out there forever NAME ADDRESS PHONE # CREDIT CARD # SOCIAL SECURITY # PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL IDEAS
THE “3 STRIKE” RULE
When you or someone you love experience
3 or more instances of unwanted, intimidating,
threatening,
or
annoying
behavior from the same individual, it’s time to reach out
for help
What You Need To Know
OBTAINING A RESTRAINING ORDER OR ORDER FOR PROTECTION
Stalking and cyberstalking require a repeated course of conduct, amongst
other elements, in order to be classified as stalking or
cyberstalking…
Who can become a victim of a stalker?
women men
YOU
Stalking MotiveWhat motivates a stalker?
Obsession?Stress?
Competition?Power and Control?
Anxiety?Hatred?
Effects of Stalking Fear - worry - stress
Inability to concentrate
Increased use of alcohol and other drugs
Difficulty with job, school work, sports, social activities
Dropping out of school and life
Loss of income
Loss of jobs and internships
Loss or conflict with relationships
WHAT DO I DO IF SOMEONE IS STALKING ME?
Document the contacts Dates, Times, Places, What is said, What is done, Names and addresses of witnesses
Change your passwords, Identification, Phone Numbers, Locks, ETC.
Reduce contact with stalker by cutting off their access: stricter security on Facebook and other social networking sites and don’t respond to emails
Alter your routine
Contact law enforcement every time the stalker makes contact with you
Tell family and friends where you are going
Don’t accept blame for the stalker’s behavior
Trust your instincts
RESOURCE LIST
RESOURCES DON’T EXIST
IN THE U.S.