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| The seriousness of the publishing of private persons participating in chatrooms on the Internet was brought to the forefront by the ] slaying of the entire family of ] of ], who was known for opposing certain ] beliefs with the suspicion that the murders were related to the publishing of private information about this family. | The seriousness of the publishing of private persons participating in chatrooms on the Internet was brought to the forefront by the ] slaying of the entire family of ] of ], who was known for opposing certain ] beliefs with the suspicion that the murders were related to the publishing of private information about this family. | ||
| {{law-stub}} | {{law-stub}} | ||
| ==Gang Cyberstalking & Usenet== | |||
| The unmoderated Usenet news groups, widely accessible by way of Google Groups and other ISPs, are widely known for its cyberstalking gangs, which derive enjoyment from harassing, defaming, and disrupting persons who voice unconventional wisdom or complaints on the Web. The unmoderated ] news groups offer hobby-hungry hatemongerers a headquarters from which to remain untraceably anonymous and form strategic alliances with other masked parties. | |||
| Gang stalking is a particularly pernicious form of stalking in which the morality of the individual stalker is further diluted in anonymity and group consciousness. Social psychologists who examine the phenomenon closely invoke the concepts of ], social facilitation, and ] to explain how gang stalking is similar to other manifestations of collective behavior in history (e.g. Abu Ghraib, Holocaust, McCarthyism, Inquisition, Salem Witch Trials). | |||
| What also makes these gangs dangerous is the division of labor among members with a wide range of skill sets. Members of , for example, have engaged in hacking, identity theft, and impersonation to menace their victims, even going as far as to recruit Usenetters from other news groups in the stalking and drag the family members of victims into the defamation. Gang members with criminal and/or psychiatric histories are called on to instill fear, and propaganda specialists and professional shills create and spam-advertise networks of search optimized Web-based dossiers. The dossiers and their dissemination throughout Usenet's news group and Web-based forums are designed to manipulate public perception of victims will be front-loaded with false and unflattering information. Listed below is just a sample of what is possible through gang cyberstalking. | |||
| 1. (impersonation). Stalker A illicitly procured the credit card number of Victim B to "authenticate" the spurious negative review (identity theft) in order to make it more difficult for Victim A, even with Victim B's assistance, to have the review expunged. | |||
| 2. Even though Victim C's phone and residential address information has been unpublished for years, Stalker B uses Web-based commercial people data search services such as Intelius.com and peopledata.com to not only locate Victim C, but also a history of Victim C's residential addresses, which are then cross-referenced with other information to find the names and current locations of Victim C's parents, siblings, spouse, and roommates. A Web search and a Google Groups search on the name of Victim C's wife reveals 582 vulgar, libelous, and occasionally threatening messages that feign fly-on-the-wall knowledge of what went on in her career and her bedroom. | |||
| 3. Stalker C impersonates Victim D by forging e-mails in Victim D's name while concealing / falsifying the IP source info to make Victim D appear like a spammer or a troll. Stalker C, using multiple aliases and e-mail addresses, and possibly some real confederates from the gang, bombard Victim D's ISP, Web hosting service, news group posting service, and possibly even law enforcement with false reports / complaints of abuse. Victim D's services are temporarily suspended until Victim D persuades services to examine the evidence and broader situation more closely. | |||
| ==Measures against stalking== | |||
| ==See also== | ==See also== | ||
Revision as of 04:56, 22 December 2005
Cyberstalking is the use of the Internet or other electronic means to stalk someone. This term is used interchangeably with online harassment and online abuse.
A cyberstalker does not present a direct physical threat to a victim, but follows the victim's online activity to gather information and make threats or other forms of verbal intimidation. The anonymity of online interaction reduces the chance of identification and makes cyberstalking more common than physical stalking. Although cyberstalking might seem relatively harmless, it can cause victims psychological and emotional harm, and occasionally leads to actual stalking.
Cyberstalking is becoming a common tactic in racism, and other expressions of bigotry and hate.
Cyberstalkers target and harass their victims via websites, chat rooms, discussion forums, open publishing websites (e.g. blogs and Indymedia) and email. The availability of free email and website space, as well as the anonymity provided by these chatrooms and forums, have contributed to the increase of cyberstalking as a form of harassment. Also contributing is that cyberstalking is as easy as doing a google search for someone's alias, real name, or email address.
The first U.S. cyberstalking law went into effect in 1999 in California. Other states include prohibition against cyberstalking in their harassment or stalking legislation. In Florida, HB 479 was introduced in 2003 to ban cyberstalking. This was signed into law on October 2003. The crime of cyberstalking is defined in Florida Statutes 784.048(1)(d) which is one of most strict of such laws in the United States. However, law enforcement has often not caught up with the times, and officials are in many cases simply telling the victims to avoid the websites where they are being harassed or having their privacy violated. Some assistance can be found by contacting the web host companies (if the material is on a website) or the ISP of the abuser. Many victims note that persistence is key. At times the seriousness of the impact of this type of violation is not comprehended and the third party facilitators of cyberstalkers tell the victim to work it out with their harasser.
The seriousness of the publishing of private persons participating in chatrooms on the Internet was brought to the forefront by the 2005 slaying of the entire family of Hossam Armanious of Jersey City, who was known for opposing certain Muslim beliefs with the suspicion that the murders were related to the publishing of private information about this family.
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See also
External links
- www.cyberbullying.us
- The National Center for Victims of Crime US based
- CyberAngels
- State Computer Harassment or "Cyberstalking" Laws, National Conference of State Legislatures.
http://www.haltabuse.org WHOA (Working to Halt Online Abuse)
http://www.haltabusektd.org WHOA-KTD (Kids/Teen Division)