Today, many people find it easy to share information online. It is not unusual for people to share their food and many other aspects of their daily lives. They share their pictures, and they converse with strangers. As a result, the person has nothing left private about himself or herself.
In some cases, this can become extreme and dangerous. Many people found themselves, victims of harassment, cyberbullying, and cyberstalking.
In the real world, the perpetrator pursues a person without the person's consent. This can also happen online. Stalkers get the personal information of their victims with the intent of harassing them or impersonating them. They slander, threaten, and do all things that pose security threats against the victim.
If this goes on, it can lead to physical danger. Some stalkers will use the information to blackmail the individual or try to ruin the victim's reputation, career, and cause embarrassment. If you are a victim, never be afraid to speak up and put a stop to this.
This article will show you how to deal with it, and how to seek help to fight it.
Use Email FiltersMost of us think that spam is just an annoying marketing ploy. But there are people who get victimized because of these spam emails. They are lured into believing that it is legitimate and that they must provide their information to protect themselves.
As a result, they give out sensitive and personal information to the stalker. They were made to believe that they must click on a link or download files to prevent viruses from destroying their computers.
By applying email filters, your email system will know if the email is coming from a legitimate source or if it has specific content that makes it a spam email. Always update your email filters if you use them.
There are times when a spam email makes it to your inbox, and the filter failed to detect that it was spam. In a case like this, you must update the filter to let it know that emails coming from this address are spam mails.
Do not just delete the spam mail that came to your inbox. Mark it as spam.
Social Media and Your Personal informationSome sites seem friendly enough, and no one would think that it would be a haven of cybercriminals. Examples of these are Facebook and Twitter. However, there will always be malicious people who will use these forums to try to obtain information from you. They will use this information for dishonest purposes.
The only way to fight it is by making sure you do not post personal information online such as phone numbers, street addresses, and your banking details. Most importantly, you should never post credit card information or information about your children. Criminals and cyberstalkers make use of your errors against you.
The easiest way that you can avoid being a victim is never to let people that you will go on vacation. If criminal see this, they will know that no one is at home, and they might rob you.
If you say bad things about your boss online, some criminals may also blackmail you and use that information against you.
Settings for Online PrivacyYour privacy settings are there to help protect you against people snooping on you. You do not want anybody seeing your personal information online, and certainly not the activities that you are not proud of.
To protect yourself, always take the time to go to the privacy settings of each of your social media channel. Understand that you are not supposed to share any private information publicly. Example of these is your street address, your phone number, and where you work or study. Block and delete anyone who harasses you, and block anyone from viewing your profile page if he is not a friend.
Calling the AuthoritiesVictims of cyberstalking should copy the communications from a stalker and give it to the police. If the behavior is repeated, or if the stalking is unwanted, do not argue, and do not fight back. Just cut off the communication and seek the help of professionals.
They can find the attacker's ISP or internet service provider, and notify that person. You can also ask for the help of organizations who are dedicated to fighting online bullies.
Taking Legal ActionsThere might come a time when cyberstalking, and bullying become real problems. In extreme conditions, it can become physical. In cases of violence, you must be prepared to take legal action. Even if it is not violent, but it violates your rights, you can go to the police, seek the help of the lawyer, and sue them.
A judge can also place a restraining order against the person in the physical and the virtual world to ensure that he cannot be near you.