Cyber Stalking As Type Of Stalking

Imagine a person being watched twenty-four hours per day without his or her knowledge. The person or group of people know what the fellow engages in, where they meet up, who the fellow hangs out with without the person being watched consent. This is very creepy.

The word Cyber means things relating to computer, its network and information technology. It simply means digitization of machines.

Stalking is the constant spying or harassment of an individual which can be secretly or openly, violent or peaceful. A stalker is a person who illegally spy on someone without the person knowledge. A stalker is often lonely with low self-esteem but can be very dangerous to the person or group of individuals

According to Wikipedia, ‘Cyberstalking is the use of the internet or other electronic means to stalk or harass an individual, group or organization.’ It is always done through the use of internet and electronic means.

Cyber Stalking can come in form of three major ways which includes:

1. Email Stalking. This is a repetition way of sending hate or threatening messages, spams or viruses to the victim.
2. Internet Stalking. This involves spreading fake news and tracking news of the victim. Tracking of victims is what is earlier explained as watching a person without the person knowledge.
3. Computer Stalking. It is hacking into someone computer or account and taking control over it when connected to the internet. It happens frequently with accounts like Instagram and Gmail.

Cyberstalking influences victim behaviours and how they perform their daily activities. A person who is being cyberbullied will be affected negatively and experiences the following characteristics.

• Depression

Depression is a very common behaviour amongst victims dealing with cyber stalker(s). It is due to figuring out who the stalker is, not living their lives because of the fear of being watched, isolating themselves from others to avoid risking their friends from being caught or getting involved which eventually leads to depression.

• Anxiety.

The victims often don’t get adequate sleep and enough rest causing a rise in their blood pressure, weakness of the body, restlessness and unease in their environment.

Cyberstalking is not limited for certain people ie anyone can fall victim of it, therefore one has to prevent it before it happens after all prevention is better than cure. The following are ways to prevent it.

1. Change your setting from public to private on all account including social media accounts or email. This helps to limit the number of people accessing your page and know who does.
2. Turn off geotagging or location tagging on any devices. It prevents online users from viewing the places the person visits and accessing the person exact location.
3. Set a strong password. It reduces the risk of hacking into a personal account. Also never use the same password. People with multiple account shouldn’t use the same password because in a situation whereas an account is being hacked others will be less affected.
4. Try researching oneself to see how many information are available. Then try as much as possible to limit such information especially those that is considered personal.

Peradventure one finds themselves in that situation, these are the steps to follow to ensure one safety

1. Report to the nearest authority like police or victim service.
2. Gather past things the stalker must have sent to you like printout of emails and screencaps as evidence.
3. Set a new password on all devices and accounts and enable two-step authentications on all accounts.
4. Monitor your online activities and email accounts constantly making note of anything considered suspicious for the next few weeks.

Cyberstalking is a terrifying crime that anyone can fall into. Learning more about it, following various tips about is the best way to keep yourself safe and secure while engaging on the internet.

References

1. https://www.cps.gov.uk/legal-guidance/stalking-and-harassment
2. https://www.zerosuniverse.com/cyberstalking/
3. https://www.perfect-privacy.com/en/blog/what-is-cyber-stalking