The Cyberstalking - Research Paper Example

The Cyberstalking Introduction Advancement in technology, especially the internet, has led to the emergence of new forms of abnormal and criminal behavior. These behaviors are increasing with the growth of technology, which is spreading and becoming widely used. For instance, computer viruses have now become a common problem that never existed before. Cyber Stalking is a crime that emerged recently and it involves the use of electronic communication where the attacker uses Information and Technology to harass a victim. The attackers use techniques such as instant messaging or e-mail, discussion groups or even secretly post messages to a Web site threatening the victims. The main aim of a cyber stalker is to cause distress to the victim (Bocij, 2004). Cyber stalking shares most of its significant characteristics with offline stalking. The available information on cyber stalking suggests that men are the most common cyber stalkers while women are the main victims of cyber stalking. Nonetheless, cases of men falling victims of women cyber stalkers have also been reported over and above same-sex cyber stalking. It has been noted that many cases of cyber stalking occur in relationships when the victim tries to break off the relationship. However, strangers have also been involved in many cases of cyber stalking (Txstate.edu, 2003). Research has shown that there are three main ways of cyber stalking depending on how one uses the internet. These include e-mail stalking, internet stalking and computer stalking. E-mail stalking involves direct communication using e-email and it is the easiest available form of threat and harassment. Through the e-mail, a person may send a hateful or threatening message or even viruses or spam to harass others. Internet stalking on the other hand involves worldwide communication where the stalker uses a range of activities to threaten the victim. Through internet stalking, the stalker can post doctored phonographic pictures including the personal details of the victim on the net. In contrast, computer stalking occurs when the stalker happens to have an unauthorized access to the victim’s personal computer. The stalker then exploits the workings and settings of the Windows operating system and the internet in the computer in order to presume control over the computer. This act of exploiting the internet can then allow the stalker to have direct communication with the targeted victim immediately the computer connects in any way to the internet (Janczewski & Colarik, 2008). Stalkers use the internet mainly for gathering private information of their victim, which they then use to communicate with the aim of inducing fear or threatening the victim. Stalking behaviors may start with acts that may seem insignificant to a person such as repeated and unwanted contact that may involve letters, telephone calls, e-mail messages or beeper codes. These contacts may escalate and become severe if unchecked leading to unwanted physical contacts to the victim. However, the contacts can also be established in the form of unwanted gifts like jewelry or flowers. Research has shown that college students are at the greatest threat of cyber stalking leading to violence in campuses. At times, the attackers may try to coerce or induce fear to their victims by spreading false information about their victims to the victim's friends, family members, campus colleagues or employees. This in turn leads to violence in the victim’s family or workplaces, among other places. Moreover, some stalkers go to an extent of destroying, vandalizing or even stealing the victims' property (Bocij, 2004). Cyber stalking has been used to expose children to new threats. Some adults have used the internet to chat with children online leading to the establishment of relationships with the children, which has later exposed them to physical contacts and criminal sexual activities. Stalkers can also entice other people to attack and harass a person especially based on relationships. For example, a case was reported where a California woman was receiving threats through phone calls throughout the night and later, six strangers who had been enticed by a stalker who the woman had rejected attacked her (Moriarty, 2008). Cyber stalking is considered a serious and growing global issue. However, no consistent data has been provided on the extent of cyber stalking in the world, but somewhat, the estimates on the problem have been varying considerably. The growing potential of the worldwide population, together with the growth of the internet poses a global challenge. This is because as the population grows, more internet users are coming up, leading to increased incidents of cyber stalking. On the other hand, there are limited chances of arresting or sanctioning the stalkers. This is because they use tactics to conceal their identities making it almost impossible to identify them. For example, a cyber stalker can delete, alter or move the sent data within seconds therefore destroying the evidence (Letschert, 2011). Letschert (2011) further argues that when a cyber stalker is suspected, it becomes very hard to prove that the suspect is guilty and this calls for great efforts, making it very difficult to solve such cases. The other main challenge in dealing with cyber stalking has been the fact that it has a widespread meaning depending on various circumstances. This makes it hard to determine some cases of cyber stalking because the meaning differs depending on the circumstance. Moreover, with the rapid growth of technology, the current meaning becomes outdated with time. Various precautions that people should take against cyber stalking exist. Staying anonymous is one of the most useful and recommended precautions. This is by setting up an anonymous e-mail account for use in communicating with people that one does not trust and using the primary e-mail account for communication with the trusted people. The e-mail program should have filtering options to avoid unwanted messages. Moreover, one should avoid putting personal details in online profiles as this may disclose his/her identity. It is also advisable for one to choose an online name that is neutral, different from the person’s name and gender. However, in case of an attack, the victim should report the stalkers to their internet service providers. If this cause of action is ineffective, the victim should change his/her own internet service provider as well as his/her online profile. Moreover, people should be cautious about having personal meetings with online acquaintances. If there is need to do this, such meetings should be held in public places and in the presence of a friend (Rouse, 2000). Conclusion Apparently, cyber stalking is one of the crimes that have emerged with the growth of technology. As discussed earlier, it has been found out that cyber stalking results in business loses through computer and network damage, violence, physical attacks, physiological trauma and fear to the targeted cyber stalking victims. Therefore, law enforcers, the internet as well as electronic communication industries should work hand in hand to ensure a decline in the number of crimes committed over the internet. This will in turn increase the trust and confidence of citizens and consumers in the internet. Additionally, information about cyber stalking should be provided to the public in order to enlighten them on how to protect themselves against such crimes as well as the measures to take when confronted (Txstate.edu, 2003). References Bocij, P. (2004). Cyberstalking: Harassment in the Internet age and how to protect your family. Westport, Conn: Praeger. Janczewski, L., & Colarik, A. M. (2008). Cyber warfare and cyber terrorism. Hershey: Information Science Reference. Letschert, R. M. (2011). The new faces of victimhood: Globalization, transnational crimes and victim rights. Dordrecht : Springer. Moriarty, L. J. (2008). Controversies in victimology. Newark, NJ: LexisNexis. Rouse ,M (2000). Cyber Stalking. Retrieved from http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/definition/cyberstalking Txstate.edu, (2003). 1999 Report on Cyberstalking: A new challenge for law enforcement and industry. 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