Cyber ​​Harassment: How to Protect Yourself from Cyber Harassment

 And few have doubted this for a long time. Only now you can contact with completely different intentions - you can contact such a subject, which then will not get rid of, no matter how hard you try, and will make your life unbearable. This, in short, is called cyberbullying.

Cyberbullying could be simply called “cyberstalking” - because its essence lies in the fact that user A constantly terrorizes (in a youthful way “gets”) user B using the Internet and other electronic means of communication. The cyber persecutor's tools are email, instant messengers (such as ICQ), forums and chats, and now also social networks - not to mention SMS and MMS. Besides, the Network allows an attacker to remain anonymous. It is very difficult to calculate the pursuer without the use of special means, and in some cases, it is almost impossible.

A typical cyberbullying looks like this: all your contacts begin to inundate with messages in approximately the same direction. Unlike spam, these messages are sent quite targeted (that is, specifically to you). To do this, the cyber hacker collects information about your electronic contacts - both from public sources (say, social networks) and from personal (for example, Trojans or through your friends). Then he decides on which contacts to attack you - usually, in such cases, they rarely stand on ceremony and “take into work” all your “electronic ends”.

In the "classic" version of cyber harassment, the "attack" is carried out by one person from one or more sources, but more and more often the scheme begins to resemble a botnet. For example, a stalker can post your photos on a dating site and provide a phone number, as a result of which you will receive a lot of unwanted calls from unknown persons. The focus is on the verge of “free” treatment of other people's personal data (and if the photos are not publicly available, they are not “on the verge”), but cyber harassment may be the motive. Another "extravagant" option is when the attacker pretends to be his victim on various social networks by creating "clones" (similar accounts), discrediting the original by his behaviour. 

The reason for such actions may be resentment, envy, or just a desire to "joke". Moreover, in most cases, cyberbullying is the revenge of a person whom the victim knows personally, but does not know that he is harassing her on the Internet. A rejected fan, a former friend, a relative "offended" by everyday issues ... More recently, "cyber-harassment" has been ordered in business wars.

The harm caused as a result of cyberbullying is subjectively assessed by everyone. In most cases, this is "paralysis" of all electronic contacts of the victim and constant nervous tension. Sometimes this leads to the fact that useful messages are lost in the stream (like in spam) or really necessary information cannot "pass". It happens that a desperate person completely changes his contacts - and it is on him to notify everyone of his new coordinates (and it’s good if there is no cyber persecutor among those notified - then all the work is down the drain). But there are "special cases" that are much more serious, leading to disasters in life, and their number is steadily growing.

How "innocent jokes" or petty revenge can cause a real tragedy, was vividly shown by the story of a thirteen-year-old American girl Megan Meyer, who committed suicide after a series of offensive messages on the Web. "Virtual fan" Megan suddenly began to constantly write her offensive remarks about her appearance (the girl was full) - and after another message, she was found hanging in the closet. The investigation suggested that the "young fan" in reality was ... the mother of Megan's ex-girlfriend, already an adult woman! However, in court, she was acquitted, since it was not possible to prove one hundred per cent that it was she who was the author of the last fatal message.

It is possible to become a victim of a persecutor quite by accident, simply by being "at the wrong time in the wrong place." Online dating sites are the most popular cyber bullying target right now. Registered users may well find themselves in the spotlight and begin to receive in PM or publicly insistent rude messages with harassment or threats. Of course, you can complain about such a user to the site administrator and he will be banned, but nothing will prevent him from registering another account and continuing his harassment. If you have indicated other communication methods in your profile - ICQ, telephone, e-mail, you will begin to receive similar messages via them. Then even leaving the dating site won't save you.

Some experts consider it cyberbullying to send persistent spam - when a person receives the same advertising messages multiple times. Gradually, spam begins to anger a person, cause him inconvenience and discourage him from using the Internet. Obviously, such messages will not bring advertising benefit - but for some spammers, it can end badly. For example, Vardan Kushnir, "famous" for his overly massive mailings about "American English", was once found ... killed.

A particularly grave case of cyberbullying is the long-term targeted pursuit of a victim by a maniac attacker in a variety of ways. The criminal sends messages with threats of bodily harm or murder, terrorizes the object on his favourite sites and social networks. For example, he can publish there real information about the victim or defamation. This harassment is often carried over into real life - the victim is tortured with phone calls, threatening notes. It's good if these things are just a "joke", and the persecutor is not going to bring them to life. In any case, it is necessary to contact the police, since the persecution of a person, violation of his calm private life is a crime. And if the attacker can be detected, he will be severely punished, no matter how real his threats were.

"Cyberstalking" is very relevant for children and young people - children love to mock those whom they consider harmless. And since in reality at least a theoretical chance to "get" for insults still exists, electronic means of communication were perceived by little "animals" as a gift of fate. A child or teenager is "bombarded" with SMS-kami with insults, threats, obscene photomontages with his participation are sent to him - and sometimes not only to him, but his mailbox is also constantly hacked and passwords are changed ... For European countries, the problem turned out to be so urgent that the list Even the former # 1, child pornography, has supplanted the "hot Internet threats". They are ready to put not only teachers and psychologists, but even the police in the fight against the phenomenon - judging by the propaganda videos, the sight of a police uniform should scare or shame young cyber-persecutors. True, in Russia (more precisely, in the USSR), all these technologies were known and used long before the Internet, since the country had a balanced policy of working with youth.

Mobile cyberbullying has evolved at about the same time as Internet harassment. Even a simple threatening SMS can be a reason for a claim. Nicole Williams, an American, was recently charged with intimidating a teenager using electronic means. Williams, 21, sent SMS and several voice messages to another 17-year-old girl because she suspected an affair between her and her boyfriend. These messages contained threats of rape and insult. Interestingly, the police found out that the victim and Nicole Williams' boyfriend were never close, but just talked a couple of times.

Not so long ago in China, cyberstalking has become a flash mob-like entertainment called cyberstalking. Its essence lies in the fact that a person is chosen against whom not one malefactor, but the entire Internet is taking up arms. In 2007, the head of the department of the Beijing branch of the British company Quantel, specializing in digital technologies for cinematography, became a victim of collective aggression on the Internet. The chief of 31-year-old Beijing resident Jin Qi received thousands of calls from cyberstalkers demanding his dismissal. The reason for the bullying was a blog post by his wife Zhang Meizhan, who wrote nasty things about his ex-wife, who received an apartment after the divorce. The Chinese did not like her recording very much, they attacked her with abusive messages, and then switched to harassing her husband. Cyberstalkers found the names of the spouses

How to avoid cyberbullying? The main thing is to leave as little information about yourself on the Web as possible, this makes it harder for an attacker to get your contacts. You need to be careful in the communication process. Do not post or send your photos to strangers. Also, do not respond rudely to messages, this can provoke the interlocutor and make yourself problems. Ignore messages from strangers, aggressive, or suspicious individuals.

It is very important to understand that online communication is not private. It is visible to everyone on the forum or chat, and even personal correspondence can be copied or printed. Be careful! People on the Internet are not always who they say they are, and you will never be sure of this until you get to know the person personally.

If you do become a victim of cyber harassment, then the top tip: try to ignore the attacker. There are ignore lists in ICQ, e-mail, forums and websites. Even if he goes around them, do not pay attention. You will greatly alleviate the consequences of the persecution by remaining calm and judicious. Do not let the criminal achieve his goal, namely, to poison your life or at least ruin your mood.

Online bullying is technically feasible and can even be done by an innocent teenager. By the way, it is children who are the most vulnerable Internet users. According to US data for 2008, 41% of teens have encountered threats on the Internet 1-3 times during the year. 13% of those surveyed were subjected to online bullying 4-6 times a year, and 19% of teenagers - 7 times or more. Half of them were threatened by their classmates, in 43% of cases - by online acquaintances of children whom they did not meet in real life. It is important to explain to the child all the dangers of communication on the Internet, and it is ideal to be aware of all his acquaintances to help him solve the problem in time if it arises.

First of all, the administration of the service on which (or with the help of which) you are “cyber-harassed” can help you to get rid of the cyber-harassment. If the user has already "gotten" you, you can contact the administration of the forum, blog hosting and the like, reporting the problem and attaching "proof". In some cases (for example, in LJ), the administration reserves the right to take measures in such cases. If a cyber persecutor threatens or compromises you (for example, sends incriminating photo collages), it makes sense to contact law enforcement agencies - if only because they can oblige the service to perform certain actions within the law. For example, provide information to identify the cyberbully. The criminal case for cyber harassment is real,

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