STALKING AND CYBERSTALKING: When your life changes at some else's hands

What Would YOU Do If Someone  Closed all your accounts  Stole all your money from your bank accounts  Had your medical insurance cancelled  Made false claims  Destroyed your credit rating

My Stalker Was Someone I Knew  Passwords  Important data  Personal Information  Family Information

Alexis Moore One Woman’s Story of Survival and Advocacy

Founder and president of Survivors in Action, a national advocacy group that provides individual assistance to victims of abuse, including victims who have experienced cyberstalking, stalking and cyberbullying. As a expert, consultant, speaker, advocate and author Moore travels extensively to educate and empower the public. She provides expert testimony at Senate and Assembly Public Safety Hearings and has contributed to legislation around the globe. Through her program “High-Tech Self Defense for the 21st Century," she teaches audiences about high-tech crimes such as identity theft and cyberstalking and how to protect yourself.Survivors in Action

CYBERSTALKING STALKING  Cyberstalking is a technologically-based “attack” targeting a specific person to attack for reasons of anger, revenge or control.  Victims often feel harassed, embarrassed, and humiliated.  Cyberstalking can involve the harassment of family, friends, and employers while using scare tactics to isolate victims.  Stalking is characterized by repeated harassment or threatening behavior toward an individual.  All of the following can be examples of types of stalking:  following a person  appearing at a person's home or place of business  making harassing phone calls  leaving written messages or objects  vandalizing a person's property

Cyberstalking Legislation 18 U.S.C. 875(c), it is a federal crime, punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, to transmit any communication in interstate or foreign commerce containing a threat to injure the person of another. 47 U.S.C. § 223 : US Code - Section 223: Obscene or harassing telephone calls in the District of Columbia or in interstate or foreign communications

Murphy Case The first person charged with cyberstalking was Robert James Murphy. He violated Title 47 of the U.S. Code 223 which prohibits the use of telecommunications to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass anyone. Murphy was sending obscene messages and pictures to his ex-girlfriend for more than 4 years. The woman, Joelle Ligon, was deleting these s at first but then started collecting them as evidence. Murphy pleaded guilty to two counts of cyberstalking.

Where College Meets Cyberstalking:

How Cyberstalking Occurs on Campus and elsewhere  Easy access to technology  Today’s students are more tech savvy  Smart phones, Tablets, WI-FI, Dorm Rooms, etc. offer opportunity for privacy to stalk  Variety of types of technology available

TMI  Avoid oversharing of your personal information  Providing too much information only aids cyberstalkers and puts YOU at risk

Stop to Think Before You Send Did You Know? Once you place something on the internet, it’s out there forever  NAME  ADDRESS  PHONE #  CREDIT CARD #  SOCIAL SECURITY #  PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL IDEAS

THE “3 STRIKE” RULE When you or someone you love experience 3 or more instances of unwanted, intimidating, threatening, or annoying behavior from the same individual, it’s time to reach out for help

What You Need To Know OBTAINING A RESTRAINING ORDER OR ORDER FOR PROTECTION Stalking and cyberstalking require a repeated course of conduct, amongst other elements, in order to be classified as stalking or cyberstalking…

Who can become a victim of a stalker? women men YOU

Stalking Motive What motivates a stalker? Obsession? Stress? Competition? Power and Control? Anxiety? Hatred?

Effects of Stalking  Fear - worry - stress  Inability to concentrate  Increased use of alcohol and other drugs  Difficulty with job, school work, sports, social activities  Dropping out of school and life  Loss of income  Loss of jobs and internships  Loss or conflict with relationships

WHAT DO I DO IF SOMEONE IS STALKING ME?  Document the contacts  Dates, Times, Places, What is said, What is done, Names and addresses of witnesses  Change your passwords, Identification, Phone Numbers, Locks, ETC.  Reduce contact with stalker by cutting off their access: stricter security on Facebook and other social networking sites and don’t respond to s  Alter your routine  Contact law enforcement every time the stalker makes contact with you  Tell family and friends where you are going  Don’t accept blame for the stalker’s behavior  Trust your instincts

RESOURCE LIST RESOURCES DON’T EXIST IN THE U.S.