Malicious Electronic Communication
Unless you have technological expertise knowing how to protect yourself whilst using the internet and knowing where to go if you receive malicious communication can be a daunting task.
Below you will find links that will take you to the website of an organisation called e-victims who help victims of e-crime and online incidents. They provide advice about how to recognise cyberstalking and how to protect yourself whislt using the internet.
Warning Signs of a Cyberstalker
What to Do if you are being Harassed or Stalked
e-victims have now created a comprehensive guide to protecting yourself when using the internet called Safety Guide for Survivors of Domestic Violence and Stalking. You can view the guide by clicking on the link below
Collecting Evidence of online stalking
As written by e-victims in the documents above make sure you make a copy of any postings or IM chats by pressing the ” Alt” and “Prt Sc – SysRq” or “Printscreen” keys together, a windows PC will take a copy of what is on your screen. Open up a new document and paste the image in it, add the time and date of the incident and also make sure you inlcude the incident in your log.
Even though it is suggested that you make a copy, if it is possible to save the original message this can also be very helpful. Remember to back up any saved messages onto a memory stick, disc or CD.
If you are receiving unwanted e-mails keep a copy of the original e-mail and also make a hard copy or save it to your computer then back it up. Remember to always include the time and date of when the e-mail was sent and when you received it, add the details to your log.
Text Mesages
Generally the same principles apply to retaining text message and e-mail evidence. Try not to delete the text messages, save them to your phone in case a police officer needs to see them at a later date. You can also make a copy of the messages in your log writing what was said word for word, include the phone number the message was sent from aswell as the time and date.
