Amy you have now forced my hand, your friend will now have everything I can
find on her posted not only here, but everywhere.
Now you can listen to her cry.
Tony
.
|
|
| User: "Krib" |
|
| Title: Re: Will Amy soothe her friends crying? |
22 Jul 2004 02:26:10 PM |
|
|
"TonyZ2001" <tonyz2001@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20040722070742.19503.00002008@mb-m17.aol.com...
Amy you have now forced my hand, your friend will now have everything I
can
find on her posted not only here, but everywhere.
You're like a bloody child whining that you're going to act like
a twat but it's not your fault, someone else is making you do it.
You're supposed to be a man, albeit a pathetic excuse for one,
why don't you try acting like one for once?
Now you can listen to her cry.
I wonder who'll actually be crying tony, your history could really
backfire on you. Reads to me like you're the one that is actually
being affected by all of this, your little tantrums get worse as
this drags on.
--
krib
.
|
|
|
| User: "Never anonymous Bud" |
|
| Title: Re: Will Amy soothe her friends crying? |
22 Jul 2004 06:05:44 PM |
|
|
Fresh from an Iraqi prisoner interrogation "Krib" <krib@address.invalid> smirked:
"TonyZ2001" <tonyz2001@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20040722070742.19503.00002008@mb-m17.aol.com...
Amy you have now forced my hand, your friend will now have everything I
can
find on her posted not only here, but everywhere.
You're like a bloody child whining that you're going to act like
a twat but it's not your fault, someone else is making you do it.
What he's claiming he'll do (which I doubt he COULD, or would do)
is actually criminal in most States.
Just saying he's going to do it is a crime in itself in California
(terrorist threat).
--
To reply by email, remove the XYZ.
Lumber Cartel (tinlc) #2063. Spam this account at your own risk.
This sig censored by the Office of Home and Land Insecurity....
.
|
|
|
|
|
| User: "Dani" |
|
| Title: Re: Will Amy soothe her friends crying? |
22 Jul 2004 10:43:16 PM |
|
|
On 22 Jul 2004 11:07:42 GMT, (TonyZ2001) wrote:
Amy you have now forced my hand, your friend will now have everything I can
find on her posted not only here, but everywhere.
Are you threatening me, Tony? Anything that Amy found on you
was obtained legally. Are you implying that you plan on using illegal
means here?
Well let's see:
You've written my personal email on several occasions.
You've gone to sex groups pretending to be me, wrote a vile "ad"
asking them to write me to get together and have sex (with several
responses) and gave the members there my city of residence - and my
email address.
You also warned me of "late night knocks on my door" ..
You've consistently made up lies and stories about me on this group
after I rejected your advances - never left me alone once because I
said no. You've never stopped harassing me because I said no.
Now this.
.........................................................................................................
Cyberstalking:
A New Challenge for Law Enforcement and Industry
___________________
A Report from the Attorney General to the Vice President
August 1999
_______________________
Introduction:
The new millennium is fast approaching, and the information
superhighway is undergoing rapid growth. The Internet and other
telecommunications technologies are promoting advances in virtually
every aspect of society and every corner of the globe: fostering
commerce, improving education and health care, promoting participatory
democracy in the United States and abroad, and facilitating
communications among family and friends, whether across the street or
around the world. Unfortunately, many of the attributes of this
technology - low cost, ease of use, and anonymous nature, among others
- make it an attractive medium for fraudulent scams, child sexual
exploitation, and increasingly, a new concern known as
"cyberstalking."
"Make no mistake: this kind of harassment can be as frightening
and as real as being followed and watched in your neighborhood or
in your home."
Vice President Al Gore
Recognizing this emerging problem, Vice President Al Gore asked the
Attorney General on February 26, 1999, to study the problem and to
report back with recommendations on how to protect people from this
threat. Responding to this request, this report explores the nature
and extent of cyberstalking; surveys the steps law enforcement,
industry, victims groups, and others currently are taking to address
the problem; analyzes the adequacy of current federal and state laws;
and provides recommendations on how to improve efforts to combat this
growing problem.
As discussed below, the nature and extent of the cyberstalking problem
is difficult to quantify. In addition, while some law enforcement
agencies are responding aggressively, others are not fully aware of
the problem and lack the expertise and resources to pursue
cyberstalking cases. Similarly, while some Internet Service Providers
(ISPs) have taken affirmative steps to crack down on cyberstalking,
others have not, and there is a great deal more that industry can and
should do to empower individuals to protect themselves against
cyberstalking and other online threats.
**Like AOL ignoring my legitamite complaint about you impersonating
me on other groups**
Indeed, current trends and evidence suggest that cyberstalking is a
serious problem that will grow in scope and complexity as more people
take advantage of the Internet and other telecommunications
technologies. The analysis and recommendations contained in this
report offer a framework for an initial response to the problem. These
recommendations, however, are only a first step. Important advances
can be made if industry, law enforcement, victims service providers
and support groups, and others work together to develop a more
comprehensive and effective response to this problem. Ultimately,
however, the first line of defense will involve industry efforts that
educate and empower individuals to protect themselves against
cyberstalking and other online threats, along with prompt reporting to
law enforcement agencies trained and equipped to respond to
cyberstalking incidents.
What Is Cyberstalking?
Although there is no universally accepted definition of cyberstalking,
the term is used in this report to refer to the use of the Internet,
e-mail, or other electronic communications devices to stalk another
person. Stalking generally involves harassing or threatening behavior
that an individual engages in repeatedly, such as following a person,
appearing at a person's home or place of business, making harassing
phone calls, leaving written messages or objects, or vandalizing a
person's property. Most stalking laws require that the perpetrator
make a credible threat of violence against the victim; others include
threats against the victim's immediate family; and still others
require only that the alleged stalker's course of conduct constitute
an implied threat.(1) While some conduct involving annoying or
menacing behavior might fall short of illegal stalking, such behavior
may be a prelude to stalking and violence and should be treated
seriously.
An existing problem aggravated by new technology
Although online harassment and threats can take many forms,
cyberstalking shares important characteristics with offline stalking.
Many stalkers - online or off - are motivated by a desire to exert
control over their victims and engage in similar types of behavior to
accomplish this end. As with offline stalking, the available evidence
(which is largely anecdotal) suggests that the majority of
cyberstalkers are men and the majority of their victims are women,
although there have been reported cases of women cyberstalking men and
of same-sex cyberstalking. In many cases, the cyberstalker and the
victim had a prior relationship, and the cyberstalking begins when the
victim attempts to break off the relationship. However, there also
have been many instances of cyberstalking by strangers. Given the
enormous amount of personal information available through the
Internet, a cyberstalker can easily locate private information about a
potential victim with a few mouse clicks or key strokes.
The fact that cyberstalking does not involve physical contact may
create the misperception that it is more benign than physical
stalking. This is not necessarily true. As the Internet becomes an
ever more integral part of our personal and professional lives,
stalkers can take advantage of the ease of communications as well as
increased access to personal information. In addition, the ease of use
and non-confrontational, impersonal, and sometimes anonymous nature of
Internet communications may remove disincentives to cyberstalking. Put
another way, whereas a potential stalker may be unwilling or unable to
confront a victim in person or on the telephone, he or she may have
little hesitation sending harassing or threatening electronic
communications to a victim. Finally, as with physical stalking, online
harassment and threats may be a prelude to more serious behavior,
including physical violence.
Offline vs. Online Stalking -- A Comparison(2)
Major Similarities
Majority of cases involve stalking by former intimates, although
stranger stalking occurs in the real world and in cyberspace.
Most victims are women; most stalkers are men.
Stalkers are generally motivated by the desire to control the victim.
Major Differences
Offline stalking generally requires the perpetrator and the victim to
be located in the same geographic area; cyberstalkers may be located
across the street or across the country.
Electronic communications technologies make it much easier for a
cyberstalker to encourage third parties to harass and/or threaten a
victim
***(e.g., impersonating the victim and posting inflammatory messages
to bulletin boards and in chat rooms, causing viewers of that message
to send threatening messages back to the victim "author.")***
/whereas your impersonation and messages to other groups were of a
*sexual* nature - and the viewers DID send me messages back, Tony/
Electronic communications technologies also lower the barriers to
harassment and threats; a cyberstalker does not need to physically
confront the victim.
A cyberstalker may send repeated, threatening, or harassing messages
by the simple push of a button; more sophisticated cyberstalkers use
programs to send messages at regular or random intervals without being
physically present at the computer terminal. California law
enforcement authorities say they have encountered situations where a
victim repeatedly receives the message "187" on their pagers - the
section of the California Penal Code for murder. In addition, a
cyberstalker can dupe other Internet users into harassing or
threatening a victim by utilizing Internet bulletin boards or chat
rooms.
***For example, a stalker may post a controversial or enticing message
on the board under the name, phone number, or e-mail address of the
victim, resulting in subsequent responses being sent to the victim.***
Each message -- whether from the actual cyberstalker or others -- will
have the intended effect on the victim, but the cyberstalker's effort
is minimal and the lack of direct contact between the cyberstalker and
the victim can make it difficult for law enforcement to identify,
locate, and arrest the offender.
Actual Cyberstalking Incidents
In the first successful prosecution under California's new
cyberstalking law, prosecutors in the Los Angeles District Attorney's
Office obtained a guilty plea from a 50-year-old former security guard
who used the Internet to solicit the rape of a woman
**who rejected his romantic advances.**
**The defendant terrorized his 28-year-old victim by impersonating her
in various Internet chat rooms and online bulletin boards**
where he posted, along with her telephone number and address,
messages that she fantasized of being raped. On at least six
occasions, sometimes in the middle of the night, men knocked on the
woman's door saying they wanted to rape her. The former security guard
pleaded guilty in April 1999 to one count of stalking and three counts
of solicitation of sexual assault. He faces up to six years in prison.
A local prosecutor's office in Massachusetts charged a man who,
utilizing anonymous remailers, allegedly engaged in a systematic
pattern of harassment of a co-worker, which culminated in an attempt
to extort sexual favors from the victim under threat of disclosing
past sexual activities to the victim's new husband.
An honors graduate from the University of San Diego terrorized five
female university students over the Internet for more than a year. The
victims received hundreds of violent and threatening e-mails,
sometimes receiving four or five messages a day. The graduate student,
who has entered a guilty plea and faces up to six years in prison,
told police he committed the crimes because he thought the women were
laughing at him and causing others to ridicule him. In fact, the
victims had never met him.
The anonymity of the Internet also provides new opportunities for
would-be cyberstalkers. A cyberstalker's true identity can be
concealed by using different ISPs and/or by adopting different screen
names. More experienced stalkers can use anonymous remailers that make
it all-but-impossible to determine the true identity of the source of
an e-mail or other electronic communication. A number of law
enforcement agencies report they currently are confronting
cyberstalking cases involving the use of anonymous remailers.
Anonymity leaves the cyberstalker in an advantageous position.
Unbeknownst to the target, the perpetrator could be in another state,
around the corner, or in the next cubicle at work. The perpetrator
could be a former friend or lover, a total stranger met in a chat
room, or simply a teenager playing a practical joke. The inability to
identify the source of the harassment or threats could be particularly
ominous to a cyberstalking victim, and the veil of anonymity might
encourage the perpetrator to continue these acts. In addition, some
perpetrators, armed with the knowledge that their identity is unknown,
might be more willing to pursue the victim at work or home, and the
Internet can provide substantial information to this end. Numerous
websites will provide personal information, including unlisted
telephone numbers and detailed directions to a home or office. For a
fee, other websites promise to provide social security numbers,
financial data, and other personal information.
Evidence suggests cyberstalking is a growing problem
Although there is no comprehensive, nationwide data on the extent of
cyberstalking in the United States, some ISPs compile statistics on
the number and types of complaints of harassment and/or threats
involving their subscribers, and individual law enforcement agencies
have compiled helpful statistics. There is, moreover, a growing amount
of anecdotal and informal evidence on the nature and extent of
cyberstalking.
First, data on offline stalking may provide some insight into the
scope of the cyberstalking problem. According to the most recent
National Violence Against Women Survey, which defines stalking as
referring to instances where the victim felt a high level of fear:(3)
In the United States, one out of every 12 women (8.2 million) and one
out of every 45 men (2 million) have been stalked at some time in
their lives.
One percent of all women and 0.4 percent of all men were stalked
during the preceding 12 months.
Women are far more likely to be the victims of stalking than men -
nearly four out of five stalking victims are women. Men are far more
likely to be stalkers - 87 percent of the stalkers identified by
victims in the survey were men.
Women are twice as likely as men to be victims of stalking by
strangers and eight times as likely to be victims of stalking by
intimates.
In the United States, there are currently more than 80 million adults
and 10 million children with access to the Internet. Assuming the
proportion of cyberstalking victims is even a fraction of the
proportion of persons who have been the victims of offline stalking
within the preceding 12 months, there may be potentially tens or even
hundreds of thousands of victims of recent cyberstalking incidents in
the United States.(4) Although such a "back of the envelope"
calculation is inherently uncertain and speculative (given that it
rests on an assumption about very different populations), it does give
a rough sense of the potential magnitude of the problem.
Second, anecdotal evidence from law enforcement agencies indicates
that cyberstalking is a serious - and growing - problem. At the
federal level, several dozen matters have been referred (usually by
the FBI) to U.S. Attorney's Offices for possible action. A number of
these cases have been referred to state and local law enforcement
agencies because the conduct does not appear to violate federal law.
In addition, some local law enforcement agencies are beginning to see
cases of cyberstalking. For example, the Los Angeles District
Attorney's Office estimates that e-mail or other electronic
communications were a factor in approximately 20 percent of the
roughly 600 cases handled by its Stalking and Threat Assessment Unit.
The chief of the Sex Crimes Unit in the Manhattan District Attorney's
Office also estimates that about 20 percent of the cases handled by
the unit involve cyberstalking. The Computer Investigations and
Technology Unit of the New York City Police Department estimates that
almost 40 percent of the caseload in the unit involves electronic
threats and harassment -- and virtually all of these have occurred in
the past three or four years.
Third, ISPs also are receiving a growing number of complaints about
harassing and threatening behavior online. One major ISP receives
approximately 15 complaints per month of cyberstalking, in comparison
to virtually no complaints of cyberstalking just one or two years ago.
Finally, as part of a large study on sexual victimization of college
women, researchers at the University of Cincinnati conducted a
national telephone survey of 4,446 randomly selected women attending
two- and four-year institutions of higher education. The survey was
conducted during the 1996-97 academic year. In this survey, a stalking
incident was defined as a case in which a respondent answered
positively when asked if someone had "repeatedly followed you, watched
you, phoned, written, e-mailed, or communicated with you in other ways
that seemed obsessive and made you afraid or concerned for your
safety."
The study found that 581 women (13.1 percent) were stalked and
reported a total of 696 stalking incidents; the latter figure exceeds
the number of victims because 15 percent of the women experienced more
than one case of stalking during the survey period. Of these 696
stalking incidents, 166 (24.7 percent) **involved e-mail**. Thus, 25
percent of stalking incidents among college women could be classified
as involving cyberstalking.(5)
Current Efforts to Address Cyberstalking
The law enforcement response
Cyberstalking is a relatively new challenge for most law enforcement
agencies. The first traditional stalking law was enacted by the state
of California in 1990 - less than a decade ago. Since that time, some
law enforcement agencies have trained their personnel on stalking
and/or established specialized units to handle stalking cases.
Nonetheless, many agencies are still developing the expertise and
resources to investigate and prosecute traditional stalking cases;
only a handful of agencies throughout the country have focused
attention or resources specifically on the cyberstalking problem.(6)
Law enforcement response: awareness and training are key factors
Based on recent informal surveys of law enforcement agencies, it
appears that the majority of agencies have not investigated or
prosecuted any cyberstalking cases. However, some agencies -
particularly those with units dedicated to stalking or computer crime
offenses - have large cyberstalking caseloads. As noted above, the New
York Police Department's Computer Investigation and Technology Unit
and the Los Angeles District Attorney's Stalking and Threat Assessment
Team estimate that 40 and 20 percent of their caseloads, respectively,
involve cyberstalking-type cases.
"Cyberspace has become a fertile field for illegal activity. By the
use of new technology and equipment which cannot be policed by
traditional methods, cyberstalking has replaced traditional methods of
stalking and harassment. In addition, cyberstalking has led to offline
incidents of violent crime. Police and prosecutors need to be aware of
the escalating numbers of these events and devise strategies to
resolve these problems through the criminal justice system."
Linda Fairstein
Chief of Sex Crimes Prosecution Unit
Manhattan District Attorney's Office
The disparity in the activity level among law enforcement agencies can
be attributed to a number of factors. First, it appears that the
majority of cyberstalking victims do not report the conduct to law
enforcement, either because they feel that the conduct has not reached
the point of being a criminal offense or that law enforcement will not
take them seriously. Second, most law enforcement agencies have not
had the training to recognize the serious nature of cyberstalking and
to investigate such offenses. Unfortunately, some victims have
reported that rather than open an investigation, a law enforcement
agency has advised them to come back if the cyberstalkers confront or
threaten them offline. In several instances, victims have been told by
law enforcement simply to turn off their computers.
Law Enforcement: Lack of Training and Expertise
Can Frustrate Victims, Hinder Response
A recent incident demonstrates how the lack of law enforcement
training and expertise can frustrate cyberstalking victims: A woman
complained to a local police agency that a man had been posting
information on the web claiming that her nine-year-old daughter was
available for sex. The web posting included their home phone number
with instructions to call 24 hours a day. They received numerous
calls. The couple reported the problem to the local police agency on
numerous occasions, but the agency simply advised the couple to change
their home phone number. Subsequently, the couple contacted the FBI,
which opened an investigation. It was discovered that the local police
agency did not have a computer expert, and the investigative officer
had never been on the Internet. The local agency's lack of familiarity
and resources may have resulted in a failure to understand the
seriousness of the problem and the options available to law
enforcement to respond to such problems.
Another indication that many law enforcement agencies underestimate
the magnitude of the cyberstalking problem is the wide disparity in
reported cases in different jurisdictions across the country. For
example, one state attorney general's office in a midwestern state
indicated that it received approximately one inquiry a week regarding
cyberstalking cases and that it is aware of approximately a dozen
prosecutions last year alone. In contrast, the state attorney
general's offices in neighboring states indicated they have never
received an inquiry into this type of behavior. Although one would
generally expect some disparity in differing jurisdictions, the size
of the disparity suggests that some law enforcement agencies do not
have the training or expertise to recognize the magnitude of the
problem in their jurisdictions.
Law enforcement response: jurisdictional and statutory limitations may
frustrate some agencies
Some state and local law enforcement agencies also have been
frustrated by jurisdictional limitations. In many instances, the
cyberstalker may be located in a different city or state than the
victim making it more difficult (and, in some cases, all but
impossible) for the local authority to investigate the incident. Even
if a law enforcement agency is willing to pursue a case across state
lines, it may be difficult to obtain assistance from out-of-state
agencies when the conduct is limited to harassing e-mail messages and
no actual violence has occurred. A number of matters have been
referred to the FBI and/or U.S. Attorney's offices because the victim
and suspect were located in different states and the local agency was
not able to pursue the investigation.
The lack of adequate statutory authority also can limit law
enforcement's response to cyberstalking incidents. At least 16 states
have stalking statutes that explicitly cover electronic
communications,(7) and cyberstalking may be covered under general
stalking statutes in other states. It may not, however, meet the
statutory definition of stalking in the remainder. In many cases,
cyberstalking will involve threats to kill, kidnap, or injure the
person, reputation, or property of another, either on or offline and,
as such, may be prosecuted under other federal or state laws that do
not relate directly to stalking.
Finally, federal law may limit the ability of law enforcement agencies
to track down stalkers and other criminals in cyberspace. In
particular, the Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984 (CCPA)
prohibits the disclosure of cable subscriber records to law
enforcement agencies without a court order and advance notice to the
subscriber. See 47 U.S.C. 551(c), (h). As more and more individuals
turn to cable companies as their ISPs, the CCPA is posing a
significant obstacle to the investigation of cybercrimes, including
cyberstalking. For example, under the CCPA, a law enforcement agency
investigating a cyberstalker who uses a cable company for Internet
access would have to provide the individual notice that the agency has
requested his/her subscriber records, thereby jeopardizing the
criminal investigation. While it is appropriate to prohibit the
indiscriminate disclosure of cable records to law enforcement
agencies, the better approach would be to harmonize federal law by
providing law enforcement access to cable subscriber records under the
same privacy safeguards that currently govern law enforcement access
to records of electronic mail subscribers under 18 U.S.C. 2703.
Moreover, special provisions could be drafted to protect against the
inappropriate disclosure of records that would reveal a customer's
viewing habits.
Law enforcement response: the challenge of anonymity
Another complication for law enforcement is the presence of services
that provide anonymous communications over the Internet. To be sure,
anonymity provides important benefits, including protecting the
privacy of Internet users. Unfortunately, cyberstalkers and other
cybercriminals can exploit the anonymity available on the Internet to
avoid accountability for their conduct.
Anonymous services on the Internet come in one of two forms: the first
allows individuals to create a free electronic mailbox through a web
site. While most entities that provide this service request
identifying information from users, such services almost never
authenticate or otherwise confirm this information. For these
services, payment is typically made in advance through the use of a
money order or other non-traceable form of payment. As long as payment
is received in advance by the ISP, the service is provided to the
unknown account holder. The second form comprises mail servers that
purposefully strip identifying information and transport headers from
electronic mail. By forwarding mails through several of these services
serially, a stalker can nearly perfectly anonymize the message. The
presence of both such services makes it relatively simple to send
anonymous communications, while making it difficult for victims,
providers, and law enforcement to identify the person or persons
responsible for transmitting harassing or threatening communications
over the Internet.
Law enforcement response: specialized units show promise in combating
cyberstalking
A growing number of law enforcement agencies are recognizing the
serious nature and extent of cyberstalking and taking aggressive
action to respond. Some larger metropolitan areas, such as Los Angeles
and New York, have seen numerous incidents of cyberstalking and have
specialized units available to investigate and prosecute these cases.
For example, Los Angeles has developed the Stalking and Threat
Assessment Team. This team combines special sections of the police
department and district attorney's office to ensure properly trained
investigators and prosecutors are available when cyberstalking cases
arise. In addition, this specialized unit is given proper resources,
such as adequate computer hardware and advanced training, which is
essential in investigating and prosecuting these technical cases.
Similarly, the New York City Police Department created the Computer
Investigation and Technology Unit. This unit provides regular training
for police officers and prosecutors regarding the intricacies of
cyberstalking investigations and prosecutions. The training includes
understanding how chat rooms operate, how to obtain and preserve
electronic evidence, and how to draft search warrants and subpoenas.
The programs in New York and Los Angeles both ensure that enforcement
personnel receive proper training and have adequate resources to
combat cyberstalking. Other jurisdictions are also taking steps to
combat cyberstalking. One of the critical steps is learning how to
trace communications sent over computers and the Internet. Traditional
law enforcement techniques for surveillance, investigation, and
evidence gathering require modification for use on computer networks
and often require the use of unfamiliar legal processes. Law
enforcement at all levels must be properly trained to use network
investigative techniques and legal process while protecting the
privacy of legitimate users of the Internet. These techniques are
similar to those used in investigating other types of computer crime.
Just as a burglar might leave fingerprints at the scene of a crime, a
cyberstalker can leave an "electronic trail" on the web that properly
trained law enforcement can follow back to the source. Thus,
technological proficiency among both investigators and prosecutors is
essential.
At present, there are numerous efforts at the federal and state levels
that focus solely on high technology crimes. These units do not focus
on cyberstalking alone, but they have the necessary expertise in
computers and the Internet to assist in the investigation of
cyberstalking when it arises. For example, the Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI) has Computer Crime Squads throughout the country,
as well as the National Infrastructure Protection Center in
Washington, to ensure cybercrimes are properly investigated.
Additionally, they have Computer Analysis and Response Teams to
conduct forensics examinations on seized magnetic media. Similarly, in
1996 the Justice Department established the Computer Crime and
Intellectual Property Section within the Criminal Division. These
units have highly trained personnel who remain on the cutting edge of
new technology and investigative techniques. In addition, each U.S.
Attorney's office contains experienced computer crime prosecutors.
These individuals -- Computer and Telecommunications Coordinators --
assist in the investigation and prosecution of a wide variety of
computer crimes, including cyberstalking. In addition, at the state
level, several attorneys general have established special divisions
that focus on computer crimes.
Although high-tech expertise is essential, police and prosecutors have
developed other strategies for helping victims of cyberstalking. An
Assistant U.S. Attorney reported that in two recent cases of e-mail
harassment, he asked an FBI agent to confront the would-be harasser.
The agent advised that such behavior might constitute a criminal
offense. In both instances, the harassment stopped. Such strategies,
however, are no substitute for prosecution under federal or state law
in the appropriate circumstances.
A critical step in combating cyberstalking is understanding stalking
in general. In many instances, cyberstalking is simply another phase
in an overall stalking pattern, or it is regular stalking behavior
using new, high-technology tools. Thus, strategies and techniques that
have been developed to combat stalking in general often can be adapted
to cyberstalking situations. Fortunately, many state and local law
enforcement agencies have begun to focus on stalking, and some have
developed special task forces to deal with this problem. In addition,
the Attorney General submits an annual report to Congress entitled
"Stalking and Domestic Violence." This report compiles valuable
information about what the Department of Justice has learned about
stalking and stalkers and is a valuable resource for law enforcement
agencies and others.(8)
Cyberstalking is expected to increase as computers and the Internet
become more popular. Accordingly, law enforcement at all levels must
become more sensitive to cyberstalking complaints and devote the
necessary training and resources to allow proper investigation and
prosecution. By becoming technologically proficient and understanding
stalking in general, agencies will be better prepared to respond to
cyberstalking incidents in their jurisdictions. In addition, state and
local agencies can turn to their local FBI or U.S. Attorney's office
for additional technical assistance. Also, computer crime units and
domestic violence units should share information and expertise, since
many cyberstalking cases will include elements of both computer crime
and domestic violence. Finally, law enforcement must become more
sensitive to the fear and frustration experienced by cyberstalking
victims. Proper training should help in this regard, but law
enforcement at all levels should take the next step and place special
emphasis on this problem. Computers and the Internet are becoming
indispensable parts of America's culture, and cyberstalking is a
growing threat. Responding to a victim's complaint by saying "just
turn off your computer" is not acceptable.
Industry efforts
Although the Internet industry has tried to combat abusive electronic
communications overall, the industry as a whole has not addressed
cyberstalking in particular. According to a review conducted as part
of the preparation of the report, most major ISPs have established an
address to which complaints of abusive or harassing electronic mail
can be sent (generally, this address is "abuse@[the ISP's domain]" --
for example, "abuse@aol.com". In addition, these providers almost
uniformly have provisions in their online agreements specifically
prohibiting abusive or harassing conduct through their service and
providing that violations of the policy will result in termination of
the account.
In practice, however, ISPs have focused more on assisting their
customers in avoiding annoying online behavior, such as receiving
unsolicited commercial electronic mail ("spamming") or large amounts
of electronic mail intentionally sent to an individual
("mail-bombing"); relatively less attention has been paid to helping
victims of cyberstalking or other electronic threats. For some ISPs,
the procedures for lodging complaints of online harassment or threats
were difficult to locate, and their policies about what does or does
not constitute a violation of service agreements were generally
unhelpful. In addition, many ISPs do not inform their customers about
what steps, if any, the ISP has taken to follow-up on their customer's
complaint. These problems -- hard-to-locate complaint procedures,
vague policies about what does and does not constitute prohibited
harassment, and inadequate follow-up on complaints -- may pose serious
obstacles to cyberstalking victims who need help.
Online industry associations respond that providing such protection to
their customers is costly and difficult. Although they recognize that
larger ISPs have begun to commit resources to dealing with harassment
online, they caution that the costs of imposing additional reporting
or response obligations upon ISPs may make it difficult for small or
entrepreneurial ISPs to continue providing service at competitive
rates. For example, the Commercial Internet Exchange, whose members
carry approximately 75 percent of U.S. backbone traffic, cautions that
no attempt to impose reporting requirements should be made unless
fully justified by the record. However, according to the same group,
the decentralized nature of the Internet would make it difficult for
providers to collect and submit such data. Accordingly, the evidence
of the scope of the cyberstalking problem is likely to remain for the
forseeable future defined primarily by anecdotal evidence, with no
basis to determine whether the phenomenon is growing, static, or
declining.
Industry efforts: educating and protecting consumers
Despite the difficulty in fully defining the scope of the
cyberstalking problem, however, industry has made notable efforts to
inform consumers about ways to protect themselves online. Such
information is principally focused on protecting children and
consumers on the Internet. For example, since 1996, the Internet
Alliance, one of the key Internet industry groups, has worked with the
Federal Trade Commission and government agencies on Project OPEN
(Online Public Education Network). Project OPEN provides information
about fraud, parental controls, and protecting privacy.(9) Although
this information is not specifically relevant to cyberstalking, much
of the advice about protecting children and safeguarding privacy while
online may be of assistance to individuals who want to use the
Internet while protecting against potential cyberstalkers. More
recently, a number of industry organizations have joined together to
develop, GetNetWise.Com - a single, comprehensive online resource to
help parents and children use the Internet in a safe and educational
manner.
Other similar industry efforts have recently been announced to address
other aspects of computer-related crime. For example, the Department
of Justice and the Information Technology Association of America
(ITAA) announced the Cybercitizen Partnership in March 1999. This
partnership is intended to boost cooperation between industry and
government, expand public awareness of computer crime issues among
children and adolescents, and provide resources for government to draw
upon in addressing computer crime. The industry has also responded to
the complaints of parents who are worried about the content available
to their children over the Internet by announcing the "One Click Away"
initiative to give parents important information about protecting
their children in a central location. Similar education and outreach
efforts, approached through cooperation between industry and
government, may educate individuals concerned about these issues and
therefore mitigate some of the dangers of cyberstalking.
In addition, other Internet industry sectors have begun to address
aspects of the cyberstalking problem. Many of these solutions focus on
the ability of individuals to protect themselves against unwanted
communications. For example, most Internet "chat" facilities offer
users the ability to block, squelch, or ignore chat messages or
"paging" from individuals who are attempting to annoy or threaten
them. Similarly, many e-mail users have tools which allow the users to
block e-mail from individuals who are attempting to harass or annoy
them. Such a solution may be useful in situations where the
communications are merely annoying. Unfortunately, such a solution is
less appropriate when threatening communications are received, because
a victim who never "receives" the threat may not know they are being
stalked, and may be alerted, for the first time, when the stalker
shows up to act on the threat.
In another type of response, providers have begun to set up "gated
communities" for individuals, families, and children. The techniques
used by such communities are still in developmental stages, but they
range from specialized servers, which allow potentially objectionable
content to be filtered at the server, to designated areas for children
and teens, which place restrictions on the amount or types of personal
information that will be provided to others. Individuals who are
concerned about being stalked may find refuge in such communities.
While these efforts all reflect important initiatives for
self-protection, both industry and government representatives agree
that a key component of addressing the cyberstalking problem is
education and empowerment: If individuals are given clear direction
about how to protect themselves against threatening or harassing
communications, and how to report incidents when they do occur, both
industry and law enforcement will be in a position to cooperate to
conduct investigations.
Industry efforts: cooperation with law enforcement
Both industry and law enforcement benefit when crime over the Internet
is reduced. In particular, the Internet industry benefits
significantly whenever citizen and consumer confidence and trust in
the Internet is increased. Accordingly, both industry and law
enforcement recognize the need to cooperate more fully with one
another in this area. Industry representatives have noted that contact
between industry and law enforcement -- particularly in the area of
harassment -- is sporadic and episodic. Industry representatives, who
were consulted as part of the preparation of this report, indicated
their willingness to participate in training efforts for law
enforcement. Law enforcement -- particularly on the state and local
level, who will often be first responders to cyberstalking complaints
-- should be willing to engage industry in dialogue and take advantage
of the expertise offered by industry in designing training programs.
Moreover, closer cooperation between law enforcement and industry will
help to ensure that law enforcement officers know who at the ISPs to
call and how to proceed when they receive a complaint, and ISPs have a
contact in law enforcement when they receive a complaint that warrants
intervention by law enforcement.
Victims and support organizations
Because cyberstalking is a relatively new criminal phenomenon, very
little public attention and resources have been committed to
addressing this crime. Consequently, victims of online harassment and
threats, often in collaboration with victim service providers and
advocates, have had to step in to fill the void by developing their
own informal support networks and informational web sites to exchange
information about how to respond to these crimes effectively.
Victim service providers report that the Internet is rapidly becoming
another weapon used by batterers against their victims. Just as in
real life, abused women can be followed in cyberspace by their
batterers, who may surreptitiously place their target under
surveillance without her knowledge and use the information to threaten
her or discredit her by putting misinformation on the Internet. Victim
service providers recommend that victims make copies of all e-mails
sent by the batterer as evidence of his stalking and advise a victim
to let the stalker know that she does not want to have any further
contact with him. SAFE House, a domestic violence victim service
provider in Michigan, suggests that victims change their passwords
often; refrain from telling anyone what the password is; do not use a
password or other identifying information that the batterer/stalker
can guess; set up a program that requires a password even to get on
the computer; be sure to clear out the history information if programs
such as ICQ, AOL Communicator, and Excite PAL, are used; remember that
many chat rooms have archives that can be accessed later on by anyone;
be careful about what is said in chat rooms and use an alias that is
only known to good friends; be aware that if the screen name of the
assailant is known, he can be blocked from tracking victims through a
buddy list on AOL; and, consult the ISP about the best way to secure
their account.
A focus group convened on October 30, 1998, by the Office for Victims
of Crime, a component within the U.S. Department of Justice, sought to
identify the needs of stalking victims, including victims whose
stalkers used the Internet to track and to harass their victims. The
victims at the focus group emphasized that although the response of
law enforcement and victim service providers is important, stalking
victims need a wide range of services from doctors, mental health
providers, day care providers, welfare and child protection workers,
school staff, and employers. In addition, the focus group participants
indicated that community awareness and understanding of what
constitutes stalking behavior is critical to the support and
well-being of stalking victims. Finally, all of the stalking victims
reported that the consequences of not being believed or supported, or
having their fears viewed as exaggerated or unrealistic, can be
devastating. Some victims feel isolated and alone, are made to believe
that the stalking is their fault, lose primary relationships, or fear
losing their jobs. These issues are just as relevant to cyberstalking
victims as they are to victims of offline stalking.
Adequacy of Existing Laws
Although stalking has been a problem for many years, only in this
decade has it received significant attention from lawmakers, policy
officials, and law enforcement agencies. In 1990, California became
the first state to enact a specific stalking law. Since that time, all
50 states and the District of Columbia have enacted stalking laws.
State cyberstalking laws
Less than one third of the states have anti-stalking laws that
explicitly cover stalking via the Internet, e-mail, pagers, or other
electronic communications. California, for example, only recently
amended its stalking statute to cover cyberstalking. This law was used
in the prosecution of a 50-year-old former security guard who pleaded
guilty on April 28, 1999, to one count of stalking and three counts of
solicitation of sexual assault after using the Internet to solicit the
rape of a woman who rejected his romantic advances. While the general
stalking statutes in some states may cover cyberstalking, all states
should review their laws to ensure they prohibit and provide
appropriate punishment for stalking via the Internet and other
electronic communications.
Federal cyberstalking laws
Federal law provides a number of important tools that are available to
combat cyberstalking. Under 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. Section 875(c)
applies to any communication actually transmitted in interstate or
foreign commerce - thus it includes threats transmitted in interstate
or foreign commerce via the telephone, e-mail, beepers, or the
Internet.
Although 18 U.S.C. 875 is an important tool, it is not an all-purpose
anti-cyberstalking statute. First, it applies only to communications
of actual threats. Thus, it would not apply in a situation where a
cyberstalker engaged in a pattern of conduct intended to harass or
annoy another (absent some threat). Also, it is not clear that it
would apply to situations where a person harasses or terrorizes
another by posting messages on a bulletin board or in a chat room
encouraging others to harass or annoy another person (as in the
California case, discussed infra.).
Certain forms of cyberstalking also may be prosecuted under 47 U.S.C.
223. One provision of this statute makes it a federal crime,
punishable by up to two years in prison, to use a telephone or
telecommunications device to annoy, abuse, harass, or threaten any
person at the called number.(10) The statute also requires that the
perpetrator not reveal his or her name. See 47 U.S.C. 223(a)(1)(C).
Although this statute is broader than 18 U.S.C. 875 -- in that it
covers both threats and harassment -- Section 223 applies only to
direct communications between the perpetrator and the victim. Thus, it
would not reach a cyberstalking situation where a person harasses or
terrorizes another person by posting messages on a bulletin board or
in a chat room encouraging others to harass or annoy another person.
Moreover, Section 223 is only a misdemeanor, punishable by not more
than two years in prison.
The Interstate Stalking Act, signed into law by President Clinton in
1996, makes it a crime for any person to travel across state lines
with the intent to injure or harass another person and, in the course
thereof, places that person or a member of that person's family in a
reasonable fear of death or serious bodily injury. See 18 U.S.C.
2261A. Although a number of serious stalking cases have been
prosecuted under Section 2261A, the requirement that the stalker
physically travel across state lines makes it largely inapplicable to
cyberstalking cases.
Finally, President Clinton signed a bill into law in October 1998 that
protects children against online stalking. The statute, 18 U.S.C.
2425, makes it a federal crime to use any means of interstate or
foreign commerce (such as a telephone line or the Internet) to
knowingly communicate with any person with intent to solicit or entice
a child into unlawful sexual activity. While this new statute provides
important protections for children, it does not reach harassing phone
calls to minors absent a showing of intent to entice or solicit the
child for illicit sexual purposes.
Thus, although current statutes address some forms of cyberstalking,
there are gaps in current federal and state law. As outlined in the
Recommendations below, States should review their existing stalking
and other statutes to determine whether they address cyberstalking
and, if not, expeditiously enact laws that prohibit cyberstalking.
Federal legislation also is needed to fill the gaps in current law.
While most cyberstalking cases will fall within the jurisdiction of
state and local authorities, there are instances - such as serious
cyberharassment directed at a victim in another state or involving
communications intended to encourage third parties to engage in
harassment or threats - where state law is inadequate or where state
or local agencies do not have the expertise or the resources to
investigate and/or prosecute a sophisticated cyberstalking case.
Therefore, federal law should be amended to prohibit the transmission
of any communication in interstate or foreign commerce with intent to
threaten or harass another person, where such communication places
another person in fear of death or bodily injury to themselves or
another person. Because of the increased vulnerability of children,
the statute should provide for enhanced penalties where the victim is
a minor. Such targeted, technology-neutral legislation would fill
existing gaps in current federal law, without displacing the primary
law enforcement role of state and local authorities and without
infringing on First Amendment-protected speech.
First Amendment and Other Legal Considerations
All 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the federal government
have passed laws that criminalize stalking to address the serious
harms and dangers that result from stalking, including the fear of
violence and loss of privacy and control suffered by the victim. In
addition to the direct harms caused by stalking, stalking is also
frequently a precursor to physical violence against the victim. By its
nature, however, stalking is not a crime that can be defined with a
particularized, discrete set of acts. Frequently stalking consists of
a course of conduct that may involve a broad range of harassing,
intimidating, and threatening behavior directed at a victim. The
conduct can be as varied as the stalker's imagination and ability to
take actions that harass, threaten, and force himself or herself into
the life and consciousness of the victim. As new technologies become
available, stalkers adapt those technologies to new ways of stalking
victims, as is the case with the Internet and cyberstalking.
As a result of the breadth of conduct potentially involved in
stalking, anti-stalking statutes need to be relatively broad to be
effective. At the same time, however, because of that breadth and
because stalking can involve expressive conduct and speech,
anti-stalking statutes must be carefully formulated and enforced so as
not to impinge upon speech that is protected by the First Amendment.
This is particularly true with regard to cyberstalking laws, which
frequently will involve speech over the Internet. The Internet,
moreover, has been recognized as an important tool for protected
speech activities. See, e.g., Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union,
521 U.S. 844, 850-52, 870 (1997); American Civil Liberties Union v.
Reno, 31 F.Supp.2d 473, 476, 493 (E.D. Pa. 1999).
The fact that stalking behavior (including cyberstalking) may
implicate important issues of free speech, however, does not eliminate
the significant public interest in its criminal regulation or suggest
that any criminal regulation would be prohibited by the freedom of
speech guarantees of the First Amendment. The First Amendment does not
prohibit any and all regulation that may involve or have an impact on
speech. Of particular relevance to stalking, the Supreme Court has
recognized that governments may criminalize true threats without
violating the First Amendment. See, e.g., Watts v. United States, 394
U.S. 705 (1969) (per curiam). As discussed in the Introduction of this
report, stalking (as well as cyberstalking) generally involves conduct
reasonably understood to constitute a threat of violence, and such
threats may be criminalized consistent with the First Amendment.
One of the recommendations in this report calls on states to review
and update their statutes, where necessary, to cover electronic
communications within their stalking laws. Care must be taken in
drafting cyberstalking statutes to ensure that they are not so broad
that they risk chilling constitutionally protected speech, such as
political protest and other legitimate conduct. A carefully drafted
statute can provide broad protections against cyberstalking without
running afoul of the First Amendment.
Recommendations
General recommendations
The law enforcement community, private industry, victims assistance
providers, and individuals must recognize that cyberstalking is a
serious problem -- not only as a potential precursor to offline
threats and violence, but also as a serious invasion of an
increasingly important aspect of people's everyday lives. At the same
time, it is important to note that many forms of annoying and menacing
activity on the Internet do not rise to the level of illegal activity
and are properly addressed by individuals and service providers
without recourse to law enforcement channels.
The lack of comprehensive data on the nature and extent of
cyberstalking makes it difficult to develop effective response
strategies. Future surveys and research studies on stalking should,
where possible, include specific information on cyberstalking.
Industry organizations can and should play a role not only in
increasing the amount of data on the cyberstalking problem, but also
ensuring that the data can be analyzed in a meaningful way.
Legislative recommendations
States should review their existing stalking and other statutes to
determine whether they address cyberstalking and, if not, promptly
expand such laws to address cyberstalking.
Although State and local law enforcement agencies should retain
primary jurisdiction over cyberstalking cases, federal law should be
amended to address gaps in existing law where the conduct involves
interstate or foreign communications. Such legislation should prohibit
the transmission of any communication in interstate or foreign
commerce with intent to threaten or harass another person where such
communication places another in reasonable fear of death or bodily
injury. Enhanced penalties should be available where the victim is a
minor. Such legislation should be technology neutral and should apply
to all forms of communication technologies.
Federal law also should be amended to make it easier to track down
stalkers and other criminals in cyberspace while maintaining
safeguards for privacy. In particular, the Cable Communications Policy
Act should be amended to provide access to the same type of subscriber
records, and under the same standards and privacy safeguards, as those
for electronic mail subscribers under 18 U.S.C. 2703 (while
maintaining strict limits on access to records that reveal customer
viewing habits).
Recommendations for law enforcement and criminal justice officials
Law enforcement agencies and courts need to recognize the serious
nature of cyberstalking, including the close links between offline and
online stalking.
Law enforcement agencies need training on the nature and extent of the
cyberstalking problem, including specific training on the legal tools
available to address the problem, the need for, and effectiveness of,
prompt action by law enforcement agencies, the most effective
techniques to investigate and prosecute cyberstalking crimes, and the
resources available to cyberstalking victims.
Law enforcement agencies with existing stalking or computer crime
units should consider expanding the mission of such units to include
cyberstalking, and law enforcement agencies that do not presently have
a stalking section should consider expanding their capabilities to
address this issue. At the least, law enforcement agencies should
understand the patterns underlying stalking in general and be prepared
to respond and intercede on behalf of cyberstalking victims.
Law enforcement agencies should use mechanisms for quickly and
reliably sharing information about cyberstalking incidents with other
law enforcement agencies, thereby making it less likely that a
cyberstalker can continue threatening behavior simply because neither
the jurisdiction of the sender nor the jurisdiction of the victim
believes that it can prosecute the offender.
U.S. Attorneys' Offices, in consultation with other federal, state and
local agencies, should examine the available resources and networks of
investigators and prosecutors with the expertise to handle
cyberstalking investigations. These include violent crime specialists,
computer crime investigators and prosecutors, computer forensic
specialists, and victim-witness coordinators, among others. The Law
Enforcement Coordinating Committees, which have been established in
each U.S. Attorneys' Office and are designed to foster coordination
among law enforcement agencies, would be an appropriate body for
addressing these issues.
Law enforcement agencies should work more closely with victim groups
to identify cyberstalking patterns and victims' experiences and to
encourage cyberstalking victims to report incidents to law enforcement
authorities.
Recommendations for the Internet and electronic communications
industry
The Internet and electronic communications industry should --
Create an industry-supported website containing information about
cyberstalking and what to do if confronted with this problem. Contact
information for the major ISPs should be included so that Internet
users can easily report cyberstalking cases after visiting this
centralized resource. This recommendation could be implemented by
expanding the "One Click Away" initiative or through a complementary
but separate initiative focused on cyberstalking.
Develop additional means to empower individuals to protect themselves
against cyberstalking. Such means might include more accessible and
effective filtering and blocking options. While some major ISPs
already allow such options, others do not.
Develop training materials designed specifically to assist law
enforcement in the investigation and prosecution of cyberstalking and
related crimes. For example, a short training video could be developed
to increase awareness of the cyberstalking problem and to provide law
enforcement officers with essential information on how to work with
ISPs and others in the investigation of cyberstalking cases.
Cooperate fully with law enforcement when investigating cyberstalking
complaints. The industry can do this, for example, by immediately
freezing and retaining data for law enforcement use on any potential
cyberstalking case.
Establish best business practices to address illicit activity by
terminating holders of fraudulent accounts.
Sponsor an Internet Security and Law Enforcement Council of ISPs and
other members of the Internet community to develop and promote
industry best business practices relating to security and law
enforcement issues (including cyberstalking), develop and distribute
training materials for law enforcement on the investigation and
prosecution of Internet crime, and promote more effective
communication and cooperation between industry and law enforcement in
combating online criminal activity.
Establish and enforce clear policies that prohibit cyberstalking and
related behaviors, including the termination of accounts for persons
who violate such policies. While it appears that most of the larger
ISPs have such policies, some smaller ISPs do not. Representatives
from the Internet industry should consider establishing an
industry-wide code of conduct that encourages all ISPs to adopt such
procedures.
Establish clear and understandable procedures for individuals - both
customers and non-customers - to register complaints about individuals
using the company's service to engage in cyberstalking. Such
procedures should be easily accessible to individuals.
Develop and widely disseminate educational materials to customers and
others on how to protect themselves online.
Recommendations for victim service providers and advocates
Victim service providers and advocates should --
Provide direct services and referrals to available resources that are
specifically designed to assist victims of cyberstalking, or stalking
in general where cyberstalking services are not available, and work to
ensure that cyberstalking services are expanded to meet the needs of
victims and enhance their safety;
Train domestic violence and other victim service providers and
advocates on Internet technology, the tactics used by cyberstalkers,
and how to respond to the specific needs of cyberstalking victims;
Name the behavior as cyberstalking and validate that a crime is
occurring when working with individual victims;
Serve as catalysts in community efforts to form partnerships among law
enforcement, prosecution, the judiciary, the medical community and
other community allies to address the specific safety needs of
cyberstalking victims and hold offenders accountable for their
actions;
Raise public awareness about the devastating impact on cyberstalking
victims of the tactics used by cyberstalkers and the steps that can be
taken to prevent and combat this crime; and
Inform public policy decision making.
Appendix I:
Cyberstalking Resources Online
CyberAngels: Non-profit group devoted to assisting victims of online
harassment and threats, including cyberstalking. www.cyberangels.org.
International Association of Computer Investigative Specialists: IACIS
is an international volunteer non-profit corporation composed of law
enforcement professionals dedicated to education in the field of
forensic computer science. IACIS offers professional training to law
enforcement agencies in a wide range of computer crime investigative
techniques, provides an opportunity to network with other law
enforcement officers trained in
computer forensics, and promotes research and development of
specialized hardware and software to assist computer forensic
professionals. www.iacis.com.
National Center for Victims of Crime: The National Center for Victims
of Crime (formerly known as the National Victim Center) provides
referrals and advocacy services to victims through its toll-free
national hotline. Through the hotline, victims are referred to the
nearest, appropriate services in their community, including crisis
intervention, assistance with the criminal justice process, and
counseling and support groups. The National Center publishes bulletins
on a number of topics, including domestic violence, sexual assault,
and stalking. www.ncvc.org.
National Cybercrime Training Partnership: This interagency,
federal/state/local partnership, led by the Department of Justice with
extensive support from the Office of Justice Programs and the National
White Collar Crime Center, is developing and delivering training to
federal, state and local law enforcement agencies on the investigation
and prosecution of computer crime. Information about the partnership
can be found through the NWCCC website: www.cybercrime.org.
Privacy Rights Clearinghouse: Nonprofit consumer information and
advocacy program that offers consumers a unique opportunity to learn
how to protect their personal privacy. PRC's services include a
hotline for consumers to report privacy abuses and request information
on ways to protect their privacy, fact sheets on privacy issues,
including one entitled " Are You Being Stalked? Tips For Your
Protection." www.privacyrights.org.
Search Group, Inc.: SEARCH, the National Consortium for Justice
Information and Statistics, provides assistance to state and local
criminal justice agencies on a wide variety of information technology
issues. SEARCH, through its National Technical Assistance and Training
Program, provides comprehensive, hands-on training on computer crime
investigations at its headquarters in Sacramento, CA, and at regional
training sites around the country. www.search.org.
Working to Halt Online Abuse (WHOA): Founded by women to educate the
Internet community about online harassment, WHOA empowers victims of
online harassment and develops voluntary policies that systems
administrators can adopt to create an environment free of online
harassment. WHOA educates the online community by developing website
resources, including the creation of a safe-site and unsafe-site list
to enable users to make informed decisions, and providing information
about how users can protect themselves against harassment.
www.haltabuse.org.
Appendix II:
How You Can Protect Against Cyberstalking -
And What To Do If You Are A Victim
Prevention Tips
* Do not share personal information in public spaces anywhere online,
nor give it to strangers, including in e-mail or chat rooms. Do not
use your real name or nickname as your screen name or user ID. Pick a
name that is gender- and age-neutral. And do not post personal
information as part of any user profiles.
* Be extremely cautious about meeting online acquaintances in person.
If you choose to meet, do so in a public place and take along a
friend.
* Make sure that your ISP and Internet Relay Chat (IRC) network have
an acceptable use policy that prohibits cyberstalking. And if your
network fails to respond to your complaints, consider switching to a
provider that is more responsive to user complaints.
* If a situation online becomes hostile, log off or surf elsewhere. If
a situation places you in fear, contact a local law enforcement
agency.
What To Do If You Are Being Cyberstalked
* If you are receiving unwanted contact, make clear to that person
that you would like him or her not to contact you again.
* Save all communications for evidence. Do not edit or alter them in
any way. Also, keep a record of your contacts with Internet system
administrators or law enforcement officials.
* You may want to consider blocking or filtering messages from the
harasser. Many e-mail programs such as Eudora and Microsoft Outlook
have a filter feature, and software can be easily obtained that will
automatically delete e-mails from a particular e-mail address or that
contain offensive words. Chat room contact can be blocked as well.
Although formats differ, a common chat room command to block someone
would be to type: /ignore <person's screen name> (without the
brackets). However, in some circumstances (such as threats of
violence), it may be more appropriate to save the information and
contact law enforcement authorities.
* If harassment continues after you have asked the person to stop,
contact the harasser's Internet Service Provider (ISP). Most ISP's
have clear policies prohibiting the use of their services to abuse
another person. Often, an ISP can try to stop the conduct by direct
contact with the stalker or by closing their account. If you receive
abusive e-mails, identify the domain (after the "@" sign) and contact
that ISP. Most ISP's have an e-mail address such as abuse@(domain
name) or postmaster@(domain name) that can be used for complaints. If
the ISP has a website, visit it for information on how to file a
complaint.
* Contact your local police department and inform them of the
situation in as much detail as possible. In appropriate cases, they
may refer the matter to state or federal authorities. If you are
afraid of taking action, there are resources available to help you,
Contact either:
-The National Domestice Violence Hotline, 800-799-SAFE (phone);
800-787-3224 (TDD)
-A local women's shelter for advice and support.
1. Statutes that require a showing of a "credible threat" may be
problematic in the prosecution of stalking. Stalkers often do not
threaten their victims overtly or in person; rather, they engage in
conduct that, when taken in context, would cause a reasonable person
to fear violence. In the context of cyberstalking, a credible threat
requirement would be even more problematic because the stalker,
sometimes unbeknowst to the victim, may be located a great distance
away and, therefore, the threat might not be considered credible. The
better approach, codified in the federal interstate stalking statute,
18 U.S.C. 2261A, is to prohibit conduct that places a person in
reasonable fear of death or bodily injury.
2. Comparisons based on data currently available. The data for
cyberstalking, as noted in the text of this report, is largely
anecdotal and informal.
3. "Stalking in America: Findings from the National Violence Against
Women Survey," U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs,
and Department of Health and Human Services, Center for Disease
Control and Prevention, April 1998 (available at www.usdoj.gov/ojp).
4. The CyberAngels, a not-for-profit organization that assists victims
of cybercrimes, including cyberstalking, using statistics from
unspecified sources, estimates there are approximately 63,000 Internet
stalkers and 474,000 victims worldwide. For additional information
about this estimate, see the CyberAngles website at
www.cyberangels.org.
5. Fisher, B. S., F. T. Cullen, J. Belknap, and M. G. Turner, "Being
Pursued: Stalking Victimization in a National Study of College Women."
(From a forthcoming report on sexual violence against college women
funded by the US Department of Justice, National Institute of
Justice).
6. The information gathered on the issue of cyberstalking is largely
anecdotal. It was gathered through informal surveys of state Attorneys
General, U.S. Attorneys' Offices, and, to a lesser extent, local
prosecutors' offices. Victim accounts were given voluntarily through
outreach conducted by the Violence Against Women Office of the U.S.
Department of Justice. In addition, the American Prosecutors Research
Institute of the National District Attorneys' Association compiled a
report with background information on cyberstalking, which provided
valuable information on current law enforcement efforts.
7. These states are Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Connecticut,
Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan,
New Hampshire, New York, Oklahoma, and Wyoming. Arkansas and Maryland
have enacted statutes that cover harassment via electronic
communications outside their stalking statutes.
8. Copies of "Stalking and Domestic Violence: The Third Annual Report
to Congress Under the Violence Against Women Act" can be obtained by
contacting the National Criminal Justice Reference Service, Box 6000,
Rockville, MD 20849-6000--(800) 851-3420.
9. Other resources available to individuals wishing to protect
themselves against cyberstalking are listed in Appendix I, infra.
10. The definition of the term "telecommunications device" in that
section excludes "interactive computer services." The intent of the
exclusion is to insulate the service provider from liability, but not
to insulate an individual user from liability for his or her criminal
behavior. Accordingly, the Department of Justice has taken the
position and successfully argued that a modem was a telecommunications
device within the meaning of the statute. Therefore, an individual who
used a modem to connect to the Internet and harass an individual is
likely to fall within the terms of the statute. See American Civil
Liberties Union v. Reno, 929 F.Supp. 824, 829 n.5 (E.D. Penn. 1996),
aff'd, 521 U.S. 844 (1997); Apollomedia Corporation v. Reno, 19
F.Supp.2d 1081 (N.D. Cal. 1998), aff'd, --- U.S. ---, 119 S.Ct. 1450
(U.S. Apr. 19, 1999).
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Return to . . . CCIPS home page || Justice Department home page
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Updated page February 7, 2003
usdoj-crm/mis/krr
http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/cybercrime/cyberstalking.htm
Now you can listen to her cry.
Sounds like another threat.
Dani
.
|
|
|
| User: "TonyZ2001" |
|
| Title: Re: Will Amy soothe her friends crying? |
23 Jul 2004 04:38:04 AM |
|
|
dani7200@hotmail.com
wrote:
Are you threatening me, Tony?
Did I mention your name Dippi? Seems to me you're a bit paranoid.
Anything that Amy found on you was >obtained legally.
Wrong. She had people bust into my AOL account.
Are you implying that you plan on using >legal means here?
Are seeing things now? Ask your shrink for neww medications, the ones you;re
taking are not working.
Tony
.
|
|
|
| User: "Dani" |
|
| Title: Re: Will Amy soothe her friends crying? |
23 Jul 2004 06:04:37 PM |
|
|
On 23 Jul 2004 09:38:04 GMT, (TonyZ2001) wrote:
dani7200@hotmail.com
wrote:
Are you threatening me, Tony?
Did I mention your name Dippi? Seems to me you're a bit paranoid.
You always refer to me as her "friend" and you always say I'm "crying"
.... who else do you expect me to think you're referring to?
Anything that Amy found on you was obtained legally.
Wrong. She had people bust into my AOL account.
No she didn't.
Are you implying that you plan on using illegal means here?
Are seeing things now?
"your friend will now have everything I can
find on her posted not only here, but everywhere."
Ask your shrink for neww medications, the ones you;re
taking are not working.
I don't take the antidepressant anymore as I've said already (lying
again or are you just plain dumb and you forgot?)
You're a putrid, gruesome soul, Tony. You *really* better hope that
Karma doesn't exist. I would never wish depression on anyone; not
even my worst enemy - but Karma may not be as kind.
Filth. Pure evil.
Dani
.
|
|
|
| User: "TonyZ2001" |
|
| Title: Re: Will Amy soothe her friends crying? |
24 Jul 2004 12:17:21 PM |
|
|
Dani
wrote:
You *really* better hope that Karma >doesn't exist.
You and Amy keep bringing up this Karma thing, but neither of you seem to
worried about it. If it exists, do you think that you 2 are immune?
Tony
.
|
|
|
| User: "4Dw" |
|
| Title: Re: Will Amy soothe her friends crying? |
25 Jul 2004 03:41:06 AM |
|
|
In article <20040724131721.04516.00000346@mb-m27.aol.com>, TonyZ2001
<tonyz2001@aol.com> wrote:
Dani
wrote:
You *really* better hope that Karma >doesn't exist.
You and Amy keep bringing up this Karma thing, but neither of you seem to
worried about it. If it exists, do you think that you 2 are immune?
Tony
They're not immune but maybe they are excersising it on you right now.
Maybe this whole thing going on right now with you is "payback time".
\m/ \m/
--
Are you part of the problem?
.
|
|
|
| User: "TonyZ2001" |
|
| Title: Re: Will Amy soothe her friends crying? |
25 Jul 2004 07:57:07 AM |
|
|
4Dw
wrote:
TonyZ2001
<tonyz2001@aol.com> wrote:
Dani
wrote:
You *really* better hope that Karma >doesn't exist.
You and Amy keep bringing up this Karma thing, but neither of you seem to
worried about it. If it exists, do you think that you 2 are immune?
Tony
They're not immune but maybe they are excersising it on you right now.
Maybe this whole thing going on right >now with you is "payback time".
Which means that their's is coming. right? ;-)
Tony
.
|
|
|
| User: "4Dw" |
|
| Title: Re: Will Amy soothe her friends crying? |
25 Jul 2004 10:06:33 AM |
|
|
In article <20040725085707.24921.00000251@mb-m20.aol.com>, TonyZ2001
<tonyz2001@aol.com> wrote:
4Dw
wrote:
TonyZ2001
<tonyz2001@aol.com> wrote:
Dani
wrote:
You *really* better hope that Karma >doesn't exist.
You and Amy keep bringing up this Karma thing, but neither of you seem to
worried about it. If it exists, do you think that you 2 are immune?
Tony
They're not immune but maybe they are excersising it on you right now.
Maybe this whole thing going on right >now with you is "payback time".
Which means that their's is coming. right? ;-)
Tony
I don't know but maybe it's because in a past life you've been not so
good to them hence the "payback time"
--
Are you part of the problem?
.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| User: "Absolute Zero" |
|
| Title: Re: Will Amy soothe her friends crying? |
24 Jul 2004 09:35:36 AM |
|
|
TonyZ2001 wrote:
dani7200@hotmail.com
wrote:
Are you threatening me, Tony?
Did I mention your name Dippi? Seems to me you're a bit paranoid.
Who then?
Anything that Amy found on you was obtained legally.
Wrong. She had people bust into my AOL account.
Silly boy, have you forgotten what I said about repeating that
unfounded lie?
http://www.tonyz.8m.com/L2.jpg
Are you implying that you plan on using legal means here?
Are seeing things now? Ask your shrink for neww medications, the ones you;re
taking are not working.
So where's my daily "Amy's husband has died" post? Are you trying to
make me jealous by going after someone else's congenital misfortune?
Forgive my dodgy recall here, but didn't you say something along the
lines of: only a sick person would use something like autism as a
stick to beat another, hypocrite? I guess that makes you a sick-person
in your own estimation. Cool, something WE can ALL agree on for once.
Depression awaits you, sick-person.
Tony
-A
Tony in alt.drugs.hard
"What is the going price for Oxcodone 40mg tab on the street?"
"Wow!
That much? I'm sitting on 200 of these jokers. Thanks for the info."
.
|
|
|
| User: "christisdore" |
|
| Title: Re: Will Amy soothe her friends crying? |
24 Jul 2004 05:30:59 PM |
|
|
(Absolute Zero) wrote in message news:<8f290e5f.0407240635.66bcad79@posting.google.com>...
TonyZ2001 wrote:
dani7200@hotmail.com
wrote:
Are you threatening me, Tony?
Did I mention your name Dippi? Seems to me you're a bit paranoid.
Who then?
Anything that Amy found on you was obtained legally.
Wrong. She had people bust into my AOL account.
Silly boy, have you forgotten what I said about repeating that
unfounded lie?
http://www.tonyz.8m.com/L2.jpg
And that proves what, that you are obsessed? So what year was that
placed online? Perhaps in the days of Windows 95?
.
|
|
|
| User: "Absolute Zero" |
|
| Title: Re: Will Amy soothe her friends crying? |
25 Jul 2004 05:01:51 AM |
|
|
[Wind Blows, Tumble Weed Rolls By....]
.
|
|
|
| User: "Mark" |
|
| Title: Re: Will Amy soothe her friends crying? |
25 Jul 2004 07:42:51 AM |
|
|
"Absolute Zero" <amycaton@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:8f290e5f.0407250201.54dae8ee@posting.google.com...
[Wind Blows, Tumble Weed Rolls By....]
.... old shutters creak, belaying the fact that it was going to be a very
dark and very stormy night.
.
|
|
|
| User: "christisdore" |
|
| Title: Re: Will Amy soothe her friends crying? |
25 Jul 2004 05:52:44 PM |
|
|
"Mark" <mburggra1@earthlink.net> wrote in message news:<fVNMc.12486$iK.481@newsread2.news.atl.earthlink.net>...
"Absolute Zero" <amycaton@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:8f290e5f.0407250201.54dae8ee@posting.google.com...
[Wind Blows, Tumble Weed Rolls By....]
... old shutters creak, belaying the fact that it was going to be a very
dark and very stormy night.
And will have no effect on Tony. She's shot her load. The rest is huff
and puff. Well she got the reaction from me she expected. She is fully
capable of fighting Tony with geopolitical facts. If she chooses the
low road, that shouldn't go unnoticed. If she has nothing positive to
contribute (since she won't affect Tony), she can admit so. If she
wants rises from me, I can ignore her since I've made my feelings
known about her countless times.
.
|
|
|
|
|
| User: "christisdore" |
|
| Title: Re: Will Amy soothe her friends crying? |
25 Jul 2004 05:43:39 PM |
|
|
(Absolute Zero) wrote in message news:<8f290e5f.0407250201.54dae8ee@posting.google.com>...
[Wind Blows, Tumble Weed Rolls By....]
You don't actually believe you will make a difference with Tony. By
not answering you probably are indicating it was ancient material, in
a couples fun group or whatnot.
Hypocrisy is when a person claims she is a defender of justice and
women and women's rights, and then posts ancient porno; from a couples
fun site. Also it seems highly improbable that Tony would sell opioids
in a newsgroup. Put that in context, the tone of the times and was it
comedy.
If you are sincere about helping the "helpless" and "persecuted", I
wouldn't want to waste time with your obsession and delusion and
hypocrisy. If you've given up proving you're a dingbat honestly trying
to help humanity, and turned into a monster with tremendous resources,
I don't want to waste my time with you either. You knew that posting
the info and pic you did would elicit a reaction from me. If that was
your purpose, you learn nothing anyway, except what you already know:
that you are a masterbaiter. I study human behavior, though I am not
perfect. But remember you believe in karma, reincarnation, that you
would rather die than live in a world where true prophecies are
continually possible (an opinion you amended). Your opinions about
geopolitics were dingbatty but at least sincere; eg., Blair was a
savior sort though he claimed Saddam could launch wmds in 30 minutes
or so. You were wrong about the roadmap. But at least you were not a
monster then, only a person who made official and unofficial
predictions. If you lowered your sights to be a Net monster, stop the
pretense. You can fool some of the people some of the time. You can
fool a lot of people a lot of the time.
You will not change Tony. You are wasting your own time. I cleared the
air somewhat. Seems like you will always be a dingbat. ;)
.
|
|
|
|
|
|
| User: "christisdore" |
|
| Title: Re: Will Amy soothe her friends crying? |
24 Jul 2004 05:15:30 PM |
|
|
(Absolute Zero) wrote in message news:<8f290e5f.0407240635.66bcad79@posting.google.com>...
TonyZ2001 wrote:
dani7200@hotmail.com
wrote:
Are you threatening me, Tony?
Did I mention your name Dippi? Seems to me you're a bit paranoid.
Who then?
Anything that Amy found on you was obtained legally.
Wrong. She had people bust into my AOL account.
Silly boy, have you forgotten what I said about repeating that
unfounded lie?
http://www.tonyz.8m.com/L2.jpg
[...]
sick-person.
Sheesh.
Tony
-A
.
|
|
|
|
| User: "TonyZ2001" |
|
| Title: Re: Will Amy soothe her friends crying? |
24 Jul 2004 12:22:26 PM |
|
|
amycaton@hotmail.com
wrote:
TonyZ2001 wrote:
dani7200@hotmail.com
wrote:
Are you threatening me, Tony?
Did I mention your name Dippi? >>Seems to me you're a bit paranoid.
Who then?
When they start crying because everyone knows who and where they are, then
you'll know.
Anything that Amy found on you was >obtained legally.
Wrong. She had people bust into my >>AOL account.
Silly boy, have you forgotten what I said >about repeating that unfounded lie?
http://www.tonyz.8m.com/L2.jpg
And? So I should now set up links to pictures that I say are you and Dani?
What's your point crackpot?
Are you implying that you plan on >>>using legal means here?
Are seeing things now? Ask your >>shrink for neww medications, the ones
you;re taking are not working.
So where's my daily "Amy's husband has >died" post? Are you trying to make me
jealous by going after someone else's >congenital misfortune?
Jus that it's on your mind is enough.
Depression awaits you, sick-person.
-A
Ahh, but you're already there, not only that but suicide awaits you after your
husbands death, and it probably is in your friends future as well.
Tony
.
|
|
|
| User: "Krib" |
|
| Title: Re: Will Amy soothe her friends crying? |
24 Jul 2004 07:00:02 PM |
|
|
"TonyZ2001" <tonyz2001@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20040724132226.04516.00000347@mb-m27.aol.com...
http://www.tonyz.8m.com/L2.jpg
And? So I should now set up links to pictures that I say are you and
Dani?
What's your point crackpot?
Are you saying that's not your missus then tone? a simple yes or no
will do.
Ahh, but you're already there, not only that but suicide awaits you after
your
husbands death, and it probably is in your friends future as well.
better hope that before they do it they don't pass on everything they
know to your community, that'd be embarrassing wouldn't it? a pretend
christian with 2 kids(?) inciting incest in others, threatening and bullying
two women on usenet, accusing one's father of raping her, using the
terrible illness in anothers husband as part of that bullying and wishing
death on them both? not to mention the filth and drugs you're so heavily
into... that would make an interesting church notice for bayonne wouldn't
it. I wonder what your friends, family and fellow methodists would
make of that?
Nasty business all round, why don't you just let it drop before someone
actually does get hurt, it'll end in tears I bet.
--
krib
.
|
|
| | | | | |
