Internet Crime: The Simple Truth

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Cyberstalking has received a lot of media hype in the past couple of years. Yet, cyberstalking is another online phenomena difficult to define. Spamming, flaming, sexual predators, pedophilia, harassment, threats, hate crime, date/acquaintance rape, and identity theft have all in some way been associated with cyberstalking. However, there is a lack of any concrete statistical evidence to support the claims made about cyberstalking. Depending on the definition of cyberstalking and harassment, the Internet does provide an environment in which cyberstalking could proliferate.

The major factor contributing to cyberstalking is relative anonymity. We cannot see the person we are dealing with online. The person sending us threatening mail or indecent Instant Messages or chat responses could be a male, a female, an adult, a child, a friend, a stranger, or a group of people anywhere in the world. We have no way to immediately verify the identity of someone we encounter online. On the other hand, they have no way to verify our identity either except by what we tell them or through the information we have disclosed (profiles) about ourselves which may or may not be the truth. I have a Hotmail account. As far as I know, no one has ever tried to verify that I am who I said I am when I registered for the account. If I only access my Hotmail account from a publicly accessible computer, it would be difficult to verify the true identity of the user of my Hotmail account even if the IP address were traced.

Another strange fact about Internet usage is that because of relative anonymity people often feel free to express their feelings or opinions more vocally, directly, and even more rudely than they would in a face-to-face encounter. People can change their identities by switching to a different e-mail account or chat or Instant Message screen name to post messages in support of their original post. People will also ask their friends to post a message in support of their accusations, threats, or claims. On the other hand, someone can post a message that they had thought was harmless and inoffensive which someone takes offence to or misinterprets. Other contributing factors include: the experience level of the user, the technological skills of the user, language skills, emotional stability and maturity, and the social/cultural/political/religious beliefs of the user.

Minors are often portrayed as victims of cyberstalking. This is, of course, a terrible thing. Yet, something that I have never seen mentioned, but have observed in my own online experiences, is the number of minors who exhibit harassing or threatening behavior. Minors sometimes view the Internet as a liberator. No one can see that they are under age, and minors can lie about their age. Hiding behind "freedom of speech" and relative anonymity, minors will sometimes use threatening language, obscenities, sexually explicit language, spamming, and viruses on each other as well as adults. Minors are often more technologically savvy than their elders, have more free time, and are not being monitored by parents or other adults.

Until an exact definition of cyberstalking and harassment has been determined and legislated, and until an effective method of verifying identity has been established, it seems likely that threatening and harassing behavior will be relatively common occurrences online. Currently, most legislation only covers cyberstalking if it has spilled over into a real-life event (such as a threatening phone call or letter, or a face-to-face encounter). Reporting and cyberstalking occurrence verification mechanisms also need improvement.

Cyberstalking

Cyberstalking: A New Challenge for Law Enforcement and Industry

Customs Today

NVAA Text 2000 - Section 2, Stalking

Online Harassment Statistics

Stalking, Cyberspace

Copyright @ 2002 by Robert J. Trader, University of Kentucky Graduate Student.
All rights reserved.

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