Presentation to address
internet stalking, crimes
By Katie Muehlhausen
Staff
Writer
She logged onto her e-mail account and waited.
Angela Moubray feared she'd find yet another
sinister e-mail from a man she'd grown to dread — her cyber stalker.
Just one of many victims of online harassment,
Moubray said her stalker caused her serious emotional harm.
"He sent me e-mails telling me that he was
coming to kill me," she said, "and that I would be raped and beaten
till I died."
Online harassment and abuse, though not greatly
publicized, are becoming major issues in the United States.
"I don’t think others realize how serious
it is," said Moubray.
In response to this growing problem, the Women’s
Resource Office is sponsoring a free presentation that deals with
cyber stalking and other Internet crimes. It will be held at 7 p.m.
Wednesday in Fowler Hall.
Jayne Hitchcock, president of the Working to
Halt Online Abuse organization, will speak from her own experience
as an Internet harassment victim.
Both an author and an expert on Internet crimes
and security, Hitchcock is working on her seventh book, titled "Net
Crimes and Misdemeanors: Outmaneuvering Online Spammers, Scammers
and Stalkers." The book will detail various aspects of Internet crime
and harassment.
"Online abuse is one of the major issues
(in society)," said Hitchcock, "not as much as offline crime,
but it is going to get much worse as more and more people go online."
Though it may be easy to dismiss the Internet
as a relatively safe and risk-free domain, case studies have shown
that it’s not difficult to hack into personal information on
the Internet.
Unfortunately, online criminals can make trouble
using as little information as an individual’s screen name.
In fact, reports from the Working to Halt Online
Abuse organization indicate that 39 percent of all past harassment
cases began through email, and 49 percent of victims had no prior
contact with their harassers.
"I've been stalked online and offline by a group
of cyber bullies for over one year," said Eve, a victim of online
abuse, who wishes not to use her last name.
Eve's continuous harassment cases over the course
of the past year have resulted in an open FBI file and two police
reports.
"So far," she said, "nothing has been done."
Some examples of the crimes made against Eve
include calling her personal phone as well as those of relatives,
signing her up to porn and bestiality sites, posting her as a Zionist
terrorist on Arabic boards and sending death threats via email.
Eve said it’s time to put a stop to these
crimes.
"In this new medium we need responsibility
for one’s actions just as we do in civilized society," she
said. "I believe in free speech…but there is a distinction
between free speech and yelling 'fire' in a crowded movie theater."
