Analysis Of The Four Types Of Cyber-stalking

Cyber-stalking is growing in popularity due to social networking. 164). Cyberstalkers use the internet to target specific victims and send them threatening messages anonymously without being noticed. Cyberstalking comes in four forms: harassment, threatening intimidation, intimidating and impersonating victims. These are just a few steps. The stalker will attempt to invade the victim’s home using every means possible.

Harassing refers to putting the victim under pressure or intimidation. In order to intimidate and harass victims, stalkers often use this method to reach them. Online stalkers cannot target only one victim or a group of victims at once. Images, comments, and memes can be spread quickly across multiple accounts and websites. Online stalkers can harass victims further because they only have one victim offline. Stalkers will start by making rude comments and threatening the victim with emotional and physical violence. The stalker would continue to harass until the victim feels powerless. At this stage, they would want intimate photos and the satisfaction of knowing that they have damaged someone’s emotions. Cyber-bullying is also possible at this stage. It can become much worse for victims as they feel forced to do so. Stalkers may have a personal relationship and can access the chat histories of victims as well as intimate photos. These information are used to harass and threaten victims in order to get their gratification. “Fear-appeal strategies can shift an attacker’s attitude through threats and violent communications” (Chauvin (2011) pg. 54). If the stalker is able create fear in their victim’s mind, they may change their behavior to gain more information. Cyber-Stalking is characterized by the ability to capture conversations. This allows stalkers to have personal photos and private messages about victims. Some social networking sites are working to counter this. Snapchat, a popular social network app, is the best at combating unwanted screenshots. You can take screenshots of stories from others and it will not notify the user unless they decide to make the story public. It will not notify users if the conversation is private.

Cyber-Stalking’s third type is intimidation. The stalker would make the victim feel afraid or scared of the stalker’s actions. “The cyber-stalker truly believes that there is an intimate relationship even though the victim may not have responded in good faith to an offensiver’s question in a chatroom. 187). The stalker could believe in the relationship and escalate his/her stalker would do so by further intimidating the victim. The stalker might make it difficult for the victim to share more intimate information or photos, as well as personal bank details. Stalkers may feel a personal connection with their victims, and so they might escalate their intimidation tactics online.

Impersonating profiles is the fourth and final type. This can be considered Cyber-Stalking’s most dangerous. The stalker could create fake profiles to impersonate real or fictional people. The stalker may create a fake profile for the victim to blackmail them. This could give them more leverage on blackmailing. A stalker may pretend to be another person online and target the victim in a more sinister way. The stalker knows the victim’s past so they can establish a personal connection with them by pretending to be someone else. Catfishing is a term that describes individuals who deceive others and exploit their vulnerability. Catfishing can be used to make yourself more attractive to other people by pretending that they’re someone else.

Cyber-Stalking has become a more common phenomenon. With social networking becoming less private and users becoming less concerned about privacy, stalkers have greater access to those they want to target. Cyber-Stalking happens online. The stalker may not be able pinpoint their exact location because of changing IP addresses. They also have the option to use free Wi Fi hotspots. Cyber-Stalking, if not dealt with, could result in more social networking users sharing their lives online.