Question

Explain cyberstalking types and cases reported on cyber stalking

Answer 1

Cyberstalking is a crime in which the attacker harasses a victim using electronic communication, such as e-mail or instant messaging (IM), or messages posted to a Web site or a discussion group. A cyberstalker relies upon the anonymity afforded by the Internet to allow them to stalk their victim without being detected. Cyberstalking messages differ from ordinary spam in that a cyberstalker targets a specific victim with often threatening messages, while the spammer targets a multitude of recipients with simply annoying messages.

cases reported on cyber stalking

WHOA (Working to Halt Online Abuse), an online organization dedicated to the cyberstalking problem, reported that in 2001 58% of cyberstalkers were male and 32% female (presumably in some cases the perpetrator's gender is unknown). In a variation known as corporate cyberstalking, an organization stalks an individual. Corporate cyberstalking (which is not the same thing as corporate monitoring of e-mail) is usually initiated by a high-ranking company official with a grudge, but may be conducted by any number of employees within the organization. Less frequently, corporate cyberstalking involves an individual stalking a corporation.

WHOA reported that, in 2001, cyberstalking began with e-mail messages most often, followed by message boards and forums messages, and less frequently with chat. In some cases, cyberstalking develops from a real-world stalking incident and continues over the Internet. However, cyberstalking is also sometimes followed by stalking in the physical world, with all its attendant dangers. According to former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno, cyberstalking is often "a prelude to more serious behavior, including physical violence." In 1999, a New Hampshire woman was murdered by the cyberstalker who had threatened her in e-mail messages and posted on his Web site that he would kill her.