As much as some of us don’t want to face the truth, crazy people exist. Heck, I can be a little crazy myself. With websites like Facebook, Myspace, and Twitter, many of us give away way too much information, making us vulnerable to crazy stalkers. Whenever you’re online, be careful about what you type. I know that for some of us, we have no choice (people who promote events that they’re attending). However, many of you do.
Don’t confide in random internet personalities. Be wary of internet strangers who ask you a lot of questions about your personal life. It isn’t rare for an internet stalker to make fake profiles and claim to be an individual in a picture taken from a stock photo site or another person’s profile in order to dig up information about you. They may attempt to find out your number, where you live, where you work, and your vulnerabilities (so that they can use them against you in the future). Some are even bold enough to use their real picture.
We chatted online regularly for about a month and he showed up at my job unannounced and just watched me work in silence. He didn’t think I saw him, but I did. It really freaked me out… -Tiffany
There’s crazy people out there who, if they’re obsessed with you, would have no problem with showing up to be in your presence, which may lead to far more serious consequences. When you’re invited to an event through a social networking website, there’s no need to let the world know that you’re attending, as many do in the social networking age. If the person in charge of running the event needs a head count of who’s attending, try PMing the event holder and letting them know privately. The last thing you want is for your stalker to show up where you’re at.
I just saw the same car drive past my house for the fifth time today…each time, they looked at my house. -Ashley
Don’t post personal contact information like addresses and phone numbers for the world to see. If you’re going to give that information away, do it with discretion through a private message to someone you trust; don’t simply give it to anyone who asks. Whenever you expose these things to uninvited eyes, be prepared for uninvited calls and guests. Give an infatuated nutcase your address and the next thing you know, they’ll be up in your tree with binoculars.
Refrain from posting reflections on current events within your life in other people’s comments, especially if their profile page has a web of friends and is not private. This lets the stalker know that these people are in your life and they will see your loved ones as bait. You may even take it a step further and set your profile to private and only add those who you know personally.
If this internet personality begins adding all of your close friends and family members, that’s another red flag. More often than not, they’re not only doing this to dig up more information on you from them, they’re doing it to see your interactions with them. If any of your loved ones profiles are private, a simple accepted friend request will give them access to a possible wealth of information. With that being said, don’t be afraid to tell your loved ones to not put your business out there.
I blocked him on Facebook. In less than two hours later, I receive a message from him from a Black Planet account that I forgot even existed. I haven’t literally haven’t logged onto that thing in over two to three years. -Jasmine
Another sign that you may be dealing with an internet stalker is when they contact you from other websites. Sure, sites like Myspace make it easy for one to find you by email, but if they find another profile of yours on a different website that you signed up under nickname, different email address, and url, there’s an even bigger problem. This means that they’re going through great lengths to track you down. It’s even a bigger problem when they continue contacting you from other accounts after the fact that you blocked them.
The best way to deal with this is by simply ignoring them. Responding back, whether negatively or positively, will only add more fuel to the fire, as they are still hearing from you and they will do everything in their power to keep any form of communication between the two of you going. If you don’t respond back, they may eventually lose hope and the stalking will die out.
Tags: Blackplanet, Facebook, internet, Myspace, stalker
