Cyberstalking a serious threat
2 FEB 2010 (The Star)

That nice person you invited to be a Facebook friend could turn out to be a fiend.
BEWARE WHO YOU 'FRIEND': A cyberstalker can harass the victim in online chatrooms, with social networking tools like Twitter and Facebook, even e-mail, SMSes and calls to cellphones. - AP

By SUBASHINI SELVARATNAM intech@thestar.com.my

Dear MyCert Team, For the past two weeks, someone has been harassing me online. This person has also posted my name and mobile number online, and since then I have received about 100 lewd calls. I want to lodge a police report. Please help me clear my name and get back my life. Thank you.

Dear MyCert Team, Someone has been spreading rumours about me to all my friends via e-mail. Please help me. I don't know what to do.

THESE are just two of the many complaints that CyberSecurity Malaysia has received concerning cyberstalking and other types of online - harassment over the last year.

The scarier part is that such cases are increasing. The number of cyberstalking cases reported last year was 174, compared to the 72 in 2008.

And the actual situation could be worse, according to Cybersecurity Malaysia which works like a - cyberspace policeman.

"We believe the actual number of cyberstalking victims is higher because not all the victims are - willing to come forward or report the incidents,"said Lt Col (retired) Husin Jazri, CyberSecurity Malaysia chief executive officer.

There is a thin line between conventional stalking and cyberstalking. A conventional stalker causes misery to the victim through distressing phone calls and anonymous letters, and even rersorts to trespassing on private property.

Cyberstalking is when an - individual or a group uses the Internet or other electronic means to stalk someone.

It's possibly the worse of the two because a cyberstalker can also harass the victim in online - chatrooms, with social networking tools like Twitter and Facebook, via e-mail, through SMSes and calls to their cellphones.

"The two complaints (above) are examples of this kind of harassment,"Husin said.

You would think that only - celebrities are in danger of being stalked, but in actuality anyone - your child, an office worker or even the girl next door - can be victims. It's just that these don't get as much publicity in the press.

Not so when the victim has a famous face. R&B star Ashanti fell victim to a cyberstalker in recent times. The stalker sent crude and creepy text messages about Ashanti to her parents. The messages also comprised sexual fantasies about the singer.

ESPN reporter Erin Andrews was another recent victim. Her stalker made videos of her in the nude and posted the clips online.

The stalker apparently got the videos by renting the hotel room adjacent to hers in three cities in 2008, altered the peepholes on her room doors, and then aimed his videocamera through them.

And if you're thinking that - cyberstalkers only prowl in - countries other than our own, perish the thought.

Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir, prominent blogger and daughter of the former Prime Minister, has had a run in with a cyberstalker.

According to a 2008 article in The Star, the stalker sent her weird and nonsensical e-mail messages. When she refused to respond to his e-mail messages, because that would be engaging the cyberstalker, he got hold of her office phone and fax numbers.

Eventually, the cyberstalker gave up.

"I never really felt threatened because I knew he was harmless,"Marina said, according to the article. But she learned from the experience and is very cautious now, especially on Facebook which lets users set privacy levels.

Not all cyberstalkers are so easily avoided, however, especially nowadays when social networking, the Internet and cellphones make its so easy for people to come into contact with other people.

Modern technology also makes it easy for cyberstalkers to target their victims' family, friends and - employers, and even to use these people to further torment the victims.

Shrink wrap

So what's going on in the heads of these sickos? Plain ol' obsession, it seems. They become so enamoured with a person (usually of the - opposite sex) that they have the urge to follow them everywhere and to know everything about that individual.

Valerie Jaques, consultant - psychologist at Integrated Psychology Network Sdn Bhd, explains that a stalker may look impressive on the surface, but he or she does not have any self-confidence.

"And if the stalker feels rejected in any way by the object of their desires, he or she takes that as a personal affront,"she said.

In the beginning, the stalker is obsessed with getting the attention of the person. He or she sends all sorts of messages in order to get a response.

"If the person does not respond, the stalker starts to feel out of control,"Jaques said. "This is when the stalking activity increases, - sometimes to the extent of - watching the victim's family and friends."

This could lead to the stalker making all sorts of comments about the victim, or out and out - accusations, all with the intent of eliciting a response.

If this fails, the stalker will likely escalate his or her harassment activities.

"Sometimes, the stalker may try to infect the victim's computer with a virus or worm,"she said. "The - situation can get worse - the - stalker could resort to more personal attacks, even physical ones."

Jaques has more than 18 years experience providing a wide range of therapy to adults, adolescents and children for stress and mental health issues.

She said that even the victims of stalkers may need counselling if the cyberstalking has been particularly unsettling or vicious.

The point here is that we should not take cyberstalking lightly. It's more than just a nuisance case, and today's rise in online social networking activities could spur this social ill to the fore.