Cyber stalking is growing Internet crime

With the sky rocketing technology, heinous crimes are also mounting at tremendous pace. Cyber stalking is new strategy to harass innocent people in our society.  It is more prevalent because Internet technology is low cost, ease of use and anonymous nature among others which facilitate cyber stalking.

Cyber stalking is a disturbing online activity, creating problem for Internet users worldwide since last over a decade. Cyber stalking occurs when a person is followed and pursued online. Their privacy is attacked. Offenders are more active to commit crime with this advanced facility. It is very difficult to identify the perpetrator who makes mysterious communication through Internet. It is very difficult for victim to trace the location of offender.

It can be said that Cyber stalkers intelligently follows the victim's online activity to collect their important details and frighten the person. They do not attack physically. They use the media of websites, chat rooms, discussion forums, open publishing websites and email to harass the victim. There are many ways by which cyber stalking is performed.

The most common method is Email Stalking. In this way, offender makes direct communication through email. Unwanted email is one of the most common forms of harassment, including hate, obscene, or threatening mail. Another way to harass victim is though Internet Stalking. Computer Stalking is a type of cyber stalking where criminals have unauthorized control of another person’s computer. Other forms of stalking in the world involve telephoning, sending mail, and actual surveillance. Cyber stalkers stalk victim by sending the viruses or high volumes of electronic junk mail.

In aggressive way, some cyber stalker attempt to spoil the repute of their victim and turn other people against them. They post incorrect information about them on websites. They may set up their own websites, blogs or user pages to execute such activities. Cyber stalkers may move toward victim's friends, family and social group to get private information. They often watch the victim's online activities and try to trace their IP address in order to gather more information about their victims.

There are some legal scaffold to arrest heinous internet crime committed by cyber stalkers. The first Anti-Stalking law was established in California in 1990 to identify cyber stalking as a felonious act. There are only few states in the United States of America which have anti-stalking laws that include cyber stalking. To shield the victim from cyber stalking, England has implemented laws against cyber stalking through the Protections against Harassment Act 1997 and the Malicious Communication Act 1998.

Useful tips to protect oneself from cyber stalking:

While using advanced technology, we should be alert as it has both pros and cons.

To protect from smart online offenders, we should never reveal sensitive information like home address, login passwords, or social security number to unknown senders or person.

It is always good to create a different email account for registering in social networking sites and other online spaces. It will help avoid spam.

To create online user profile, it is recommended to use a photo that does not identify user or his/her location, so that user’s identity or location will not be recognised.

It is advised to regularly maintain vigilance over physical access to computer and other Web-enabled devices such as cell phones.

Develop a habit to log out after using computer programs or other devices.

To wrap up strands of above analysis, it is well settled that cyber stalking is a solemn, prevalent criminal act due to revolution of internet technology which harass global populace. It is quite difficult to assess the occurrence of cyber stalking. The premise of this crime is the progression of technology which allows cyber stalkers to spasm on victims.