Waht you can legally do against interNet harassment

How to

Respond to

Internet

Harassment

Member

By D Porter Porter User-Submitted Article

Article Rating: (15 Ratings)

Cyberbullying is one form of Internet harassment.

Increasingly, Internet harassment is a serious problem for both kids and adults. Though people will say and do things online that they wouldn't do in physical life, some forms of Internet harassment are quite serious. From cyberstalking to cyberbullying, threats to one's mental and physical well-being should not be taken lightly. Read on to learn more.

• Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Documentation
• Law enforcement contacts
• Screencast software (optional)

Internet Harassment, Stalking and Cyberbullying

1. Step 1

   Assess the seriousness of the Internet harassment for your own decision-making and for authorities. There is a significant difference between hateful words or disagreement and outright threats. Yet, a substantial gray area exists with cyberbullying. A threat of any kind, or hate speech, should not be ignored, but unkind words may be little more than rudeness.

2. Step 2
   
   Screencast of Internet harassment via chat. (Demo)

   Record all comments, e-mails and activities involving the suspected Internet harassment. Include other website comments if applicable. Learn how do create screencasts, if needed, and save these screen images with your other recordings. Print these files for hard copy evidence.

3. Step 3

   Create a Google Alert of your name--as well as nicknames--to track anything that may be said about you anywhere on the Internet. It will include anything divulging your personal information.

4. Step 4

   Change your passwords, including for e-mail and websites. Internet harassment sometimes involves hacking people's accounts. Use a combination of letters and numbers, using eight characters or more.

5. Step 5

   Report Internet harassment to the proper authorities, including the local FBI office for online crimes and the police for physical or off-line threats. Obtain advice before reporting the offender to their Internet Service Provider. Should the perpetrator lose their account but remain unaffected by law enforcement, their actions may worsen.

6. Step 6

   Avoid aggravating cases of Internet Harassment by ending all communication. Do not make idle or real threats of legal or other action, and keep your online and off-line activities private.

7. Step 7

   Treat cases of Internet harassment with measured caution and expect the unexpected. Try to remain calm. Most cases do not go beyond words, but note that Internet harassment escalates easily and can be as illogical as road rage. You usually do not know who the person is or what he or she is capable of.