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What To Do if Someone Is Stalking You Online?

Cyberstalking has grown in popularity. If you have ever been cyberstalked, you’re not alone. It may be frightening and upsetting, especially when the safety and protection of others are at stake. Learn what measures to take if online stalking happens to you.

What Is Cyberstalking?

Online stalking, or cyberstalking, refers to the harassment, intimidation, and stalking of an individual by a malicious actor on the Internet. Businesses may also be victims of an online stalker.

Although the term “cyberbullying” is sometimes used interchangeably with cyberstalking, cyberbullying is typically applied to the online harassment and intimidation of minors.

A cyberstalker does not necessarily have to threaten you with physical harm. The stalker may harass you with odd statements; proclaiming they are in love with you, want to meet you, want to marry you, etc. They may even discover your address and send flowers, cards, and various gifts. Worse, they may also verbally slander you by spreading lies on social media sites about your character.

How to Recognize a Cyberstalker: 5 Warning Signs You Should Hire a Cyber Security Investigator

1. The stalker is following you on all platforms

It is not unusual for people to interact with others they don’t know on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, or forums. However, suppose someone you have never met is responding to, liking, and leaving comments on all your social media posts. In that case, you should be concerned about being stalked online.

2. The stalker is following your family member’s social media accounts

Stalkers are obsessed with keeping tabs on your posts, what you are doing, where you are going, etc. They often start following family members and friends just to monitor your activity online 24/7.

3. The stalker manages to find your new social media accounts

If you close out your old accounts and make new ones, and the person still finds your new accounts, you’ve definitely got a cyberstalker.

4. The stalker is impersonating a friend or family member

This happens when an online stalker hacks a friend or family member’s account and messages you as though they are the owner of that account. Unfortunately, by the time a victim of cyberstalking realizes that they aren’t messaging a friend or family member they don’t know, they may have already given the stalker sensitive information about themselves.

5. The stalker refuses to stop messaging you

If the stalker continues to contact you even after you’ve threatened to call the police, you need professional help immediately. Call Quantum Cyber Security & Investigations, Inc. immediately to speak to an experienced cyber security investigator who will take action promptly.

What To Do if You Are Stalked Online

Although it’s scary to be stalked online, you can take action to avoid and stop someone stalking you online. These may include:

• Refrain from sharing personal information online, especially around those acquaintances you’ve not known for a long time.
• Change all your passwords. Use passwords that include a combination of letters, numbers, and symbols only you can think of. Using twelve characters is the current best practice for making a new password. 
• Making sure all privacy settings are at their highest levels. Only allow trusted family members and friends to see your account name, pictures, and location.
• If cyberstalking still persists, immediately get in touch with a cyber security investigator.

How Cyber Security Investigation Operates Against Online Stalking

As a leading private investigation firm in assisting individuals and businesses in preventing, exposing, and defending against cyberstalkers, cybercriminals, cyberattacks, and other forms of online harassment – Quantum Cyber Security & Investigations, Inc. performs cyber security investigations through a well-developed, proprietary method of tracking down online stalkers by accumulating evidence through state-of-the-art forensics. In addition, our investigators maintain precise records of physical and verbal threats issued by stalkers so that this information can be turned over to the authorities for prosecution purposes.

By applying forensic principles and tools to stop a cyberstalker, our cyber security investigations specialists can:

• Protect evidence from malicious destruction
• Recover data that has been deleted from hard drives or online
• Pursue movement of IP addresses that will lead to identifying cyberstalkers and cybercriminals
• Advise clients on how to interact with a cyberstalker to gain information while ensuring the client’s safety
• Handle legal matters involving the identification and prosecution of online stalkers

Find out more about cyberstalking and what to do if you are being harassed and threatened by an online stalker by contacting Quantum Cyber Security & Investigations, Inc. today.