Some of the worst types of cybercrimes committed today are just started to hit the awareness of lawmakers, although the public has known about them since the advent of the web. Cyber stalking and cyber bullying are two crimes that can have a devastating effect on people. The police and other officials don’t always take these crimes seriously, and that has led to some terrible events. Most people have heard of the suicides caused by constant abuse at the hands of bullies, and occasionally those cyber stalkers take their fantasy offline and visit people’s homes. It’s a scary and dangerous situation, and some states, such as California, are finally adding laws that make these things illegal.
What is Cyber Stalking?
Cyber stalking is quite similar to traditional stalking, only this individual targets people online. The stalker will follow the victim’s online movements, use aliases to try to befriend them on different social networking sites and send constant emails. While it might sound like simple pestering at first, the communication with these stalkers will often turn dark when affections aren’t returned. If they see that you’ve gone out with your friends or a date, they may become jealous and the stalking may increase and take on a more frightening tone.
What is Cyber Bullying?
Cyber bullying mostly affects younger children and teenagers, although adults can be victimized as well. In some cases, a child’s peers at school use the Internet to torment and harass others. They will often develop a pack mentality, and one bully quickly becomes a dozen or more, all of them attacking the child online. Of course, some rather twisted adults can pile on the abuse as well, even when they know that it is a child they are bullying.
While it’s fortunate that it seems as though something will finally be done about these types of activities, the help isn’t coming soon enough.