How to Know if you Have a Cyber Stalker

Do YOU have a cyber stalker?

The age of technology has brought with it the age of cyber stalkers. Here are some of the warning signs of a cyber-stalker, so you can recognize them if you're ever in this situation.

Instructions

1. Frequent contact. One of the early warning signs of a potential cyber stalker is contact via email, instant messenger, or personal messages on forums, multiple times a day. If you start to feel overwhelmed with the number of times this person is contacting you, you need to stop and pay close attention to the messages themselves. They may be cyberstalking you.

2. Unusual interest in you. While it's common and normal to be curious about the people you meet online in forums or chatrooms, it's NOT normal to be dogged with personal questions about where you live, what other forums you frequent, and what sort of work you do. Someone who asks several questions about your personal, private life, they are trying to get a glimpse of who you really are (as opposed to just a name on a computer monitor).

3. They give you information about yourself that you didn't give them. When a person online asks you about certain information about yourself that you know you didn't give them, that's a sure sign you're being cyberstalked. They most likely attained this personal information by Googling your name to see what sort of information about you that they could glean from the internet. For instance, if they mention seeing a photo of you with your dog, and you know that that photo is on your Flickr account, they have been researching you. Also, if they mention seeing some work you've done online, and that work was done several years ago and you know it's been archived, they are definitely searching to dig up information about you.

4. They know where and when you're online. A cyberstalker will keep up with your moves online. They might send you emails or private messages saying, "I know you were online because I saw some messages you left for others, but you didn't answer my email." They might also "conveniently" show up to chatrooms or message boards when you do. Most likely, this isn't a coincidence. They may know your schedule or may have been waiting for you for hours.