"The information superhighway world we live in is a two-edge sword for survivors. The whole goal of escaping an abuser is to do just that, ESCAPE. After one has gone through the trauma of leaving, often with small children in tow, how horrifying it is to wake up to the reality that you can't escape at all. The internet doesn't hide anyone." ---Quote from a Survivor in Texas

Statute: 30-3A-3 to -4

Stalking Defined as;

Knowingly pursuing a pattern of conduct that would cause reasonable person to feel frightened, intimidated, or threatened. Stalker must intend to cause reasonable apprehension. Stalker must follow, survey, or harass. Aggravated stalking: stalking when it violates a restraining order, while possessing a deadly weapon, or when the victim is less than 16 yrs. old.

Technology has become a quick and easy way for stalkers to monitor and harass their victims.

More than one in four stalking victims reported that some form of cyber stalking was used, such as email (83%) or instant messaging (35%).

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National studies show : About 62% of former husbands, boyfriends, or cohabitating partners commit a series of the stalking incidents against females81% of those women were physically assaulted by a current partner31% of those women were sexually assaulted by that same partner (National Stalking Awareness month, Jan 21, 2013).

Out of the women killed by their intimate partners, 76% of the murders were preceded by one or more incidents of stalking (Using Technology to Stalk, October 2010).

Digital abuse is any form of abusive behavior between partners that happens through a digital medium (Facebook, text message, email, etc). Repeated text messaging, hacking or spying on a social network page or email account, or even pressuring someone into sending a sexually explicit text message are all forms of digital abuse.

Digital dating abuse is not to be taken lightly. Experts target this sort of behavior as a precursor to physical violence between partners. In the worst cases, it has even led to death.

Some stalkers overwhelm former intimate partners with dozens of emails and instant messages; often using automated senders that are anonymous & make it hard to identify the source

Other stalkers use technology such as caller ID during a relationship to monitor their partner's calls and to locate her whereabouts.

Stalkers are using a variety of tools to monitor and harass current and former intimate

partners : Telephone Surveillance Computer TechnologyOnline databaseEmailFacebookSpyware & key logging

Caller Identification (Caller ID) is a popular tool that abusers may use to monitor their victim's telephone calls while in the relationship, and to

stalk and locate their victim after the relationship has ended.

Caller ID devices provide the name and number of the caller, and some even provide the address

of the caller. In 1995, soon after caller ID was first available, an abuser tracked down and

subsequently murdered his former girlfriend by using caller ID.

Stalkers have used the fax headers on faxed documents to locate their victims. In one example, a woman fled, but had to send papers to her abusive partner. She faxed the papers from the shelter fax machine to her attorney. Her attorney faxed the papers to his attorney. His attorney gave the papers to him. Since no one removed the fax header, the abuser acquired the telephonenumber and location of his victim and she had to relocate again.

Teletypewriters (TTY) and Telecommunications Devices for the Deaf (TTD) are text based

telephones that people who are deaf or hard of hearing use to communicate. These devices often record and save an exact history of conversations,

making it easier for stalkers to monitor victims' conversations.

Abusers also impersonate victims by using their TTY to seek information about her activities. In one case, a prosecutor working with a Deaf victim got a call on his TTY, allegedly from the victim, reading, "If you don't drop the charges against my boyfriend, I'm going to kill myself."

When help was sent to the victim's home it was found that she had been sleeping when the TTY call was made. The abuser had impersonated the victim in an attempt to persuade the prosecutor to withdraw charges.

Abusers are using email and instant messages to threaten victims and impersonate them.

Stalkers can send victims malicious Spyware or viruses as email attachments monitoring email and impersonating victims by stealing passwords and viewing email via Spyware.

One individual changed his wife's email password and sent threatening messages to himself from her email account. He then took the printed messages to the police and asked them to arrest her.

Another man killed his wife after discovering that she was planning to flee. He learned of her escape plan in an email in her "deleted email folder". (Southworth, Dawson, Fraser, & Tucker, 2005)

Some abusers install global positioning systems (GPS) to discover their victim's real-time location and use web search engines in order to locate, track,

and harass former partners.

Victims are now reporting stalking abuse with a “high-tech” twist.

GPS apps installed in phonesGPS equipment installed under vehicles and/or gas tanks

Newer vehicles have GPS systems already installed in themFacebook “check-in” option

http://www.navigadget.com/index.php/2007/01/03/gps-shoes

Spyware allows someone to track all your actions on your computer, including websites visited, emails sent and received, images of your screen and even passwords entered.

Spyware may be installed remotely using and e-mail as an attachment, or on-site if the stalker has access to your computer.

Key logging software can be installed the same way it records ALL of the user’s keystrokes, revealing much of the same information as spyware.

Key logging has its own code in order to access the file

Most key logger programs are hidden files that a normal person would not be able to search or find

In some cases, not even anti-spy ware programs will find it

Even when you have deleted or cleared your history on your browser/cache, a key logger program will already have recorded the previous key strokes and information you had already typed.

Key logger programs record even the “deleted” key strokes

http://www.spytech-web.com/keystroke-spy.shtml

Phone spyware may be installed on your cell phone without your knowledge by anyone with temporary access to it.

Using the spyware a stalker can listen in on your conversations and monitor your text messages. Installing or activating GPS on your phone can allow him/her to track the location of the phone.

• After Software is setup on the target phone it will record SMS Text and Call activities and then silently upload the data to your private Mobile Spy account using the internet. The software also records GPS locations every 30 minutes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_yzZSsrShI&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoA0La0uIWo

Allows a person to hide their identity when calling or emailing

Allows a person to hide their voice It’s cheap and easily accessible

www.spoofcard.comwww.telespoof.com

Let’s See How Easy it is to Spoof

a Call!

Social media companies’ quest is to make us all as “connected” as possible

basic privacy settings are becoming less and less effective.

A stalker may view your Facebook or Twitter posts

The more someone shares the more there is “out there” to be found by a stalker.

YouTube is being used by stalkers to post videos of their victims

Another surveillance method is the use of tiny video cameras placed in your home, car or even workplace.

Some video surveillance are made to resemble a pen. The footage from these cameras can often be streamed and viewed via an internet site on actual real time.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwQLbyD4mRQ

Keep all online communications Save all text messages. Take a picture of the text message on the phone and save that to your

computer or a jump drive in case you lose or damage your phone. Record all voice mail messages. Voicemail messages are deleted after a

short while by the network so you should record all harassing voicemail messages. Make sure you note the exact time and date the voicemail arrived.

Save all e-mails including all the header information (see below) Make a copy of all harassing messages/photos you find online in social

networks/Chat/IM messages or conversations. On a Windows PC keyboard there is a special key that says ‘Prt Sc’ or ‘PrintScreen’.

As an extra precaution don’t use an obvious name for the file like ‘evidence’ but something that the stalker wouldn’t look in such as ‘recipes’

Log all harassment and ALWAYS note the time and date of theincident.

If you are getting silent phone calls and/or hang-ups then write down every time that they occurred.

If you suspect that they are accessing your accounts, write down if and when passwords have changed.

If there is damage to your property, take a picture and note the date and time you noticed it.

Take a picture of your stalker (without him/her knowing and if it is safe) if he is following you or showing up places that are unexpected.

If victims are getting high volumes of harassing calls or texts via mobile phone, they can request that their mobile phone provider sends their mobile phone logs to the police. The phone provider should be able to help you with this request. (National Center for victims of crime, 2009)

Stalking the stalker (cont.)…

Safety Planning in the HomeMake sure bushes and trees are trimmed so that is difficult for a human to hide behind them Notify neighbors. Instruct them to call the police if they see or hear anything suspicious. Plan all possible escape routes from your home or apartment.Remove critical documents from your homeKeep an escape bag at a friends house or another secure location.

Safety in the CarIt is helpful to peer inside and underneath a car prior to approaching it closely or getting insideTinted windows are dangerous because they may conceal the stalker inside the vehicle.Always drive with all of your car doors locked .

Telephones:Talk to survivors about screening calls with answering machines and, where legal, taping harassing telephone calls.

Encourage victims to document harassing calls through stalking logs, photographing caller ID, and "call trace" (*57 in most areas).

Educate survivors about "per-call" (*67 in most areas) or permanent caller ID blocking.

Inform victims that caller ID devices can be installed without their knowledge and transmit information about all incoming calls.

When calling victims, use caller ID Block or operator-assisted calls to reduce the risk of an abuser identifying an advocacy organization through a caller ID device.

Call ahead before sending any faxes on behalf of a survivor. Encourage victims to do the same when they are not in shelter. Remind the fax recipient to cut off the fax header and remove cover page.

Block caller ID on shelter and advocacy organization fax and telephone lines.

Encourage victims to use a password or phrase when using communicating by TTY to confirm their identity and minimize the risk of impersonation.

Talk with victims about deleting TTY conversation histories stored in their TTY devices.

Provide a TTY device in advocacy offices that victims can use to make private calls.

Encourage survivors to contact their telephone carriers to learn about their wireless/cell phone's features and services. They may want to ask if location services have been added to their service plans.

Educate survivors about the option of turning a phone off to increase location privacy. Educate and strategize

Encourage survivors to use a donated cell phone or to purchase a new cell phone with a different carrier if they think their phones or the billing records are being used to monitor their calls.

Location and Surveillance:Encourage victims to trust their instincts if they suspect they are being followed.

Help survivors find a law enforcement officer or a mechanic willing to search a victim's car or belongings for a GPS device.

Talk to victims who use GPS automobile services about the pros and cons of changing their account password to prevent stalkers from gaining access to their car and location information.

Encourage survivors to trust their instincts and look for patterns in the information the stalker appears to know. Patterns may help the survivor identify possible camera locations.

Talk to survivors about checking their homes or having law enforcement search for small holes or unidentifiable wiring.

Computers:Encourage victims to use a safer computer; one that the stalker does not have access to.

Encourage survivors not to open any attachments from unknown sources or their abusers, and to keep their computers' operating systems and virus definitions updated regularly.

Ask victims if they use a computer and, if so, explain how Spyware can give an abuser the ability to monitor ALL computer use. Discuss the pros and cons of using Spyware detection programs, since installing such a software program could alert the stalker.

Encourage survivors to be suspicious if an abuser has installed a new keyboard recently or done computer repair work that coincides with an increase of stalking or monitoring.

If a victim finds a harassing website about herself, discuss with her the option of talking to law enforcement to determine whether a website is a violation of a protection order or could be evidence for a stalking or harassment charge.

Help victims use search engines such as www.whois.net to determine the owner of a malicious website and research the website owner's policy on threatening sites.

Encourage victims to ask where their personal information is stored; if any government entities publish their records on the Internet, they can request to have their records sealed or to restrict who can access their information.

Identify or promote approaches, such as address confidentiality programs, which provide viable mechanisms to ensure a victim's information remains confidential regardless of whether she votes, buys property, goes to court, or engages in other activities.

(August, 2012). Stalking fact sheet. Retrieved from http://www.victimsofcrime.org/our-programs/stalking-resource-center

National Center for victims of crime. Retrieved from http://www.stalkingawarenessmonth.org/about

Southworth, C., Dawson, S., Fraser, C., & Tucker, S. (2005). A High-Tech Twist on Abuse: Technology, Intimate Partner Stalking, and Advocacy. Retrieved from

http://www.mincava.umn.edu/documents/commissioned/stalkingandtech/stalkingandtech.html.

National Stalking Awareness Month. Retrieved from http://www.ironmountaindailynews.com/page/content.detail/id/538784/National- Stalking-Awareness-Month.html?nav=5004

(October, 2010). Using technology to stalk. Points of interest; the newsletter of friends of turning point. Retrieved from http://turningpointmacomb.org/tp/wp- content/uploads/2012/02/TurningPointNewsletter9-10.pdf

Southworth, C., Dawson, S., Fraser, C., & Tucker, S. (2005). A High-Tech Twist on Abuse:Technology, Intimate Partner Stalking, and Advocacy. Retrieved from http://nnedv.org/downloads/SafetyNet/NNEDV_HighTechTwist_PaperAndApxA_English08.pdf