Sites such as Facebook and Twitter are increasingly being used to abuse and threaten other members
In one of the first cases of cyber-stalking reported in the Lothians, a 26-year-old from Stockbridge has told the Evening News how he has been left under siege for nine months by dozens of e-mails, calls and texts every day from a woman he only met for a matter of minutes.
The freelance designer said he had been forced to contact police after the woman e-mailed his clients and sent several messages under various pseudonyms pretending to be interested in employing him.
The 22-year-old woman also started showing up at places where he was hanging out after identifying his location through Foursquare, a site which allows users to “check in” to venues across Edinburgh.
Today, DC Derek Graham, who works for Lothian and Borders Child Protection Internet Investigation Unit, said it was the first case of its kind he had come across, but he warned that the number of online disputes being reported in Edinburgh has been on the rise in recent months.
The victim, who designs logos, websites and artworks, said: “It has become quite scary. I’ve had texts and voicemails ranging from affectionate to hateful. She has called and e-mailed me up to 40 times a day and I’ve found up to six or seven voicemails on my phone in the morning.
“I thought I could handle it by myself and I felt a bit sorry for her, but I might have underestimated the situation. At first, it was only me that was involved, but now she has e-mailed some of my clients asking to work with them.
“It was by chance that I saw the messages and the extremes she is willing to go to scare me. Over the months she has taken more and more invasive steps. It’s reached the point where I need to get the police involved.”
He explained that he met his stalker when he held a public exhibition of design works in March last year. He said: “She came to the public opening, introduced herself and took one of my business cards. A couple of days later she invited me for a drink, so we met up at the Assembly Rooms to talk.
“I realised straight away that there was something not quite right. She was very intense, so I didn’t want anything more to do with her. Around three weeks later, she texted me asking what was happening between us and why I wasn’t with her? She would constantly ask where I was and what I was up to.!—
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Article source: http://news.scotsman.com/scotland/Victim-of-cyberstaker-tells-of.6681470.jp
Category: Cyber Stalking