Net Crimes and Misdemeanors: Outmaneuvering the Spammers, Swindlers and Stalkers Who Are Targeting You Online

Citation

Sen, B. (2003), "Net Crimes and Misdemeanors: Outmaneuvering the Spammers, Swindlers and Stalkers Who Are Targeting You Online", New Library World, Vol. 104 No. 4/5, pp. 181-181. https://doi.org/10.1108/03074800310475990

Be afraid! Be very afraid! The first chapter of this book reads like the script of a horror movie. All the more terrifying because it is not a movie script. The horrifying events unravelling first before Jayne Hitchcock’s eyes on her computer screen began to manifest themselves more visibly in her daily life. Events that led her to buy a gun, require psychotherapy, and uproot and move house. Such was her fear of an obsessive cyber‐stalker. The nightmare began on a dreadful day in 1996 when someone took a dislike to a message she posted on a newsgroup Web site, with the horror continuing till 2001 when the perpetrators of the ongoing cyber‐harassment were sentenced to jail. During that time Jayne was subjected to a tirade of e‐mail bombing. Malicious messages were posted in her name to hundreds of mailing‐lists and newsgroups. Goods ordered in her name were delivered to her home. Her employers were targeted in the hope of getting Jayne sacked. Her home address and telephone number were posted on controversial sex sites which left her subjected to constant offensive phone calls. She was stalked whilst shopping and even received death threats. The message from all this is that this could happen to you.

Jayne shares not just her story, but those of numerous other victims of identity theft, financial scams, harassment, spamming and stalking. A number of the stories end in tragedy as with the case of Amy Boyer, the subject of a cyber‐stalker whose obsessions led to murder and the stalker’s own suicide.

Mostly the stories illustrate a naïvety even of intelligent, computer‐literate people, when interacting over the Internet. The book shows clearly the need to extend our survival instincts from being street‐wise to also being cyber‐wise. To this end much of the content is devoted to protection. From protecting children whilst on the Net, staying safe in the workplace or university, to using sensible measures to protect your PC from viruses and hackers.

Each chapter has a mini‐glossary at the outset (supported by a full glossary at the back of the book) to make the jargon understandable. Step‐by‐step, “how to” guides are presented for key topics such as “How to protect your child online” and how to “… keep your passwords confidential”. At the end of each chapter are helpful endnotes outlining further reading, explanations or useful organisations to contact.

A resource list follows the structure of the book chapter by chapter. It includes the Web sites cited within the text including those organisations set up to help victims of cyber‐abuse. If there is a down‐side to this book for an international readership of what is a global problem, then it is the clear US focus. The legal processes illustrated are US‐oriented and would have most pertinent help in relation to US cyber‐crime.

This apart, the book is a “must see” for anyone using the Internet. You would not go to work and leave your house open to intruders, yet every day we effectively do just that when we use the Internet. We open our doors, sometimes unwittingly, to a host of potential intruders who can cause untold damage and abuse.

As a result of her experiences Jayne Hitchcock has become an expert in cyber‐crimes specialising in cyber‐stalking. She speaks on the subject across the USA, appears on TV and radio and now is sharing her advice and expertise in this book to help readers become cyber‐wise. It is well worth reading and taking some of her advice.