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We have a family member who is experiencing constant stalking,
harassment, and threats from someone. We highly suspect who this
person is, but do not have positive proof. If it is the this person,
they are extremely mentally deranged and very likely dangerous. This
has been going on in the real world for several years.
Recently, this harassment started online. There have been emailed
threats and harassment, defamatory postings to discussion groups that
this person is using, and other harassment. This has already caused
problems for both the individual, and their business.
We just got another threatening email, and instead of deleting it, I
took the headers and did a trace using Arin.net.
The person is posting thru a yahoo email address, but the headers
prove they originated from AOL.
What are her legal rights to obtain the actual name of the person who
is using both Yahoo and Aol to send these messages? I highly doubt
that either of those services will give out this information without
some sort of legal action, such as a law enforcement official, court
order, or at least an attorney filing "something" to get this info.
Can someone please tell me how to go about this?
We have filed a complaint to Yahoo, and intend to file another with
Aol. But as far as I know, the most they will do is disable the
persons account, and of course they will just get another and continue
this harassment.
One other thing, what is the procedure to file a stalking complaint
when a person is not sure of who the stalker is?
If you are up on the law, please advise. This situation is serious,
continues to get worse, and could become much worse.
Thank You
Email address used on this message is phoney
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On Fri, 01 Oct 2004 19:16:42 -0500, emailaddress@isp.com in misc.legal,
wrote the following:
We have a family member who is experiencing constant stalking,
harassment, and threats from someone. We highly suspect who this
person is, but do not have positive proof. If it is the this person,
they are extremely mentally deranged and very likely dangerous. This
has been going on in the real world for several years.
Recently, this harassment started online. There have been emailed
threats and harassment, defamatory postings to discussion groups that
this person is using, and other harassment. This has already caused
problems for both the individual, and their business.
We just got another threatening email, and instead of deleting it, I
took the headers and did a trace using Arin.net.
The person is posting thru a yahoo email address, but the headers
prove they originated from AOL.
What are her legal rights to obtain the actual name of the person who
is using both Yahoo and Aol to send these messages? I highly doubt
that either of those services will give out this information without
some sort of legal action, such as a law enforcement official, court
order, or at least an attorney filing "something" to get this info.
Can someone please tell me how to go about this?
Assuming the threat is credible, and by this, I mean that you have good
reason to think that your suspected person is the source of the e-mails
and postings, is nearby enough to your family member to possibly carry
out the threats made [thus, is proximate enough for acting on the threat
to be considered serious], and you have a history with this person (by
this, I am hoping you have instituted legal charges or temporary
restraining orders against the person previously), you _may_ (REPEAT:
_may_) have a good enough case to get a judge in Virginia (where AOL is
located) to issue a subpoena duces tecum to deliver the records on the
suspected e-mail address.
If it turns out that the e-mailer is your person, then you can institute
whatever anti-cyberstalking charge your state allows (this is assuming
you are in the US and your state (or the state of the defendant) has an
anti-stalking law in regards to online communications. You can check
this at http://www.haltabuse.org/resources/laws/index.shtml )
However, nothing is guaranteed: making the jump from threats offline to
threats online with little else than your suspicions is not enough to
get most courts to issue a subpoena for AOL's records of its members.
We have filed a complaint to Yahoo, and intend to file another with
Aol. But as far as I know, the most they will do is disable the
persons account, and of course they will just get another and continue
this harassment.
True. Many cyberstalkers maintain multiple accounts just to continue
harassing a person. I am assuming you have kept all evidence of the
harassment - posts, e-mail, etc. If not, please be sure to do so now.
You need to be clear if you print these out to include ALL headers, as
they are the means for tracking the harassment/stalking. If it is the
same person, the headers will show his/her location in ways that tell
law enforcement how to locate him/her.
One other thing, what is the procedure to file a stalking complaint
when a person is not sure of who the stalker is?
If a threat is made against your relative's life, contact 911
immediately. It is not necessary for you or your relative to know who
the stalker is if threats of harm are made, and the complaint will be
taken seriously by most law enforcement. If they will not assist,
contact the FBI immediately, especially if overt death threats are being
made.
If you need further assistance online, consider contacting WHOA (Working
to Halt Online Abuse) at www.haltabuse.org, preferably with an unmunged
e-mail address where we can assist you more directly.
Do not hesitate on this matter: as you yourself pointed out, the
situation can only get worse if you do not do something now.
Katherine Griffis-Greenberg, J.D.
Internal Consultant to WHOA
WHOA - Working to Halting Online Abuse
http://www.haltabuse.org
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