In today’s digital world, it’s almost inevitable that someone is going to say negative comments about you or anyone else online. The internet is the perfect place for cyber bullies and criminals to hide and share their negativity and toxicity with the world. If you are a victim of online harassment don’t sweat it, there are steps you can take to put an end to the harassment and silence your attacker. In this blog, you will learn what online harassment entails, how to respond to online harassment, and whether or not you can report the abuse to the police.
Table of Contents:
What Is the Definition of Online Harassment?
Online harassment is when a person is threatened, harassed, and even cyberstalked by another individual online. The harassment could come in many forms such as hateful comments, physical threats, and constant ridiculing on your social media platforms.
The harassment could also take place outside of social media such as through email, business pages, or websites that are created by the attackers where they bash a person’s integrity.
How To Respond to Online Harassment?
Don’t Feed the Trolls: One of the most important things to remember when being harassed online is not to engage with the person doing the harassment. This will only give them more ammunition and likely encourage them to continue. The best thing you can do is ignore them completely and they will (hopefully) eventually get bored and move on.
Report Them to The Authorities: If the harassment is severe or violates the terms of service of the site you are using, be sure to document the harassment and report them to the site administrators or even law enforcement if necessary. This will help ensure that action is taken and hopefully prevent other users from having to go through what you are experiencing.
Block Them: If you are being harassed by someone on social media or another site that allows blocking, take advantage of this feature! This will make it so that they can no longer contact you directly and will hopefully make them give up. However, they may still find other ways to contact you if they are determined enough. This is why it’s important to bring it to the authorities if it continues.
Change Your Privacy Settings: Another way to help protect yourself from online harassment is to change your privacy settings so that only people you know and trust can contact you directly. This will help keep out any potential trolls before they even have a chance to start harassing you.
Can You Report to the Police or Someone Else About Online Harassment?
Yes, if you feel like the harassment is interfering with your life and you are worried about your safety, it is important to report the harassment to your local authorities! Online harassment is a crime and those who act on it can face jail sentencing and fines depending on the specifics of the harassment.
You can also report the crime to cybercrime specialists such as us. If you are unaware of who your harasser is, there are ways to find that out and so much more detailed information. Our forensic analysts use a set of strategies and techniques on top of technology that has shown success in finding out who lives behind the cyber-attacks and putting an end to them.
No one deserves to be harassed, whether it is in person or online. If you find yourself the victim it’s important you know how to respond to online harassment, remember not to engage with the harasser, report them to authorities, if necessary, block them if possible, and change your privacy settings. With these steps, you can help put a stop to online harassment.
