Charged with Cyberstalking her Mother-in-Law

A Burlington woman was charged Friday with five counts of cyberstalking after she sent out several e-mails accusing her mother-in-law of fraud.

The Alamance County Sheriff’s Department started investigating Kim Ezzell, 31, of Ethans Way, after receiving information through five search warrants that she was allegedly linked to an e-mail sent out multiple times in August and September. Kim Ezzell was placed under $2,500 unsecured bond and will have a first appearance in Alamance County District Court Monday, according to a sheriff’s department news release.

The e-mails Kim Ezzell allegedly sent accused her mother-in-law, Bonnie Ezzell of Haw River, of illegally obtaining benefits from the Alamance County Department of Social Services, the Internal Revenue Service and the Employment Security Commission. It was sent to various people and agencies, including several of Bonnie Ezzell’s family members as well as DSS Director Susan Osborne, Congressman Howard Coble, the Times-News and other media outlets, the Alamance-Burlington School System, the IRS and Gov. Beverly Perdue’s office, according to a search warrant.

After the Times-News received the e-mail in September, it was investigated and published Sept. 6 in a “We Checked It Out” report. The Times-News couldn’t find any agency to confirm that Bonnie Ezzell did anything fraudulent.

Bonnie Ezzell reported to the sheriff’s department on Sept. 11 that an unknown person was sending e-mails to multiple people accusing her of fraud.

The e-mails alleged that Bonnie Ezzell and her daughter Tammy Ezzell were defrauding the IRS; Tammy was renting her children to her mother for the purpose of claiming them as dependents on her tax returns, the e-mail said. Tammy Ezzell allegedly receives benefits from DSS in the form of Medicaid, food stamps and housing.

In addition, the e-mails alleged that Bonnie Ezzell worked at Cindy’s Mini Mart in Haw River and was paid “under the table,” even though she was receiving unemployment benefits. The e-mails were sent multiple times beginning in mid August until about Sept. 22, according to search warrants.

Bonnie Ezzell denied the accusations. She allegedly told authorities that she did work at Cindy’s Mini Mart while receiving unemployment benefits but was reporting those earnings. A DSS investigation found no evidence of fraud, and the IRS doesn’t initiate an investigation unless the loss is $250,000 or greater, according to search warrants.

“None of the allegations levied in the e-mail have been found to have any merit,” the warrants state.

In November, detectives with the sheriff’s department’s crimes and forensic investigations unit obtained search warrants in order to seize Kim Ezzell’s computer at her job at LabCorp on South Spring Street, as well as her home computers. Authorities also seized information from LabCorp about dates and times Kim Ezzell has been at work as well as the company’s policy and procedures regarding use of their computers.

The e-mails were sent from a variety of e-mail addresses but during the investigation, the sheriff’s department was able to link the e-mail addresses to an IP address at LabCorp as well as a Time Warner Cable IP address provided to John Ezzell, who is Kim Ezzell’s husband and Bonnie Ezzell’s son.

Bonnie Ezzell allegedly told authorities that she thought her daughter-in-law was behind the e-mail.

“Bonnie Ezzell states that her daughter-in-law has always been jealous of her, and she suspected that she might have something to do with this,” the search warrants state.

Investigators think that Kim Ezzell allegedly sent the e-mails to “annoy, harass and embarrass Bonnie Ezzell,” according to warrants.

original article here

Holiday Greetings from an Online Predator

(he must be in heaven... on TV and something to send all his proxies, targets and friends to prove what a "nice guy" he is... classic obfuscatory move by a predator!)
*************

The Ceaseless Internet Mask of Doug Beckstead

Doug Beckstead just can't get enough of his own voice or writing (very similar to fellow cyberpath Yidwithlid). Doug makes sure his self-aggrandizing writing, constant hunt for friends (digging back as far as college & high school to find them!) and blatant display of old high school acquaintances from 30 years ago are apparently online.

Cyberpaths FREQUENTLY do this after being exposed hoping that old friends who don't know about their predatory secret lives will unwittingly 'stick up for them' using multiple posts and to push exposes like EOPC down on any searches for their name(s). This also covertly harasses their victims and helps in the cyberpaths efforts to make those they used & abused look "crazy". EOPC knows better!

It's such obvious self-promoting P.R. - we are shocked anyone with any sense continues to believe it. (our comments in dark blue)

BECKSTEAD SHAMELESS USES NATURAL DISASTER FOR MORE ATTENTION!

Here's a few of Beckstead's latest Mental Droppings from around the net:

http://www.mylife.com/dog_driver
Facebook & Yahoo Chat Groups have not been enough for this predator, he continues to advertise for more "friends" on the above. Must keep up appearances!! Twitter is next folks!

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SAHS77/message/179
"I've attached the third in my series of "Memos from Mortaritaville" to let everyone know what's happening over there. All-in-all it was one hell of an adventure. I did things that I never could have imagined two years ago. And I got to see things that I had only seen on National Geographic programs before. I've seen houses made of mud bricks just like they've been made of four thousands of years and I've seen the palaces of Saddam Hussein and his perverted flaunting of the nation's wealth (and yes, I even took a leak in one of his golden toilets!)." - Beckstead

TOO MUCH INFORMATION Doug! As if we really all need to know where you're using the bathroom! Typical bad boundaries with a cyberpath.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SAHS77/message/309
"It's great seeing everyone tossing ideas around about getting together following holidays. I sure wish I could make it back for one."- Beckstead

Translation of what this predator is saying: "It is much easier for me to con you from a distance than to have you so up close and seeing how hollow & exploitative I really am."

This proves he does not see these "friends" as frequently as he has so often alluded to and lied about. Nor do they see and truly KNOW what he does behind a keyboard with his pants down. Besides it is easier to lie and keep the fantasies and lures more believable from a distance for a predator like Doug Beckstead. He craves and fishes for the constant praise and attention. Classic Narcissist.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SAHS77/message/322
"Merry Christmas!
Doug and Carol Beckstead"

Pretending to show a united front by signing for the often-betrayed wife as well. Just like Jacoby, Gash, Yid with Lid, Capers, Thomas and the rest of these married cyberpaths.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SAHS77/message/418
"I too can attest to the impact made by letters received from both friends and strangers alike when deployed. Occasionally one of the people from our Chaplains Office would come through HQ and drop off a few letters or post cards from people back home. It was always a pleasure to read them. When they had return addresses I would pick up some post cards at the BX and write a short "thank you" back to them. Every one of the letters that I received while in Iraq came home with me."- Beckstead

Pumping up his true (somewhat low) importance with his new favorite word "deployed". Elmendorf Air Force Base has been told this man has a proven predatory history and yet the Chaplain's Office hands this predator future victims on a platter? And Beckstead is NOT an enlisted man. He is NON MILITARY. This is a real slap at the men & women who truly protect countries like the U.S.A. to have a pathological liar like Beckstead piggybacking on their service.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SAHS77/message/433
"And yes, we wear body armor and everyone is armed here. The only place I go without my "best friend" is the shower and the gym. If you want to try something really fun, try eating dinner with an M-16 between your legs and the butt cradled against your arm (we can't lay them on the floor due to the tripping hazard). I think I'll be down to my old high school fighting weight by the time I leave here. Nothing like carrying around 65 pounds of body armor to take off the pounds."- Beckstead

Sympathy lures abound when reading this post in its full entirety (see link above). And the narcissistic bragging is all over the post!

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SAHS77/message/437
"I try and be friendly and professional around them. Although the other day we passed a couple who were definitely not friendly. Their "Spidey Sense" goes up a few notches in those cases."
"You never know what could be lurking underneath." - Beckstead

Spoken like a true predator. Takes one to know one.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SAHS77/message/445
"RE: [SAHS77] Pics from Afghanistan"
"My most humble thanks Anne."
"To clarify the whole rank thing, I am actually a civilian with the Air Force. I am not a contractor. I work directly for the commanding general here on the base and back home when I get there."
"I live and work in sort of a gray area between the civilian and active-duty worlds. The vast majority of civilians who work for the Dept of Defense never deploy. With my job it is a requirement that I deploy because I am considered an "Emergency-Essential" employee. At Elmendorf AFB, where I work, there are four of us in that catagory, out of approximately 6,000 civilian employees." - Beckstead

Beckstead has attracted the attention he so desperately craves and works HARD for with his writing here, so he embellishes, overblows and twists the reality a little further for effect for those who are clueless to his true nature.

For those who have been following this predator's trail of lies and deceit, you will notice how he is no longer referring to himself as the "dedicated historian". Now he portrays himself as one of Elmendorf's elite - an "Emergency Essential" no less.

What happened to be "being sent to write about history as it happens?" (Beckstead's own words) Like all these pathologicals, things change on the spot - as needed - to get what they must have - victims!

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SAHS77/message/446
A Movement in the Shadows
"They knelt as one body keeping their arms straight down to their sides. Then, after a few seconds, the man who was apparently the leader bent at the waist, placed his outstretched hands on the ground, then placed his forehead on his hands. The group then followed his movements as a single body. Their movements were fluid, almost like watching water flowing in a stream."

When you click on this link (see above) you will notice a sudden change of his dramatizations & writing style - proving yet again he truly is, as all cyberpaths are, a chameleon for the cause - HIS OWN. He uses words and self-inflated reports to baffle brains. Beckstead knows how to pull out all of the stops to impress the ladies & men - who really don't know any better, as you will see when you read the replies to some of his posts.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SAHS77/message/448
The Bagram Bazaar
19 September 2009
"A walk down the rows of stalls was almost like walking through an Indiana Jones movie. The first thing to impact you is the visual stimulation of a rainbow of colors. The vendors have hung fabric of red, yellow, blue and green to designate their shop space. They also extend out over the walkways providing a sort of billowing awning. The bright fall sun intensifies their brilliance and imparts a colorful hue to the scene."

Here Beckstead rolls out the descriptive imagery to reel everyone in on his magical mystery tour of Bagram. His attempts are very transparent to his victims (as they have all written to us), as over the top and truly pathetic. Not too many bites from his clueless followers this time around. Wonder if they are beginning to catch on to Mr Crucial "Emergency essential"? Self-promotion gets tired after a while but he and cyberpath Yid with Lid can't see to grasp that. No true pathological would.

"One man, who was selling all sorts of carved wooden items, including some beautiful intricately carved wooden boxes, said that they would make a wonderful gift for my wife. I asked him what made him so sure that I was married?"
"He replied, “You don't have wife?”
"I said, “Yes, I have two,” holding up two fingers."
"He held up two fingers with a look of puzzled amazement on his face and asked, “Two? You have two wives?” - Beckstead

Forever the facetious con-man Beckstead laps it up by playing more head games, this time with the wary locals. A big kick for Beckstead, but truly unnecessary. Not giving the locals a nice impression of the ethics of the U.S. military, are you Beckstead?

Like all our exposed predators, they can't help but go a step too far! Now Beckstead compares himself to Alexander the Great just because he is allegedly walking the same soil. (him and how many other 1000s of people over the ages? but Beckstead has to squeeze some polish for his image out of everything!) Truly pathetic. If only these people REALLY knew!

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SAHS77/message/453
"Hmmm, I could have sworn that there were pictures with the first message I sent out about the Bazaar. Oh well, I'll just forward them around again.

Life is definitely hopping over here. The bad guys keep letting us know they're serious about trying to throw us out. But little do they know ...

Our base sits in the Hindu Kush mountains. It's a rather historic area. Just the other day I was out walking and took a good long look at the rugged mountains that surround us. Then it dawned on me. I was looking at the same view that Alexander the Great saw when he came through here in 327 BC and Ghengis Khan saw when he came through the area. Damn, there's some major history here.

Does anyone remember the Swedish exchange student we had at SAHS in our senior year? Her name was xxxx. I took her out to Valley Forge to one of those crazy Rev War things I used to be involved with. She really put a damper on it the whole Bicentennial thing when she told me, "I don't understand what you Americans are so excited about only 200 years of history. The town I live in is 700 years old."

Well, now that I'm here in Afghanistan, walking in the same places that Alexander the Great walked when he conquered people who had already been living here for thousands of years, somehow American history just seems so, uhhh, young.

So xxxx, here are your pictures. See, I really did ride the camel!"

At least Beckstead seems to have a new girlfriend in the Middle East. ;)

Womans Sues Whoever Posted her Nude Pics Online

(some cyberpaths take your nude pic and then, without your knowledge - SELL THEM to Amateur Porn sites! Never take nude pictures... EVER!)

by Lauren Smiley

​No need to dream of being Pamela Anderson or Paris Hilton or even former Miss California Carrie Prejean. You, too, can have your own internet sex scandal. Or nightmare.

A private citizen of San Francisco has filed suit in Superior Court against some rotten anonymous internet trolls who posted photos of her topless when she was 16 on Flickr and Badongo.com with her real maiden name. (We do not know her name because she has filed anonymously as Jane Doe.) The reign of cyber-terror continued when someone calling themselves "Iknow Whatitis" emailed her current husband six photos of her performing oral sex on her ex-husband. The message only said "[The woman's name] is using you. think about it." Ouch.

According to the suit, the woman, "through substantial effort, and the expenditure of considerable funds," was able to convince both Flickr and Badongo to take down the photos. Finding out who the culprits actually are is the trick now. After the woman's attorney wrote a harsh cease-and-desist letter to the her ex-husband, he wrote back denying any knowledge of the photos. The woman's current San Francisco-based attorney, Colette Vogele, has filed to serve subpoenas for business records on third parties to track down the bad guys' (or gals') IP address or user information.

Vogele declined to talk about the case, saying she wanted to keep it under wraps. "I don't want it to come out who she is. It would be bad if it would come out."

The woman is suing for injunctive relief, and compensatory and punitive damages. She is charging harassment, intentional infliction of distress and placing the plaintiff in a false light since the internet trolls posted the images using her own name as if she'd done it herself.

Moral of the story: Do not take sex pictures. Ever.

original story here

AFF - Online Dating Sexual Harassment Scandal

Do we NEED to give ANY MORE reasons not to use ANY (and we mean ALL OF THEM) online dating services?

Some of them are RUN BY PREDATORS.

FriendFinder's executives will learn a hard lesson: It's one thing to profit from women. It's another to take advantage of them.

A porn star draping boobs over an employee's head. Lapdances on the company dime. $50 million in back taxes. These are just some of the charges Penthouse publisher FriendFinder Networks is facing from an ex-employee.

Natalie Cedeno, the company's former HR director, says that company executives retaliated against her for pointing out violations of labor laws. She was a top executive at the Internet side of the business, deeply involved in its operations for eight years, before FriendFinder fired her without cause in January, she says. She claims the company then tried to withhold the two years of pay she was owed under her contract unless she agreed to stay silent about FriendFinder's misdeeds — a move her lawyer characterizes as "extortion." Cedeno plans to file complaints with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and California's Department of Fair Employment and Housing next month.

And a juicy complaint it will be. FriendFinder Networks used to be called Penthouse Media Group before it acquired Various Inc., the operator of Adult FriendFinder and other online personals sites, in 2007 for $500 million. While they're both porn companies, the office cultures of Florida-based Penthouse and Silicon Valley-based Various Inc. — where Cedeno worked before the merger — couldn't have been more different. That became obvious on May 2, 2008, when the ex-Penthouse executives, now in charge of the combined business, decided to ship in a passel of Penthouse Pets to the old Various offices.

When management announced that the venerable porn magazine's stable of nude models would be stopping by the office to serve ice cream, one female employee objected, as Cedeno tells the story. When they arrived, one of the scantily clad Pets made a beeline for the dissenter. "They came into her office and placed her breasts on her head in an attempt to humiliate her, and they had someone ready to take pictures," Cedeno says. The employee quit soon after the incident.

The evening before Cedeno was terminated last month, she says she brought up at a meeting of executives an employee who had charged thousands of dollars in lapdances to the company — an expense the company's pre-Penthouse management wouldn't have tolerated. "The president laughed and said the CEO had paid for lapdances for investment bankers with company money last weekend," Cedeno says.

But wait a second: Aren't we talking about a company whose main product is porn? What are a few workplace hijinks at a business which makes money off of naked ladies? Well, there's much more than Cedeno's pay at stake. FriendFinder filed to go public last year. It desperately needs the $460 million it hopes to raise in an IPO in order to pay down $420 million in debt. If the company has legal problems and labor issues beyond what it disclosed in its SEC filings, its executives could face heavy penalties, and the IPO would likely be scotched.

FriendFinder Networks CEO Marc Bell did not return a message left requesting comment on Cedeno's allegations. The SEC restricts what companies in registration for an IPO can say publicly about their business outside of regulatory filings, a requirement known as the "quiet period."

According to Cedeno, Various operated Adult FriendFinder and other X-rated adult sites for seven years without drawing a single sexual-harassment lawsuit from employees. The company was as buttoned-down as nearby NASA contractors. Office rules restricted employees from posting any photos on office walls, or even having naughty screensavers. Cedeno says the company's longtime postman had to ask her, after six years of delivering mail, what the company actually did. And founder Andrew Conru, who took no venture capital and therefore owned almost all of the company, is famously mild-mannered. (The raciest he gets: He once told a magazine he'd had a ménage-à-trois.)

Valleywag had previously heard rumblings of discontent at the company. Over the summer, Anthony Previte, a Penthouse executive who was COO of the company, reportedly prompted a mutiny among the Sunnyvale employees by trying (and failing) to replace most of the operations team. We also heard of a messy firing in the sales department. But that was just the tip of the iceberg, according to Cedeno.

Everything changed after Penthouse bought the company and changed its name to FriendFinder Networks, she says. Within four weeks, FriendFinder had its first labor complaint, and soon drew two more. The company's former controller plans to file an age-discrimination lawsuit, Cedeno says.

Cedeno says new management was unresponsive to her concerns. When she pointed out violations of overtime law, the company's VP of operations emailed her, "This garbage stops now." (He meant her complaints, not the violations.) She says she was then ordered to lie and blame pay discrepancies on the company's outside payroll vendor. She refused.

She also says that in January 2008, Rob Brackett, president of the company's Internet group, told her that CEO Marc Bell had complained to him in December — the first day he came to visit Penthouse's new acquisition — that the women in FriendFinder's technology department were "ugly" and that Cedeno should get rid of them and replace them with more attractive workers to keep the male employees happy. Brackett pressed Cedeno, asking her how she was going to satisfy Bell. She refused the request.

The company has admitted in its S-1 filings that it failed to collect taxes owed on Internet purchased in the European Union for years. It has already charged $64 million against the purchase price of Various. (It now reports the acquisition as costing the company $401 million, down from $500 million, thanks to this and other charges.) But it has not disclosed the full extent of its pending tax bills. Cedeno says the back taxes in Germany alone come to $40 million and the company owes $10 million in another European country.

FriendFinder seems to have made a formidable enemy. Cedeno has hired Amanda Metcalf, a former prosecutor now in private practice who's best known for her role in a lawsuit against Death Row Records. I asked Metcalf why she took on Cedeno's case. "Woman done wrong," she replied. If Cedeno proves her allegations in court, FriendFinder's executives will learn a hard lesson: It's one thing to profit from women. It's another to take advantage of them.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Exposure: Good -- Harassment: Bad

Doing this sort of thing can get YOU arrested!


A 22-year-old sailor told police Tuesday he’s not happy about getting what he called “harassing” phone calls after his information and photo were posted under the “gay section” of Craigslist, according to Bremerton, WA Police reports.

The man, stationed aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, told police he doesn’t know who’s responsible, but said two ads have been put up on the Kitsap County, Washington portion of the site and another ad has been put up on an out-of-state portion of the site.

Police are still investigating. Anyone with information is asked to call 911.

MySpace Date? And a Home Invasion!

Jason Barker is a hardworking St. Clair Shores guy who thought he'd try meeting a nice girl on MySpace.

Instead, as a kind 24-year-old woman from Oak Park chatted with him during their first date at a Chili's restaurant, police say her accomplice was cleaning out Barker' s Downing Street home Dec. 1.

Now charged with two counts each of home invasion and conspiracy are the woman, April Evelyn, and Vernon Henderson, 26, of Mount Clemens, according to police.

"I don’t really go out, I don’t go to the bars much," Barker said today. "Some of my friends had met people on MySpace, so I just figured I’d give it a shot."

Barker said everything seemed normal from the start, but Evelyn insisted she pick him up for the date at his home. Barker didn't think anything of her chatting on the phone and texting during dinner.

But police say Evelyn unlocked a window when she used the bathroom at Barker's home, then called Henderson to let him know how much time he had to steal from the place.

"She told him they just ordered their food, so he knew he had time," St. Clair Shores Police Detective Sgt. Dave Centala said. "He actually contacted her and said he was done and she ended the date, and said 'Something’s come up I’ve gotta go.'"

The kicker -- she had Barker pay for dinner.

"And she asked me for $10 for gas," he said. "I’m just glad they caught them."

The pair was arraigned in 40th District Court in St. Clair Shores Wednesday. If convicted of home invasion, they could face up to 15 years in prison.

original article here

Neighbor's WiFi Connection Used to Threaten

EOPC has seen incidences of people's email addresses, sign-ins and even their IP numbers being gotten and used to post on other websites as them - as a way to cause them trouble or use another identity to threaten people they don't even know on the Internet.

Always take precautions to block spyware, viruses, worms, keyloggers and so on from your computer. See a professional to help clean and put blocking software on your computer if need be.

~~~~~~~~~~~~
While the Indian Mujahideen used weak wi-fi (wireless fidelity) security in Navi Mumbai (India) to send terror threats over email, a Khar resident recently did the same to terrorise his estranged wife.

According to the police, Pavan Muthreja, 25, used the wi-fi network of a woman staying in a neighbouring building to send obscene and threatening messages to his estranged wife, aged 22. He even posted scraps making dowry demands. Muthreja's wife had walked out a month into their marriage in September 2008, alleging harassment.

The wife registered a first information report at the Khar police station under sections 498(a) (husband or relative of husband subjecting woman to cruelty) and 406 (criminal breach of trust) of the Indian Penal Code.

She approached the cyber crime investigation cell (CCIC) of the Mumbai Police after being allegedly flooded with hundreds of abusive and obscene scraps on her Orkut account. She said Muthreja also posted demands for dowry.

The young woman has told the police that the online harassment began four months ago and even her friends were not spared.

Police traced to a Khar resident the IP (internet protocol) address from which the messages were being posted. They then learnt from the complainant that her husband lives in a building nearby. The police have seized Muthreja's laptop and are examining the data on it.

SOURCE

Estranged Husband Cyberstalks Then Kills Wife

Karen Kahler hired investigator to stop estranged husband from hacking family computer.

By Colleen Hogan

(Missouri, USA) Court documents reveal more about Karen Kahler's allegations that she suffered long-term abuse at the hands of her husband.

In cursive handwriting, Kahler wrote of the abuse she suffered at the hands of her husband and her fears that the situation would only get worse.

She wrote, "I'm afraid it will continue and possibly involve the kids when we do move out. He has forced himself on me, pushed me, man-handled me, now to the point of hurting me. I'm afraid it will escalate so far that someone is going to get seriously hurt."

Karen Kahler, her two daughters and grandmother were gunned down Saturday night in Kansas. Police say Kraig Kahler pulled the trigger. But even before that it appears he was stalking his wife in cyber space.

Karen hired an investigator from Columbia business Collectech back in July to keep her families computer safe after it appears her husband hacked into it, sending fake emails to try and slander his wife.

The deaths have left women's advocates more committed than ever to ending domestic abuse.

Barbara Hodges is the executive director of The Shelter in Columbia. She says stalking cases are hard to prosecute, especially cyber-stalking cases.

"There is probably a need for greater laws when it comes to cyber-crime because the technology is growing faster than laws can be passed,” said Hodges.

She also says abusive relationships are not limited to a certain segment of society. It's important to make sure you know the warning signs of abuse that can include a gradual need for control from a partner.

"Do they want to redirect your behaviors? If it's something that you do that's just a normal part of your life that is not harmful to anyone, it's just who you are, and they say, 'I don't want you to do that anymore,' said Hodges. “That leads to violence against the woman.”

A working safety plan is important for you and your family if you need to get out of a bad situation.

Two memorial services are planned 12/10/09 for the Kahler family. The first will be at Rock Bridge High School, where Emily graduated and Lauren attended this year from 3:15 p.m. to 4:15 p.m. Then, at 5:30 p.m., friends of Karen Kahler will gather at the Columbia Activity and Recreation Center where she worked as a personal trainer.

original article here

Should IPs Lead in Curbing Internet Defamation?

A friend once said to me, “the internet is good for two things: slander and porn.” For those who have been the target of electronic harassment and bullying, that sentiment could not ring truer.


Too often, individuals and groups on the Internet abuse the free flow of thoughts that is the promise of the Web to turn around and attack or demean others. Oftentimes, those affected can do little to protect themselves, and find themselves on the short end of the stick.

Why does this occur? Simply put, the US has made it easy for ISPs to skirt any responsibility when it comes to what is posted on their servers. Thus some providers will turn a blind eye when a victim comes a-complaining.

It’s a shame. Take for example Google: they will only remove information when it contains personal or copyrighted data, but it is quite difficult to get them to act otherwise. While I can understand Google’s position not to get involved, in the same token most times its pretty easy to discern a malicious site from a legitimate one.

These sites will often abuse Google’s ranking algorithms to gain higher prominence in results — such as the good ‘ol Googlebomb — which is hit or miss as whether the search giant will deal with it.

Other ISPs will provide lip service to the fact that they’ll deal with this type of content, then dance around the fact when you contact them. I’ve had slanderous content written about me, and I’ve contacted the ISP whose servers hosted the content in an attempt to hold them to their policies.

What I found was a “pass the buck” mentality. This particular ISP said that since they were only leasing an IP from them, their terms of use did not apply. Strange: the traffic is still passing through you, so why would you not enforce your own policies?

Kind of like saying, “oh, this website that uses one of our IPs is a piracy site which we specifically prohibit, but we’ll let them go since they aren’t on one of our servers.” Yeah, I think the RIAA or MPAA would buy that one!

In the end, why are we so powerless against defamation in many cases? It’s all thanks to Section 230(c)(1) of the Communications Decency Act, basically. That reads:

“No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider.”

Essentially, ISPs don’t have to do anything, thanks to this clause. In our effort to protect the rights of everyone, we’re indirectly protecting hurtful speech as well. That’s just great.

Other countries have begun to clamp down on online defamation. For example, in Canada, the courts are now increasingly more apt to compel websites to reveal the identities of anonymous posters when defamation is involved.

These same countries are also beginning to force ISPs to identify who’s behind websites that are defamatory. While I am a strong supporter of staying anonymous in most cases (journalism depends heavily on those types of sources), when its for malicious purposes, you shouldn’t be getting any protection.

While I am not saying the ISP should tell the defamed who’s writing about them without the courts, the threat of disclosure may stop many from writing purposely hurtful missives about their victims.

Neither am I coming at this solely because this has happened to me. I’ve always been kind of disturbed by the fact that a lot of speech that people couldn’t get away with in real life seems to be free game on the Web. It doesn’t make sense.

It is a First Amendment right to be able to say what you want. So I can understand some people’s wariness of control over what people say. But can’t those of us who are subject to the malicious words of others get some relief?

What’s so wrong with dealing with stuff like this out of a court room, that’s what I want to know?

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Stalker Blames Religious Upbringing

by Jeremy Pierce

A GOLD Coast radiographer who tricked a hospital nurse into sending him nude photos of herself has blamed his crime on a strict religious upbringing and an addiction to pornography.

Jordan David Hennig, 26, created an elaborate female persona on the internet using profile pictures of an American porn star to gain the trust of workmate Belinda Fitzgerald.

Hennig faced Southport Magistrates Court yesterday, pleading guilty to one count of unlawfully stalking Fitzgerald, who has since been forced to leave her job at Pindara Private Hospital for another hospital.

Magistrate George Wilkie fined Hennig $4000 and placed him on probation for two years.

The court was told Hennig went to great lengths to create a fake online modelling agency, and contacted Fitzgerald on Facebook under the alias of Megan Jones, saying "she" wanted to use photos of the attractive nurse to promote a spa and beauty business called "Completely Bare".

Fitzgerald sent Hennig several nude pictures of herself taken during a photo shoot for a breast cancer campaign.

To build up Fitzgerald's trust, the fictional Jones sent her raunchy pictures, supposedly of "herself", but which were really of American porn queen Meggan Malone.

The two stayed in regular contact via email and text messages for several months between September last year and March. It was only after Fitzgerald stumbled across links to Megan Jones on Hennig's work computer that she smelled a rat.

Defence lawyer Nick Tobin said his client was ashamed of his actions, but pointed to a strict Seventh Day Adventist upbringing as reason for his behaviour, saying the church "restricted relationships between the sexes".

"He has had very little experience in the way of relationships with women," Mr Tobin said.

He also said Hennig was receiving counselling from a church support group to help battle his "addiction to pornographic material".

Fitzgerald, who did not attend yesterday's proceedings, said she felt let down by the result of the case.

"It's no surprise, I wouldn't expect any more from the court system," she said.

"He gets a fine, but what about the financial burden it caused me?"

Hennig, who is still employed at Pindara, refused to talk to the media outside the court.

original article here

Women are Warned Off of 'Casual Encounters' Sites

Almost all our cyberpaths (while claiming to be caring, upright and decent people) who conned for 'online love' used casual sex sites... much to the horror of their victims. When these predators don't get what they want on casual sex sites... they turn to luring, grooming and preying on normal, unwitting partners with proclamations of "love." BEWARE

Lonely Welsh women are turning to sordid internet sites to find no-strings thrills, Wales on Sunday can reveal.

The lovelorn browsers could become targets for stalkers and kidnappers, experts believe, as the so-called casual encounter forums could act as a magnet for dangerous predators.

Websites like craigslist host hundreds of ads from women and men looking for casual sex and who have grown tired of the traditional dating circuit.

But while their x-rated messages are almost guaranteed to attract a steamy response, safety gurus have warned that in a matter of minutes, vile cyber stalkers could have tracked down their home or office address.

Just a handful of responses received by a Wales on Sunday reporter revealed the worrying spectrum of offers being brokered online.

Just hours after posting the message: “Brunette, 27, seeks an older man for no-strings fun,” more than a dozen e-mails had flooded back – some touting trips abroad, meals out and stays in luxury resorts – all in exchange for a single night of no-strings sex.

One 27-year-old said he was willing to travel from London to Wales for a passionate fling with the “right” girl.

While another – a man who claimed to have blue eyes, light brown hair and dimples – asked: “What are you doing for Thanksgiving?

“ I have reservations at Harrahs in Cherokee in the Smoky Mountains (North Carolina, America). I’m looking for someone to go with me and have some fun. I will get a ticket to get you there... my treat.”

Professor Andrew Blyth, an information security expert at the University of Glamorgan, told WoS that he was “not surprised” that men and women had now turned to the net to arrange casual hook-ups.

But he warned: “I think if you do it, you’re mad.

“It’s one thing to meet someone in a bar and later find that something similar happens. But in this setting, people can claim to be anything they want."

“On one level, everyone involved is a consenting adult, but what happened to using chat-up lines in bars?

“With just a postcode and a quick search of the electoral register you can very quickly, and easily, narrow down a person’s address. The people involved could become exposed to abuse, abduction or even blackmail."

“I think if you do this, you’re off your trolley.”

Earlier this year, 17-year-old Ashleigh Michelle Hall was discovered dead after meeting a stranger online.

Durham Police said that the bright Darlington teen had failed to return home one night during October.

The GCSE student’s body was found after a 32-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of driving offences.

Bosses at craigslist.co.uk declined to comment on any of the arrangements that were being made via the site.

But a quick browse on the platform’s page for Wales revealed a clutch of messages from users... all keen to arrange potentially dangerous liaisons over the internet.

Some had posted their home and work postcodes on the site, as well as a telephone number, descriptions of their appearance and even photographs for strangers to browse.

“Once you have got these details, people can certainly find out where you live,” Prof Blyth said. “Postcodes restrict a person’s address to a group of 20, perhaps a hundred houses at the most.

“This really opens up issues of cyber stalking, as what’s seen as a casual relationship by one could be misconstrued as the real long-lasting deal by another person.

“It would even be easy enough to blackmail – for two people to arrange to meet up at a hotel and for one of the pair to threaten to tell the other’s spouse.

“They would already have your picture, and a phone number.”

A spokeswoman from South Wales Police last night advised men and women not to meet up in person with any stranger they had met online.

“These people could be purporting to be someone they are not,” she said.

“On the internet, people can easily make false claims, omit important details, post outdated photographs or even use photos of other people claiming to be them.

“Women and men should consider their personal safety at all times, and refrain from putting themselves into a vulnerable position.”

Lovelorn men and women are keen to push the boundaries online, experts have claimed.

Just a few hours after WoS reporter JO HARRIS posted her message on the web, dozens of racy replies came flooding her way.

One read: “Your message got my attention! All I can say is that your post ‘looking for no-strings fun’ is perfect. I’m not married, but single and like it that way. I’m looking for someone who can give me that special feeling now and again. Then I can carry on with my week.”

Another, who claimed to be a novice user of casual encounter sites, replied: “If you’re stuck for NSA (no-strings attached) fun, I’m more than available.

“I can travel but can’t accommodate. I’d love to be able to come round.”

But the most responses were those that talked of trips abroad in exchange for a steamy affair.

A man, who described himself as fair, with light-brown hair, blue eyes and a goatee beard, wrote: “What are you doing for Thanksgiving?

“I have reservations at Harrahs in Cherokee in Smoky Mountains (North Carolina, USA). I am looking for someone to go with me and have some fun. I will get a ticket to get you there... my treat.”

original article here