Online Reputation and Personal Responsibility

Sites are cropping up all over the internet that promise to protect your reputation online. This started me thinking about online reputation and personal responsibility in the face of an ever shrinking online world.

At what point does our personal responsibility for our own online reputation end?

In this internet age, your reputation is not just everything, it's everywhere.

Logging on to sites like FaceBook and MySpace, we are confronted with the changing face of society. A younger set perfectly content to put every detail of their lives online, without regard to the consequences. What effect does this propensity of information and lowering of boundaries have on the average individual's future? On the average company?

The answer is that it can adversely effect both individual and company in a variety of ways. Most people who have been online longer than ten minutes know the term "to get dooced" mean to be fired for blogging during/about work. The term was coined for blogger Heather Armstrong, who writes the blog Dooce, and who was one of the first bloggers to find out just how entwined your online reputation is with your offline one. It worked out well for Dooce (her blog is still going strong), but in most cases it works out poorly for he individual.

A company can face even more serious repercussions if its reputation goes in the toilet online. That is why so many companies are adopting strict policies blocking and/or regulating access to the internet at work. One slip by an employee on their personal site, blog or social network profile page can have a company facing serious repercussions for leaked products and other fiascos. That doesn't even begin to touch on how employee conduct may reflect on certain organizations that depend on having a clean reputation to do business.

Add in to the mix the anonymity of the web, which makes people lower their guard even further, and you can have a real mess on your hands. Most people will change their behavior if they think they can get away with it, and the web breeds an erroneous feeling that "no one can see the real you". In face, online, everyone can see the real you. All of the information that has ever been online about you, both private and public, is usually only a few clicks away. That's a sobering thought that most people don't ever pause to consider.

Companies have been cropping up in recent months to handle the new need for online reputation monitoring in the age of hyper connectivity. Some of these companies, like Techrigy, got their start as something else (in the case of Techrigy, a blog backup service is evolving into a reputation protector for companies). Reputation Defender is making a name for itself helping several women lawyers manage their images after they viciously attacked online. Other companies cropping up to help either companies or individuals keep their reputations and identitiy intact include: Stolen ID Search, MyPublicInfo, Claim ID, Naymz, Choice Point, and new uses for old school application LexusNexus.

All of those companies charge steep fee for what amounts to little more than damage control. Once your reputation flounders online, the ensuing ripple effect is often hard to staunch before it becomes a river. For all attacks on individual reputations, a little discretion fro the moment you first log onto a computer and start posting information about yourself would go a long way. Unfortunately, sometimes even the most cautious and circumspect can fall afoul of a vindictive soul (or souls). There are always going to be internet users who see the curtain of anonymity as license to be abusive and libel others, and they are hard to shake once they become fixated on someone.

Companies have their share of zealot opponents too, but they have an easier time dealing with them. By having a response come from the top of the organization immediately upon being faced with a problem, being sincere, and keeping the response as transparent as possible, a company can do much to staunch the hemorrhaging of its reputation due to one incident (the Gizmodo response to the indictment of its action at CES was one example of how not to act when your reputation is challenged online). If a company hasn't been careful with its reputation in the past, or simply puts out a terrible product or service that gets more than just a little bad feedback, they maybe they need to hire an online reputation repair service after all.

In my view, personal responsibility goes much further than damage control. Face the fact that unless you have been hyper-vigilant every minute of every day both on and offline, chances are you have something stupid, somewhere, sometime. Even greater are the chance that you or someone else got it on camera, blogged it or otherwise put it out there for the world to see. When that happens, being as forthright as possible about your own actions will go much farther to correct the situation than an online reputation management firm ever could.

In the end, your online reputation is up to you, the individual, and you, the company. Education is key - know where your data is going to be used, and how.

Pay attention to how you present yourself online. Take note of your actions and how they could be construed by others. Behave online as if your mother was looking over your shoulder, instead of as if you were hiding behind a curtain of anonymity, free to be as hurtful as you please. Remember that there are consequences for your actions, even online, though they may not be the ones you expect. If all else fails, face the music with square shoulders and a responsible attitude.

SOURCE

Felony Computer Misuse for Reading Wife's Email

An Internet law designed to protect the stealing of trade secrets and identities is being used to levy a felony charge against a Michigan man after he logged onto his then-wife's Gmail account and found out she was cheating.

Leon Walker, 33, of Rochester Hills, Mich., is being charged with felony computer misuse, and faces up to five years in prison after logging into the email account of now ex-wife Clara Walker on a shared laptop using her password, the Detroit Free Press reports.

He is facing a Feb. 7 trial. Leon and Clara Walker's divorce was finalized earlier this month, the Free Press reports.

Clara, who was married twice previously, was having an affair with her second husband, as Walker found in her email, according to the Free Press. The second husband had been arrested earlier for beating her in front of her young son from her first husband.

Walker was worried about more domestic violence from husband No. 2, so he handed the e-mails over to the child's father, the Free Press reports. He promptly filed an emergency motion to obtain custody.

Leon Walker, a computer technician with Oakland County, was arrested in February 2009, after Clara Walker learned he had provided the emails to her first husband.

"I was doing what I had to do," Leon Walker told the Free Press in a recent interview. He has been out on bond since shortly after his arrest. "We're talking about putting a child in danger."

Oakland County Prosecutor Jessica Cooper defended her decision to charge Walker, calling him a skilled "hacker" who downloaded the material in "a contentious way."

Electronic Privacy expert Frederick Lane told the Free Press that the case hinges in a legal grey area, and the fact that the laptop was shared may help Walker's cause.

About 45 percent of divorce cases involve some snooping -- and gathering -- of email, Facebook and other online material, Lane said. But he added that those are generally used by the warring parties for civil reasons -- not for criminal prosecution, the Free Press reports.

original article here

Man Stalking His Wife Online - Now in Jail

A 27-year-old New York man is facing federal charges he stalked his wife at her parents' Maine home by sending her a series of threatening text messages and comments that were posted on a social networking site.

Jason Fiume of Utica, N.Y., pleaded not guilty Monday to charges that he violated a protection order.

A trial has been set for February 2011.

Court documents say that in June, his estranged wife and her family in Kennebec County began receiving what are described in court documents as "nonstop" phone calls from Fiume. He is also alleged to have sent almost 100 electronic messages.

The Bangor Daily News says that in some of those messages he allegedly threatened to kill his wife.

Fiume is being held without bail.

original article here

Detective Mom Tracks Down Her Rapist - via Facebook

A mother who was almost raped on the way home from a pub turned detective to track down the alleged sex attacker by finding him on Facebook using his unusual name.

Alpha Gray has pleaded not guilty to attempted rape, sexual assault and causing actual bodily harm in the trial at the Old Bailey.

The victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, picked him out of an identification parade after finding his Facebook profile and reporting him to police.

She told the court she was left with bruises and a bleeding ear after a man tried to rape her shortly after she left a pub in Tufnell Park, north London, in May.

However, the attacker had told her his name was Alpha, that he was 30, and he lived in Holloway, north London, which was all the information she needed to find his profile on the social networking site.

She told the court: 'It's such an unusual name. I didn't think it was his real name. His picture came up and it turned out he knew someone I knew. There was a picture of him on a beach holding a little girl. When the police phoned me, I said from that picture I would not tell if it was him. I was not 100 per cent sure."

But at the identity parade, she picked out Gray, confirming he was the last person she saw.

'When I saw him it drew my breath away,' she said.

Gopal Hooper, prosecuting, told the court that on leaving the pub the woman, who is in her twenties, was approached by a man who pulled down her top and punched her in the face after she tried to run off.

Mr Hooper said: 'Somebody who said his name was Alpha, who was aged 30, who lived in Holloway, attacked this young woman. His defence is his name is Alpha, he is 30, he lives in Holloway and happened to be in the area at the time. He said his name was Alpha. It is a very unusual name, not like Smith or Jones.'

Gray allegedly later told police he was at a friend's birthday party at a club a few minutes away from the pub where the woman had been with friends.

Police discovered his address and he was arrested two days after the attack.

The case continues.

original article here

Net Neutrality Vote in U.S. on 12/21/10!

When we log onto the Internet, we take lots of things for granted. We assume that we'll be able to access whatever Web site we want, whenever we want to go there. We assume that we can use any feature we like -- watching online video, listening to podcasts, searching, e-mailing and instant messaging -- anytime we choose. We assume that we can attach devices like wireless routers, game controllers or extra hard drives to make our online experience better.

What makes all these assumptions possible is "Network Neutrality," the guiding principle that preserves the free and open Internet. Net Neutrality means that Internet service providers may not discriminate between different kinds of content and applications online. It guarantees a level playing field for all Web sites and Internet technologies. But all that could change.

The biggest cable and telephone companies would like to charge money for smooth access to Web sites, speed to run applications, and permission to plug in devices. These network giants believe they should be able to charge Web site operators, application providers and device manufacturers for the right to use the network. Those who don't make a deal and pay up will experience discrimination: Their sites won't load as quickly, and their applications and devices won't work as well. Without legal protection, consumers could find that a network operator has blocked the Web site of a competitor, or slowed it down so much that it's unusable.

The network owners say they want a "tiered" Internet. If you pay to get in the top tier, your site and your service will run fast. If you don't, you'll be in the slow lane.

What's the Problem Here?
Discrimination: The Internet was designed as an open medium. The fundamental idea since the Internet's inception has been that every Web site, every feature and every service should be treated without discrimination. That's how bloggers can compete with CNN or USA Today for readers. That's how up-and-coming musicians can build underground audiences before they get their first top-40 single. That's why when you use a search engine, you see a list of the sites that are the closest match to your request -- not those that paid the most to reach you. Discrimination endangers our basic Internet freedoms.

Double-dipping: Traditionally, network owners have built a business model by charging consumers for Internet access. Now they want to charge you for access to the network, and then charge you again for the things you do while you're online. They may not charge you directly via pay-per-view Web sites. But they will charge all the service providers you use. These providers will then pass those costs along to you in the form of price hikes or new charges to view content.

Stifling innovation: Net Neutrality ensures that innovators can start small and dream big about being the next EBay or Google without facing insurmountable hurdles. Unless we preserve Net Neutrality, startups and entrepreneurs will be muscled out of the marketplace by big corporations that pay for a top spot on the Web. On a tiered Internet controlled by the phone and cable companies, only their own content and services -- or those offered by corporate partners that pony up enough "protection money" -- will enjoy life in the fast lane.

The End of the Internet?
Make no mistake: The free-flowing Internet as we know it could very well become history.

What does that mean? It means we could be headed toward a pay-per-view Internet where Web sites have fees. It means we may have to pay a network tax to run voice-over-the-Internet phones, use an advanced search engine, or chat via Instant Messenger. The next generation of inventions will be shut out of the top-tier service level. Meanwhile, the network owners will rake in even greater profits.

READ MORE HERE: http://www.savetheinternet.com/net-neutrality-101

DON'T TAKE GOOGLE FOR GRANTED!

Instead of taking Google for granted, we need to remember that criminals get the same easy access to information we get from a capable and quick search engine.

To see what the Internet knows about you, start by going to the Google site or by using the Google toolbar. Next, either type your name in quotations or, for a more refined search, type intext: (intext with a colon) immediately followed by your name in quotes. Now type your address or phone number, and Google may turn up a church or a social group directory listing. If this doesn't surprise or outrage you, type into Google your social security number or credit card numbers. (You can also use metasearches such as Mamma.com, Dogpile.com or others)

So never put anything personal, such as your social security number on a resume, on the Internet, not even temporarily. Be careful about using the same nickname over and over - especially if you have posts on sites you'd prefer others don't see. Sites like Archive.org can have incriminating posts of yours cached for years.

And if you find such information on a cached Web page - find out how to get it removed and do so, if possible. (google cache can be PERMANENT)

ORIGINAL POST

Threats + Nude Photo on the Net = Arrest

(Texas) David Keith Clark may have said and done too much. At least, that's what an arrest warrant alleges about the San Antonio man. According to San Antonio police, he attacked a woman he used to live with, threatened her through text messages, and posted a nude photograph of her on the Internet.

The 32-year-old has been arrested on assault and telephone harassment charges. He remains in the Bexar County Detention Center trying to make bonds that total nearly $20,000.

Police said the initial physical attack happened on Nov. 13 in the 9200 block of Ridge Branch. The warrant said he strangled a woman he used to be romantically involved with until she could not breathe. The victim reportedly managed to free herself and scream for help. Investigators said Clark ran from the scene.

Another arrest warrant said the suspect started sending the victim threatening and harassing text messages following the attack. The victim claims the texts were even being posted on a computer website.

The arrest document describes the texts as derogatory and repeatedly threatening. In fact, the suspect even said he'd be waiting in bushes to jump out and slash the victim's throat police said.

Investigators said Clark went so far as to post a topless picture on the Internet of his ex. Then, police said he attached a berating phrase to the picture.

The victim filed a complaint with SAPD. Clark was arrested.

original article here

Free Speech Is On the Side of Web Postings

Bid To Out Bloggers Dropped

Jennifer Friedlin - Jewish Week Correspondent
(excerpts.... link to full article at the bottom of this post)

A group of anonymous bloggers that had published information on their Web sites about a disgraced Rockland County rabbi's alleged sexual misconduct won a victory when the rabbi withdrew one of two petitions to subpoena their identities.

Rabbi Mordecai Tendler, the former leader of Kehillat New Hempstead in New Hempstead, N.Y., who has been accused of sexual harassment by former congregants, filed petitions both in Ohio and California district courts in an effort to force Google, the Internet giant that hosts the bloggers' websites, to disclose their identities.

The bloggers' attorney, Paul Alan Levy of Public Citizen, a Washington-based public interest organization, said Rabbi Tendler’s decision to withdraw the petition represented a victory for the First Amendment right to free speech. He also said that the decision reflected Rabbi Tendler's inability to prove that the bloggers had defamed him.

"If he had had evidence of falsity and malice he could have gone forward against these folks," said Levy, noting that as soon as the bloggers filed their motion claiming that Rabbi Tendler's petition would violate their right to free speech, he withdrew his demand.

Levy said the bloggers were moving ahead with a motion under state law that protects against so-called strategic lawsuits against public participation and would seek to have Rabbi Tendler required to cover the bloggers' legal fees.

Although the U.S. Supreme Court has yet to set a federal standard regarding what a defamation plaintiff would have to show before an anonymous blogger could be unmasked, lower court decisions have so far set a high bar, demanding that plaintiffs clearly establish that the claims made against them are false before the online accuser can be outed.

"It's a pretty high standard," said David Hudson, research attorney for the First Amendment Center, an educational organization based in Nashville, Tenn., and Arlington, Va.

While undermining their own credibility, anonymous bloggers may in fact be protecting themselves legally. Robert Cox, president of the Media Bloggers Association, an organization of bloggers, said that one of the standards used in defamation cases is whether a reasonable person would believe a particular statement was true. However, given that blogs are held in lower esteem than many newspapers and magazines, such a standard may not be met in a defamation case against a blogger, particularly an anonymous one.

Cox said that although this issue has yet to be settled in court, bloggers might prove immune to claims of defamation "because nobody believes us."

Widely believed or not, some anonymous bloggers say they are in fact having a great deal of impact and that they plan to continue blogging anonymously.

UOJ says that before he posts any claims against anyone he conducts his own investigation, verifying the allegations with five sources. Once he's satisfied that he has met his own standard, he posts the claims.

(EOPC also investigates to our own standard and anyone who sends us information on their cyberpath must sign a release taking FULL responsibility for the 100% truthfulness of what is told to us & posted.

It is not illegal, nor is it harassment to post the TRUTH about a predatory individual who takes advantage of others via the internet or other means... no matter what these Cyberpaths wish, want or threaten to do.)

"'Free speech' permits me to say 'anything' I feel is accurate," UOJ wrote in an e-mail.

For now, no one is challenging him.

EXCERPTS FROM THIS ARTICLE (CLICK HERE)

GOOD INFORMATION ON SAFE BLOGGING

More Head Games with Beatrice Acevedo

Comments in Dark Blue are EOPC's opinions

FROM: Beatrice Acevedo
September 1, 2008 at 4:05pm

Ohh sweetheart, my love, my baby. I am so thankful to God we met. I wanna be your little Belgian wife and make you happy for the rest of your life and I wanna make a beautiful little bambino with you.., or a bambina!

The victim reports that soon after the above her pattern seemed different. family, friends thought i was getting taken for a ride. I was ready to break, but noooooooo -- she hoover manuevers him back in with lame reassurances.

Beatrice Acevedo
September 18, 2008 at 10:39am

Hi Honey,
Thanks for the wakeup call this morning. I heard the phone but could not hear your voice. kept being disconnected. What a bummer! I am glad we talked yesterday.Love hearing your voice. I don't know what has happened to us lately. Maybe it's because we have not been together yet and are getting impatient. It is not a good thing though not to trust each other, especially since we have only being calling, talking on FB and texted. We haven't touched, kissed or been physically involved but still we care alot about each other and much more. I don't want us to feel this way again. We have been so close and fought together (Tony, the immigration, obstacles of all kind). I hope this time we can make it, amore.
Ti amo molto. Bacci per te. Honey

The victim booked a flight for a 2 week visit to see Acevedo and gave her plenty of notice. Just DAYS before he gets this:

Beatrice Acevedo
September 22, 2008 at 4:19pm

My dear Davey, sweetheart,

I hope you're not gonna get upset at me for wht I am about to tell you. I know it is at the last minute but I feel I have no choice. I talked to the ADD this morning, explained the situation and ask her for advice as to how you should handle tony if a problem should arise. I di not expect that kind of answer or reaction from her. She told me that it almost seems like we used the fact that he hit me once on the lip as an excuse for us to get him out of the house and that therefore when he goes to Court on October 17th he could actually use that against us, actually against me. That could possibly cause me some trouble.

The worst case scenario, due to the situation and the Squatter"s law if they rule in his favor he might be allowed to use my place as his residence til he finds something else and I would loose my order of protection. I know it sounds wack but that is unfortunately the reality. I am sure you are as upset and disappointed as I am but I am asking you to be patient and follow the ADD's advice to wait til after the trail for a visit. It would actually be better if I go up there because he would have no proof of my destination. My cell is fixed so please give me a call later so we can talk about this. I ams o sorry baby. Ti amo molto e sempre. Bacci, besos.
Honey Bea



FROM: Beatrice Acevedo
August 7, 2008 at 8:39am

Bonjour mon chou,
I just got the opportunity to open Facebook and read your message.I know you would be blinded by desire, that's why I did it. I am such a naughty girl, hehe....

Pauvre singe, il travaille overtime et ce n'est rien en comparaison du"overtime" qu'il va faire quand tu arrives a New York. Yeah, I want us to do it nice and slow! I want us to take our time.
Many kisses to you too, everywhere.
Je t'aime, mon amour.

Your message makes me feel better because I had to deal with T** again this morning. He bothered me at home then he won't stop calling my job to start arguing. I told him that if he does not stop that I will go to Court. I told him he has to leave soon because it's over and I will never change my mind. He then called me selfish! If somebody has been selfish throughout the years it's him. I can't wait for you to come down here, Baby. I need you so much by my side. Whether he wants it or not he must leave. He has to accept that our love is meant to last and what we mean to each other. You are truly the man I was waiting for all those years. I love you sooo much.
Can't wait to hear your voice tonight!!
Bacci, bacci.
Your Honey Bea forever.


Beatrice Acevedo
August 19, 2008 at 3:41pm

Ti amo, Je t'aime, te quiero, ish liebe disch, ik hou van jou....
We will be together for our B'days the latest!
Let's talk about all this tonight and make plans. When there is a will there is a way! Love will find a way.
Your Honey Bea forever.


Beatrice Acevedo
August 25, 2008 at 9:28am

Bonjour mon cheri,
Now that I have a few minutes of privacy, let em tell you how I am gonna take care of you. First I will "try" to undress you slowly... if I am too impatient I am gonna have to rip your clothes off!!

I am going to kiss you slowly, then more and more passionately. I love French kissing and I am pretty good at it so I will *********. I find it very exciting for both of us!

*********

Now I think you are like a volacno about to erupt!!!
I hope you enjoyed reading my sex message :)
Til we meet in a month maybe we could do phone and text sex!!! What do you think? Would you enjoy that?
I love you with all my heart baby. I enjoyed hearing your sexy voice this morning telling me in details how you're gonna ****.
You are my true love Darling.
Can't wait to see you, be with you and ******.
Bacci, bisous.
Honey Bea



Beatrice Acevedo
August 29, 2008 at 3:09pm

Can't wait to hear your sexy husky male voice tonight. You rule my world Baby!
By the way, I saw T** this morning and he said he does not think you are right for me and that there is something wrong with you. I said that of course he has to say that since he is jealous. He would say that just about any man!! He also said he is worried for me and the kids. Look who's talking...he has got balls to talk this way after what happened!

Pathological liar? Yes... EOPC thinks so. And the mind f**k is unreal.

Browser Flaw Can Pick Up Your Porn Site Visits

Dozens of websites have been secretly harvesting lists of places that their users previously visited online, everything from news articles to bank sites to pornography, a team of computer scientists found.

The information is valuable for con artists to learn more about their targets and send them personalized attacks. It also allows e-commerce companies to adjust ads or prices — for instance, if the site knows you've just come from a competitor that is offering a lower price.

Although passwords aren't at risk, in harvesting a detailed list of where you've been online, sites can create thorough profiles on its users.

The technique the University of California, San Diego researchers investigated is called "history sniffing" and is a result of the way browsers interact with websites and record where they've been. A few lines of programming code are all a site needs to pull it off.

Although security experts have known for nearly a decade that such snooping is possible, the latest findings offer some of the first public evidence of sites exploiting the problem. Current versions of the Firefox and Internet Explorer browsers still allow this, as do older versions of Chrome and Safari, the researchers said.

The report adds to growing worry about surreptitious surveillance by Internet companies and comes as federal regulators in the U.S. are proposing a "Do Not Track" tool that would prevent advertisers from following consumers around online to sell them more products.

The researchers found 46 sites, ranging from smutty to staid, that tried to pry loose their visitors browsing histories using this technique, sometimes with homegrown tracking code. Nearly half of the 46 sites, including financial research site Morningstar.com and news site Newsmax.com, used an ad-targeting company, Interclick, which says its code was responsible for the tracking.

Interclick said the tracking was part of an eight-month experiment that the sites weren't aware of. The New York company said it stopped using the technique in October because it wasn't successful in helping match advertisers to groups of Internet users. Interclick emphasized that it didn't store the browser histories.

Morningstar said it ended its relationship with Interclick when it found out about the program, and NewsMax said it didn't know that history sniffing had been used on its users until AP called. NewsMax said it is investigating.

The researchers studied far more sites — a total of the world's 50,000 most popular sites — and said many more behaved suspiciously, but couldn't be proven to use history sniffing. Nearly 500 of the sites studied had characteristics that suggested they could infer browsers' histories, and more than 60 transferred browser histories to the network. But the researchers said they could only prove that 46 had done actual "history hijacking."

"Browser vendors should have fixed this a long time ago," said Jeremiah Grossman, an Internet security expert at WhiteHat Security Inc., which wasn't involved in the study. "It's more evidence that we not only needed the fix, but that people really should upgrade their browsers. Most people wouldn't know this is possible."

The latest versions of Google Inc.'s Chrome and Apple Inc.'s Safari have automatic protections for this kind of snooping, researchers said. Mozilla Corp. said the next version of Firefox will have the same feature, adding that a workaround exists for some older versions as well.

Microsoft Corp. noted that Internet Explorer users can enable a private browsing mode that prevents the browser from logging the user's history, which prevents this kind of spying. But private browsing also strips away important benefits of the browser knowing its own history, such as displaying Google links you've visited in different colors than those you haven't.

"It's surprising, the lifetime that this fundamental a privacy violation can stick around," said Hovav Shacham, an assistant professor of computer science and engineering at UC San Diego and one of the paper's authors.

Internet companies are obsessed with tracking users' behavior so they can target their ads better. Uproar has prompted the Federal Trade Commission to propose rules that would limit advertisers' ability to track Internet users to show them advertisements. The "Do Not Track" tool the commission is proposing could eventually take the form of a browser setting that tells advertisers which visitors are off limits; such a setting, though, wouldn't necessarily block history sniffing.

History sniffing is essentially a side-by-side comparison of Web pages you've already visited with Web pages that a particular site wants to see if you've visited. If there's a match, users likely would never know, but the site administrators would learn a lot about their audiences.

For instance, a popular porn site was checking its visitors' histories to see if they'd visited 23 other pornography sites, and the code used on the Morningstar and NewsMax.com sites looked for matches against 48 specific Web pages, all related to Ford automobiles.

Sites can carry on this kind of inspection very quickly. Grossman said modern programs can check as many as 20,000 Internet addresses per second.

original article here

Charged with Assault AND Facebook Stalking!

A woman who accused her ex-boyfriend of assaulting her, also told the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate's Court yesterday that he was also stalking her on Facebook.

The accused pleaded not guilty to assault and also denied the cyber-stalking allegations.

The allegations are that the two, who were once in a relationship, had an argument after the complainant disconnected the accused man's cellular service, which was in her name. She alleged that during a confrontation, the accused hit her.

She also told the court that the accused was sending her constant text messages and emails and had also created several fictitious Facebook accounts, which he used to send her 'friend requests'.

The accused, however, said the complainant was upset because he decided to end the relationship, and had even warned him that he would pay for "messing with a vindictive bitch." He said he did not create the Facebook accounts and suggested that the complainant was the type who would let her friends do it just to get him in trouble.

Resident Magistrate Judith Pusey had harsh words for both parties. She warned the complainant against using her emotions and plotting revenge and also told the accused to leave her alone, both in reality and virtually.

original article here

Adults Responsible for Internet Abuse, Too

Almost all of our cyberpaths bully and torment their victims when they find out they have been busted & exposed. Victims who are already physically and emotional sick with PTSD and trauma. However, shaming the only justice they will recieve until laws change. Vigilantes? We think not. - EOPC
Cyberbullying isn't just a problem among adolescents. Adults engage in it, too. From online vigilantism and angry blogs to e-stalking and anonymous ranting on newspaper Web sites, grownups can be as abusive as the meanest schoolhouse tyrant.

The suicide of 13-year-old Megan Meier in 2006 thrust adult cyberbullying into the open. The Dardenne Prairie, Mo., girl killed herself after receiving cruel messages on MySpace from impostors posing as a 16-year-old boy named "Josh Evans."

Lori Drew, the mother of one of Megan's friends, was accused of participating in the hoax along with her teenage daughter and a former teenage employee. Drew has denied sending messages to Megan.

While questions remain about Drew's role, the case has left no doubt that the Internet is rife with adult cyber passion.

After the suicide came to light, an outraged mother several states away ferreted out Drew's identity and posted it on a blog.

Soon, "an army of Internet avengers ... set out to destroy Lori Drew and her family," forcing them from their home and "vowing them no peace, ever," newspaper columnist Barbara Shelly wrote. "Who are these people who have made it their business to destroy her? They are a jury with laptops, their verdict rendered without insight into the dynamics of two families or the state of mind of a fragile 13-year-old girl or even a complete explanation of what actually occurred."

Internet shaming is a growing cultural phenomenon, but Daniel Solove, a professor of law at George Washington University and author of the 2007 book "The Future of Reputation: Gossip, Rumor and Privacy on the Internet," said it can backfire.

"Internet shaming is done by people who want actually to enforce norms and to make people and society more orderly," he said.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Killer Used Facebook to Communicate

By Lori Brown

Prisoners are supposed to get limited contact with the outside world. That's why they're in prison - to be removed from the outside world. But at least one prisoner found a way to stay connected, in real time, through Facebook.

For months, convicted murderer William Joseph Hogan used Facebook to mentally escape prison life, communicating with friends from all over, as well as his mother.

"If the pen gets any better, I might not want to leave," he wrote in one post. "Tattoos dirt cheap, sleep all day, play volleyball, sun tan, workout and read."

Hogan's posts came from behind bars as he serves a life sentence at the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility.

"Hello free world folks, hope everyone is doing well," he wrote in one post.

"Good thing I have a way to stay in touch with my 'friends,'" he wrote in another.

Hogan was imprisoned for murdering Reba Garrett's granddaughter, Wendy Renee Thweatt Hogan, just over two hears ago in Horn Lake.

"He shot her eight times," Garrett said. "We had to have her cremated. We didn't get to say goodbye."

Garrett's three great-grandchildren were in the home as Hogan killed the only parent they had left. Their dad died in a car crash. They now live with their aunt.

"It changed their life forever," Garrett said.

There's been little change for Hogan, though, according to his posts on Facebook. He lists himself as widowed, and interested in dating and relationships with women.

"He's trying to act like he's an ordinary guy. (He posted) Pictures of himself in a boat. Sitting there in a boat like, ''Here, I'm just a regular, Joe,'" Garrett said.

"No, you're not widowed, you killed your wife!"

Hogan has broken the correction center's rules time and time again by using a cell phone. On Facebook, he's even posted swastikas and other Nazi symbols.

One Facebook friend replied, "Lol I didn't know they let u guys use Facebook."In another post, Hogan wrote, "Just got through visiting my mama everything went great..."

His mother wrote back,"I enjoyed my visit with you too. You are a great young man... you make a bad situation the best you can. Love ya."

Action News 5 asked Mississippi's Department of Corrections why Hogan was allowed to be on Facebook. At first, corrections officials thought someone from the free world may have been making posts on Hogan's behalf, because prisoners do not have Facebook access.

But the following day, a spokesperson replied in an email, saying, "Thank you Ms. Brown for bringing this to our attention. When we find instances where inmates have violated the rules, measures are taken. MDOC has reported to Facebook that this is an illegal account."

According to Mississippi State Senator Merle Flowers, with 21,000 inmates across the state, things like this are bound to happen.

"We want to thank Action News 5 for bringing it to our attention," she said. "Certainly, you don't know about some things until people tell you about them."

MDOC placed Hogan on lock down, and transferred him to the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman, home of the new Operation Cellblock. There, new technology intercepts illegal cell phone transmissions by inmates.

"It could have gone on for months or years," Garrett said.

Before prison officials shut down Hogan's Facebook account, his final post read, "Nothing goin on down here". Maybe now that's a little more accurate.

MDOC says the new cell phone blocking technology marks a turning point. The Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman was the first prison to use the new technology in the United States. During its first month of operation, the state intercepted nearly 216,000 illegal phone calls.

The technology is expected to be in place in all Mississippi State prisons within this fiscal year.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Beatrice Acevedo: Pathological Game Playing

(our comments in dark blue and italics)

After 7 months in the belief we had a real relationship (mostly due to things she said and wanted me to believe), which included $400 wasted on a canceled trip, and Beatrice scamming me out of $800 sent via "western unions" -- this was a partial truth that was revealed:

From: beatrice@mayfairnewyork.com
Sent: February 24, 2009 9:28:09 AM
To: XXX XXXXX (XXXXX@hotmail.com)

I'll tell you what the purpose of life is, buddy. As of yetewrday I deny God's existence. You know why? Because no matter how much I pray him, he never listens. He does give me what can make my life finally peaceful and happy. I broke down at the job today. If it were not for Joe, I would still feel suicidal.

I have to make my peace with you. I am not the woman you think I am . I lied to you for months and cheated on you with my ex. I am expecting a baby boy in June. That's my punishment, my curse for beahvibg lime a slut and a heatless bitch. I hope you hate my guts now taht I have told you the truth. Find yourself a good woman and move on. There is nothing for you to be longing for cause i am not worth it. If it makes you feel better, I am very unhappy. Looks like I will never find peace and happiness but you will, trust me.

Good luck with everything

The relationship started on Facebook in late May 2008 , it "took off" June 13-14 2008. In July to September, 2008 there were 2 times I received emails from her "live in boyfriend". (she does have the bf , but those emails came from HER not him, she pretended to be him). 2 times she called me to say they were fighting she may be in danger, so I called the police in New York City. In the second time I was told he was out of the residence and there were conditions.

In mid-september I started to feel uneasy, a bit anxious, insecure that what family and friends suspected may be true. She was just a player.

Here are some examples of her "reassurances":

Beatrice Acevedo
September 1, 2008
at 4:05pm Report
Ohh sweetheart, my love, my baby. I am so thankful to
God we met. I wanna be your little Belgian wife and make you happy for the rest
of your life and I wanna make a beautiful little bambino with you.., or a
bambina!

After her birthday her pattern seemed different. Family & friends thought i was getting taken for a ride but she had me brainwashed & roped in. I was ready to break, but noooooooo... she wouldn't let go of her "toy." Here's the 1st of the reassurances from her

(check the brainwashing and seductive NLP emebbedwords like "trust" "touch" "kiss" and "close")

Beatrice Acevedo
September 18, 2008
at 10:39am

Hi Honey,
Thanks for the wakeup call this morning. I heard the phone but could not hear your voice. kept being disconnected. What a bummer! I am glad we talked yesterday.

Love hearing your voice. I don't know what has happened to us lately. Maybe it's because we have not been together yet and are getting impatient. It is not a good thing though not to trust each other, especially since we have only being calling, talking on FB and texted. We haven't touched, kissed or been physically involved but still we care alot about each other and much more. I don't want us to feel this way again. We have been so close and fought together (Tony (her boyfriend), the immigration, obstacles of all kind). I hope this time we can make it, amore.
Ti amo molto. Bacci per
te. Honey

Beatrice Acevedo
Add as Friend
November 20 at 10:41am
Report Message
Hi amore mio.
I am so sorry the cell, your family and friends are puting doubts on your mind. Try not to be so insecure please because I suffered in my past relationships because of that and it does worries me. I understand perefectly your reasons though. You can't get in touch with me plus people are miserable with their own lives and try to put negative ideas on your mind so you drop me. That is so typical of them not to mind their own business. I don't care about them but I do care and love you. please don't forget that. I truly treasure you my sweetheart and I want to make you happy.
Thank you for the updates and taking care of business. You have shown me that you are the man who can take good care of the kids and me. I wanna build a future with you and be together til the day I die. (the B.S. is amazing!!)
Tonight I have parent teacher conference at 7PM. I should be home by 8. We will have dinner then I will text you. It might be at 10 or earlier. I have a lot to do tonight since Mickey has a spelling and math test tomorrow to prep for. I cross my fingers we can talk. I miss your voice.
Don't worry. You do not bother me at the hotel at all. It actually brightens my
day!
Rest well sleepyhead.
I love you with all my heart. Ti amo.
Bacci, bacci.
HoneyBea

Here is the email I got when ... yup, I booked the trip we were gonna finally meet... 2 days before departure:

Beatrice Acevedo

September 22, 2008

at 4:19pm

My dear, sweetheart,
I hope you're not gonna get upset at me for wht I am about to tell you. I know it is at the last minute but I feel I have no choice. I talked to the ADD this morning, explained the situation and ask her for advice as to how you should handle tony if a problem should arise. I di not expect that kind of answer or reaction from her. She told me that it almost seems like we used the fact that he hit me once on the lip as an excuse for us to get him out of the house and that therefore when he goes to Court on October 17th he could actually use that against us, actually against me. That could possibly cause me some trouble. The worst case scenario, due to the situation and the squatter"s law if they rule in his favor he might be allowed to use my place as his
residence til he finds something else and I would loose my order of protection. I know it sounds wack but that is unfortunately the reality. I am sure you are as upset and disappointed as I am but I am asking you to be patient and follow the ADD's advice to wait til after the trail for a visit. (liar) It would actually be better if I go up there because he would have no proof of my destination. My cell is fixed so please give me a call later so we can talk about this. I amso sorry baby. Ti amo molto e sempre. Bacci, besos.
Honey Bea

In 2008 December, with the holidays approaching, we talked almost every night for the almost half a year. She kept the 'relationship' pressure up:

To: XXXXX@hotmail.com
Date: Mon, 15 Dec 2008 08:23:35 -0700
Subject: Re:
CROSSROADS
From: beatrice@mayfairnewyork.com

XXXXX,
Thanks for writing and let out some of the steam that has been accumulated recently. Actually, believe me or not, I have no idea when we are getting the bonus.
According to the ladies in the office, so far, no activity has happened with Bob. Usually, he takes hours checking every employee's hours, seniority ect... We are all concerned that due to the lack of business in December he is taking his time and will give it to us a couple of days before Christmas. That is not cool! We are all upset.

I read several times your email and was a little surprised by some of the content and tone. First, about the money. The reason I expected some help from you is because of the $600.00 on the Helio bill due to long conversations between Canada and the US, let's say half and half, the excess was paid thanks to your generosity and I appreciate your help but it seems like you are throwing it in my face and that it unpleasant for me. You lost $400.00 trying to cross over. It could be considered half and half but even if the DA had said it was ok, it would not have changed anything since you did not have a birth certificate. (Acevedo here is blame shifting, not taking responsibility, guilt tripping, getting defensive, playing martyr... games, games, games)

Your lack of trust, insecurities and jealousy, well I think that they have been anchored in you for way before "out time". If the case was reversed and you had "cell" problems, I would not think anything bad of it because I am a trustful person. I suffered with two relationships because of such issues and although I don't consider myself paranoid or traumatized, I am still very sensitive and cautious, especially since I have two children. They are my life and will always come first, even before my own pleasure and convenience, which leads to the subject of me come and visit you in December alone. I am so sorry but that I can't do and it is not due to Mickey. I talked to Josh about it and to be honest with you, he is worried about me traveling alone to go and see a "man I never even met in my life". (someone else's fault she isn't going to meet him and keep playing games???) He likes you a lot but is still healing from what happened with his stepfather. It is gonna take him a while to open up to the idea of me being in a relationship. That surprised me when he told me so because he always seemed enthusiastic when he talked to you on the phone or I mentioned you and me but he only did it beacuse it made me happy. I am so sorry to disappoint you but I have no choice but to stay in The States.

I have also wondered why we encountered so many obstacles over the least few months, as if a force out there was keeping us apart. I believe everything happens for a reason and our lives are in God's hands. It will be whatever he decides is best for us. (invoking spiritually when she has none!) Recently, our relationship has been a burden on you emotionally. Obviously, all the delays, obstacles, lack of communication have made you unease and unhappy. I care about you a lot and don't like seeing you this way. I want you to be happy, even if it means for you to renounce to me and look for a good woman, living close to you that would bring you the happiness you deserve. I think we are at the crossroads right now, not next year. It is hard for me to live under the pressure you are putting on me. I can't handle that. It is scaring me. I am sorry for being dramatic but I suffered a lot and don't want to go through that pain and problems again. I would rather be alone than live this way. (Oh the guilt tripping and playing martyr!! Typical cyberpath)

I am not breaking up with you but I need you to be reasonable and use another tone
when we communicate via email. It felt very authoritative to me and I don't like
it. I now feel very unease. I am sorry if those words seemed harsh but I had to tell you how I feel. Let's both think about all this and talk in a few days.
Ti amo, I love you.
Bacci, bacci. your Honey Bea

Lets go to the start.... when she got to me HOOK, LINE & SINKER) :

Beatrice Acevedo
Add as Friend
May 20 at 11:45am
Report Message
I saw you on "Are You Interested" (http://apps.facebook.com/yesnomaybe/?f=m)
and wanted to say hi!

XXXX XXXXXX
May 22 at 12:10am
Beatrice
Hello

That was most thoughtful,and I do feel honoured.If it is alright
with you I would like to add you as a friend,.... =)

Beatrice Acevedo
Add as Friend
May 22 at 7:40am
Report Message
I would be
delighted :)))

David Reggimenti
May 23 at 6:22am
Beatrice

une grand merci,anez une bien week-end, heeheee you might understand
that,

xo XXXX

Beatrice Acevedo
Add as Friend
May 23 at
11:04am
Report Message
Hi XXX, bien sur que je comprend! Le francais est ma langue maternelle!
Passes un bon weekend aussi. J'espere qu'il sear ensoleille.
A bientot.
Beatrice
My Vampire Temptress wants to hug
you.

Click here to give me some Vampire love!
(nevermind the blood
on her teeth...)
Created with Vampires
Share

XXXX XXXXXX
May
28 at 7:06pm
Beatrice

merci,je n,ai pratique pas assez francais ici. I bet you had a busy week at work.The weather is nice ,and it is beginning of summer holiday season.Wow you have a facinating background, heeeheee you can put the bite into me anytime, heeheeeee a plus tard,
xo XXX

Beatrice Acevedo
Add as Friend
May 30 at 1:58pm
Report
Message
Hey there! Come stai? Tutto bebe, spero.
I did have a busy week.
We are flooded with European tourists. I had to finish a new booking website in
Europe to boost sales and I was bored to death calculating prices and loading
them. when I wa sdone I could barely see!!
Thanks for the compliment. You are a cutie!
I will bite you again..
xoxo Bea

(she must have been trolling Facebook for a decent, trusting guy!)

In "retrospect" I did say say she could put the the "bite" into me... (we'd bet you aren't the only one!)


Now here its the end with a couple "dear johns" :

To: XXXXXXXXXX@hotmail.com
Date: Thu, 15 Jan 2009 11:44:52 -0700
Subject:
From: beatrice@mayfairnewyork.com

My dear XXX
I
never imagined I would have to write these sad words but unfortunately due to
our situation, circumstances and fate I feel it is necessary.
I appreciate your honesty in the diverse voicemails you left me as well as during our phone conversation yesterday.
You are a great human being with a heart of gold and I think you deserve much better than the situation we have been in for many months now. We have been in a long distance, sort of "blind date" relationship in which we never had the opportunity to meet face to face and share some good moments ( and not just physically).
All the delays due to immigration, court, paperwork and complications of all kinds, including my damn cell have made you extremely frustrated and unhappy and that's not what I want for you. I want you to be happy and not feel lonely anymore. Even if we finally get together, what will happen next? More months of frustration til we can
financially afford another trip? What about immigration and its suspicious system? Obviously it would be close to impossible for either you or me to immigrate even if we get married. Some kind of force out there has been keeping us apart for some reason. Maybe God has other plans for both of us? I am so sorry but I think it is best if we put an end to all that misery. I will always treasure the memories I have of all our conversations. I will never forget them or you. You will always have a special place in my heart but I can't go through with this anymore and obviously so can't you. This is also putting a high financial burden on you and it is not fair. At your age you should enjoy your own space, in your own apartment or studio and enjoy life. Instead of that you are stuck between your mom's house and your job, without going out, meet friends and have fun. You also need some sort of emotional and physical contact with a woman.
I want your happiness that's why I am writing this letter to you. I did a lot of thinking last night and barely slept. I am very sad and will be for along time. I will be lonely and will turn all my attention on my boys' wellbeing and happiness.
I wish you happiness and please don't be sad. Deep inside, we both know it is for the best. Time heals all wounds. We can keep in touch of course. (in case I want to USE & HURT you again!) Feel free to let me know how things are going. I will always be happy to hear from you.
I love you. Thnak you again for all the love, support and happiness you gave me.
Beatrice

(kiss off letter... isn't she soooo magnanimous??? a real piece of cyberpathy!)

To: XXXXXXXXX@hotmail.com
Date: Fri, 23 Jan 2009 06:42:52 -0700
Subject:
Re: Comprimise
From: beatrice@mayfairnewyork.com

Dear XXX,
Thank
you for your email. I apologize for not answering sooner. I feel like I deglected you recently and I am sorry about that. It should not be this way. All I have been focused on recently is settling my debts, try to save money and spend quality time with the kids. I think I am going to some sort of phase as far as love, feelings and dating is concerned. I feel dry and empty as if I had nothing to offer. It is so strange and I hate feeling this way but it is the reality. I lost my libido and and am not even missing it. It's like I am used to be by myself and am fine with it.
Meanwhile you have been waiting patiently for me. Please don't wait anymore. That's not right. Don't waste both your time and money for me. Forget about me and focus on your self instead. Save money, get a studio to reach your independency and please go out and give other females a chance. It's not a life for you. You are 38, healthy and should enjoy "physical activity" and feel loved. I care a lot about you, we have a strong bond, you are a great guy but I can't be with anybody now til I put the pieces of my life together and that's gonna take a long time. I am even thinking about moving to Florida within a year. I am fed up with New York, its people, the cold and the Mayfair but we'll see about that.
I am not depressed but finf myself indecisive and you should not have to pay for that. Please don't try to convince me to change my mind because once I take a decision I don't go back. I hope I am not being too abrupt but I have to be honest with you. You are very dear to me but deserve better.
I wish you the best life can bring you. Thanks for everything you did for me and the boys.
Beatrice

(again... oh please... and did you notice how much BETTER her English and spelling got... ALL OF A SUDDEN??? She has done this before and probably is still doing it with some other clueless man who lives far far away from her so she can't get caught!)

I did speak with her boyfriend. I did get the truth. Beatrice became pregnant with a regular affair in New York. I have come to understand she possible had characteristics of Borderline Personality Disorder.

She even told me her her 'colleague' at her hotel was interested in writing a novel, maybe a detective story.

Joseph Brian XXXX
May 7
at 6:50pm

Throughout history we’ve all read about epic battles and the heroes
that raised up and the invasive that were put down. But I have to say nothing in
my time on this earth have I been through something like this. I’ve have a
really bad few months, and it has not gotten any better. The nails have been
pasted into the coffin and there’s no turning back from this one. She said it’s
the end of a new beginning but I say I’m done. Tomorrow she hired some guys to
bring my all my thing from the house, she also said that it will take them 20
minutes to move 17 boxes of my stuff over to were I’m staying. I guess these
guys are from her job but guys still the same. This is what she wants and it but
for that past few days she’s been calling me every night at 9:35pm talking to me
on the phone and ping real nice but every time I ask her let’s go out and get
something to eat or go for a walk and talk, she tells me no, till she told me to
stop asking and she will let me know when it’s time for that. (She will ask
me)….. But in the mean time she is packing all my things to be moved.?????

Heroes? Epic battles? Sounds very familiar... they're all on the same crazy bus!! And Beatrice Acevedo is the driver.

Hacker Jailed After Spying on Computer Users Using Their Own Cameras

A hacker spied on countless computer users by manipulating their home webcams.

Matthew Anderson, 33, is understood to have sent out 50million ‘spam’ emails containing an attachment for recipients to click on. All of those who did so – believed to be 200,000 – had their computer infected with a virus that left it effectively ‘enslaved’.

Anderson was then able to rifle through private files and saved photographs – and even switch on web cameras attached to the computers. At his leisure he then sat spying into the living rooms or bedrooms of strangers. The victims will have been completely unaware of his watching eyes.

When he was caught in a four-year police operation, officers found he had stored pictures and film of dozens of people in their own homes. Among clips was that of a 16-year-old girl bursting into tears when Anderson began changing words on her computer screen. He then gloated to a fellow hacker about tormenting her, revealing he had been using her webcam for hours, viewing her sisters, and lamenting the fact they were not naked.

Anderson was working in an international hacking gang called ‘m00p’ with at least three others. Only one other, from Finland, has been caught. He was jailed for 18 months today after pleading guilty to ‘unauthorised modification of computer systems’ at Southwark Crown Court in London. However, he is likely to serve just nine months. The court heard the father-of-five, who was born in Rochdale, carried out his crimes in the home of his mother Ruth, 54, in Banffshire, Scotland.

He claimed through his barrister that he joined online chatrooms after being left house-bound by panic attacks in his early 20s. Publicly he ran a computer security firm – offering to protect clients, ironically, from people like himself.

Simon Ward, defending, said Anderson was motivated by ‘the feeling of power that comes from the knowledge that you have control over something that others don’t know you have the control of’.

As well as private home computers, Anderson targeted the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, Oxford University and government computers. But he avoided military sources for fear of detection.

The ‘cutting edge’ software behind his virus has been ranked as among the best in the world.
Anderson was caught after the m00p gang was investigated jointly by Scotland Yard and Finnish authorities when a computer expert at John Radcliffe hospital raised concerns. Anderson was found to have profited by £12,000 by selling on to legitimate marketing firms email addresses harvested from computer address books.

But it was the webcams he used and the personal data, including nude photos and bank account details, which he had access to and copied that is particularly chilling. Investigating officer Detective Constable Bob Burls said Anderson’s initial spam emails typically told recipients they had a computer problem, and offered to fix it. When they clicked on the file, the hacker’s virus was let loose to hijack the computer, although it seemed to continue working normally. From his remote location he could record every word typed, or copy the computer screen at any time.

Anderson and his fellow gang members operated unhindered for years – with around one in 250 spam recipients being taken in.

During police monitoring, Anderson – who used online nicknames including warpig and, warpiglet – successfully enslaved 1,743 computers in just 90 minutes. His fellow gang members were known online as Kdoe, CraDle and Okasvi - with the last, real name Artturi Alm, being the only other hacker brought to justice when jailed in his native Finland two years ago.

Mr Burls said the hacker copied one victim’s will, website passwords, banking passwords.

original article here

Temporary Phone Numbers Stop Cyberstalkers

A mother appalled by online dating stories from divorced friends is set to become a millionaire after launching a unique website to protect women from cyber-stalkers.

Last week model Kelly Brook revealed how she is forced to constantly change her phone number because she is targeted by nuisance calls.

But 52-year-old Gill Kamel's patented site can instantly create a temporary number for your mobile - which diverts to your current phone - to hand out to strangers, safe in the knowledge they don't know what your actual number is.

And if they turn out to be odd-balls you merely shut down that number, create a fresh one and hand that out to your next new dates or friends.

Her site www.losemynumber.co.uk is deemed such an important new tool to protect men and women on the internet that it has been singled out for praise by the Suzy Lamplugh Trust. The organisation promotes personal safety.

Married mother-of-two Gill, of Ormskirk, Lancs, said she hopes that no more women should endure stress or fear by simply searching for love or companionship.

She said: 'Internet dating and social networking is a fantastic new way for people to reach out and make new friends - but there are always people out there who are not all they seem and we take so much on trust.

'Hopefully Lose My Number will give people more confidence, feeling safe in the knowledge they are not letting their guard down too much.'

She revealed how many of her friends have joined the growing statistic of divorced couples, estimated at over 120,000 a year in the UK alone.

She said: 'Like myself, a lot of my friends met their husbands at school.

'So none of us had much experience of going out and meeting men. Now, quite a few of them are divorced and are always telling me how difficult they're finding dating.

'But all the rules are different. At what point do you give out your phone number or address?

'Your personal number can give away a lot of personal information about you, not least your home address. There needed to be a safer way to give out your details.

'When one of my employees told me she had been harassed over the phone by a man after trying to sell some old designer clothes on eBay, that was when I decided I had to set up Lose My Number.

'She called the police to let them know what had happened and their only advice was to cancel her phone contract and get a new number. Some people go through the hassle of buying pay-as-you-go phones.

'I realised that there must be a better alternative - I looked around and no-one was providing a quick and easy way to get alternative numbers.'

Mrs Gill has worked in the property and mortgage industry with husband Melvyn for 30 years, up until April of this year when the brainwave saw her create Lose My Number.

After hearing her friend's awful experience with an eBay stalker, she and a few friends decided to test out how easy it was for women to be pressurised into giving out their mobile.

Posing as single women they joined several dating sites and within ten minutes Gill alone had 65 men asking her for her contact details.

Realising what people needed she got advice from IT specialists and launched her site in April this year thinking it would be a minor web aid.

Now it has customers in 194 towns and cities in the UK and abroad and advisors from her regional Government-backed development agency project that her 'High Growth Business' will sweep Europe and America, with the 'potential' to be worth more than £10million.

Her site works by simply typing in your mobile number - and it sends you back a new number starting with '070'.

Your original number will still continue to work, but now you can have up to ten 'follow-me' numbers that will also be diverted through to your mobile.

There is no charge for the customer as people ringing the '070' number do so for 50p a minute, so the service is perfect for making short, initial chats to check the person you meet online really is who they say they are.

You can shut down any '070' number you create at any time if the caller turns out to be a nuisance.

She said: 'No other website can do what we do.

'We have already had a lot of interest from other companies wanting to take the idea abroad - we are still very new but growing every week.'

Her creation has already won praise from one respected organisation - the Suzy Lamplugh Trust, set up following the tragic disappearance of 25 year-old estate agent Suzy in 1986.

Jo Walker at the Trust, said: 'It's so important to take some basic safety precautions when meeting new people, whether that's online, at a party or in a club.

'It's always wiser to avoid giving new acquaintances any of your contact details, such as phone number, until you know them better.

'In the meantime use a service like Lose My Number, which is designed specifically to help people feel more secure and have extra peace of mind when meeting new people.'

Kelly Brook recently revealed that she gets so much male attention she has to change her mobile phone number regularly in a bid to avoid being bombarded with calls.

She said: 'Men ask so I give it out. I’m quite approachable. I have to change my number every couple of months because I give it to anybody who asks for it.

'Then they all keep calling me and I change it.'

Beatty Chadwick: Still Trolling for Love

by Monica Yant Kinney

The online dating world is full of wishful thinking, baggage-hiding, and artfully chosen photos that defy reality and gravity. All laptop romantics fib a little, hoping the truth won't matter once they've made an electronic love connection with another lonely liar.

But even by today's standards, the Match.com post by an infamous former Main Liner is a stretch.

The half-dozen pictures show a balding gent resembling Mr. Burns from The Simpsons, but the profile lists his age at an inconceivable 54.

He's a Gemini who digs dogs and devours the Economist, a lawyer who earns $150,000 a year. He's "athletic and toned" and seeks a "slender" younger gal interested in summering on a lake in Michigan with a cultured sugar daddy.

"I subscribe to the orchestra, ballet, opera, and theater."

Gee, I tell beattychad when I reach him by phone Monday at his place in Wilmington, you sound like a real catch. But, uh, is any of this version of you true?

Heh heh heh, H. Beatty Chadwick laughs nervously like his animated doppleganger. "What one says online is not always the fact."

A numbers game
If you want the facts, go to a file room at the Schnader Harrison law firm, where 76 boxes marked Chadwick are stacked floor to ceiling.

Surely you remember the basics: Beatty Chadwick, a corporate lawyer with blue blood and a stubborn streak, was accused of hiding $2.5 million from his then-wife, Bobbie, rather than turn it over in one of the Main Line's most salacious divorces.

In court in 1993, Chadwick said he transferred most of the couple's assets to Gibraltar, of all places, to satisfy a murky debt. Bobbie Chadwick's lawyer, Albert Momjian, contended that the alleged "debt" was a fraud; Beatty Chadwick had hidden the funds around the world so his ex wouldn't see a cent.

A judge agreed and ordered Chadwick to return the money. He refused, was held in contempt, and was arrested in 1995. For reasons only Beatty Chadwick knows, he then chose to spend 14 years behind bars in Delaware County rather than give in to his former flame.

Chadwick was finally released in 2009 when a judge determined that the epic incarceration had lost its "coercive" effect.

The man who had served the longest contempt term in U.S. history was finally free. And where better to start over than on the Internet?

Who's your sugar daddy?
"Yes, it is I," Chadwick says with a chuckle when I ask if he's beattychad. "I am testing the waters. I haven't met anyone yet."

Beattychad is a highly paid lawyer, but Beatty Chadwick is not. His license was suspended. He tells me he's working in real estate development, but is vague on his income: "I don't know why [the dating profile he created] would say I was making a lot of money."

Chadwick is 74, not 54. Of this deception he jokes, "I didn't count the years I spent in jail."

Beattychad has been on the prowl for a month, much to the horror of the former Mrs. Chadwick.

"Unbelievable!" Barbara "Bobbie" Applegate shrieks upon hearing about her ex's online role-playing when reached at her new home in Maine. "He's sick. He's crazy. He's always been a person who didn't have to live by the rules."

Sitting behind his desk, Momjian the lawyer smiles and asks for a copy of Chadwick's online persona. The divorce was finalized long ago, but the financial case drags on.

"We've had him back in court since his release," Momjian tells me. "We've asked for his tax returns. He's still not cooperating."

Momjian seems particularly intrigued by Chadwick's luring women with the promise of pricey European vacations and wine tasting.

"I would imagine that $2.5 million grew, wherever it was," the lawyer surmises. Whether the stolen funds doubled or tripled, "we're going to get that money."

If not, there's always Plan B: "I'd do anything to get him back in jail."

original article here

My Life was Stolen on Facebook

Sounds like our Exposed Cyberpath - Lissa Daly!


By JENNA SLOAN

Fleeing into the Tube station, Carolyn Owlett felt her heart racing with panic. Behind the ticket barrier, a man she did not know was yelling her name, shouting that he loved her and that he wanted to be with her.

Hurtling on to the safety of a train, the mum-of-one was soon to discover she was at the start of a nightmare brought on by a rogue user of a social networking site.

Cybersex
Carolyn, 26, said: "I was terrified. This man was shouting my name and personal information about me across Oxford Circus station but I had no idea who he was.

"He said he'd come from Belgium to be with me. I was so scared. I yelled at him to leave me alone. He looked like he'd been shot through the heart."

Carolyn was to discover that a 21-year-old woman in Belgium had stolen her identity on Facebook.

She had set up an email and Facebook account in her name, grabbed 2,000 pictures from the net, doctored some of them and conned Carolyn's friends and family into becoming her "friend".

The fake Carolyn, using pictures and details of the real one, had been in a 17-month cyber affair with Regis Remacle - the man at the Tube station - and had even claimed to be the mother of Carolyn's son Billy, three.

The story started to unravel last week after lovestruck Regis travelled from Brussels to declare his feelings to Carolyn in person.

Carolyn - who has a boyfriend - said: "I eventually discovered my Facebook account, and those of my friends and family, had been plundered and that a Belgian woman was pretending to be me.

"She claimed to be the mother of my son and even had cybersex with men online.

"The whole incident has been very upsetting."

Carolyn, from east London, is a radio and TV producer and presenter. In 2004 she was part of girl group The 411 who had two top five singles in the chart. She said: "I had a great time as part of the group and a few fans set up tribute sites online.

"It was flattering that they enjoyed our music and I sometimes went on the forums to chat.
"The group split in 2005 and I had my son Billy in 2007 with my ex. As a new mum I found Facebook invaluable for catching up with friends and staying in touch with my parents, who live abroad."

Carolyn, one of 26million Brits to use the site, said: "I had no problems until June this year, when I received an odd message from a stranger called Regis.

"It said 'Does your boyfriend know what you've been up to?' I thought it was a case of mistaken identity, so I sent the guy a message back to say so.

"I also started getting messages from men in Africa and Turkey calling me 'sugar lips' or 'hot stuff'.

"Then last week I was walking to Oxford Circus Tube. I was aware of someone walking very close, then I heard 'Carolyn' whispered in my ear. I realised it was the man following me."

Doctored ...
Carolyn ran through the station, leaving the stranger shouting after her. He turned out to be Regis, 28, a graphic designer.

On the train Carolyn recalled the odd message from months earlier. She said: "As soon as I got off the train I found him on Facebook and my boyfriend messaged him, asking what was going on. He replied within seconds and the story came out."

Regis believed he had been conducting a steamy virtual affair with Carolyn for 17 months. He had seen thousands of pictures of her friends and family and knew where she worked.
He'd had text and online sex with 'Carolyn', chatted to her on Skype and had bought her a diamond necklace.

Carolyn explained: "Regis sent me dozens of emails showing our supposed conversations. I felt sick and violated.

"My boyfriend was with me and we have a great relationship so he believed me when I told him the affair was fiction. But if we hadn't been so strong this could have destroyed us. She'd trawled the internet for more than 2,000 pictures of me and had badgered my pals, family and work contacts to be 'friends'.

"I do feel sorry for Regis, as for the past 17 months he's been living a lie through no fault of his own."

The pair discovered the stalker was a 21-year-old Belgian woman calling herself Kristella Erbicella.

Following the Tube snub, Regis contacted the fake Carolyn and Erbicella responded with a confession. Regis then shared that message with Carolyn.

Carolyn contacted her pals and discovered Erbicella had asked every single one to be her Facebook "friend", saying she was a mate of Carolyn's. Several believed her and accepted the request, giving her access to Carolyn's pictures and information.

Carolyn said: "Erbicella said she had been a fan of The 411. When she was feeling down one day she decided to use my picture and set up a Facebook page. She got compliments and it made her feel good, so she carried on.

"She had to find out more and more about me to keep the pretence going and the whole thing spiralled out of control."

She used one of Carolyn posing with a girl pal and replaced the friend with Regis, shown above, showing how they would look as a couple. Carolyn said: "I couldn't believe my eyes. It looks like Regis and I are a happy couple but in reality we'd never even met. It's scary to see what Erbicella was capable of."

In the one message Erbicella sent to Carolyn, she wrote in broken English: "I want to apologise for everything I've done.

"I really respect you. You have always been my idol. I'm sorry for everything, I do not want have problems with you.

"It is hard for me as I love someone who does not know I exist as me. I just want you to understand me and what I feel right now."

Carolyn said: "This woman has harassed my friends and used photos of my son. She even set up an online photo album dedicated to Billy - who knows what kind of people have seen those photos?

"I communicate with Billy's nursery through email and dread to think what could have happened. She could have turned up at the gates and taken him.

"The experience has shown me that nothing you post on the internet ever goes away. People should be careful when posting pictures of their kids and their lives.

"I found out the hard way that you never know who is watching."

original article here