What to do..
Recently I've had a few problems online. An email account hacked, bank details hacked, my identity used without my permission. My blog received over a hundred scam/span attempts in over two days.
I thought that was bad enough. I was then the victim of a scam on an online forum I'm a member of which also involved another, innocent member. Attacks on myself I can handle. I was upset and annoyed that someone else was taken in and that I was involved. I will not go into personal details and the other victim was ok about it at the time ( though I think it affected them more than they let on).
Sunday I received an email, from what was apparently my own address. It contained details about the other victim, intimate details and images. It was obvious that the victim had been very open with the perpetrator. Responding to the mail only resulted in a mail daemon failure message stating the address was unknown. This has really upset me. I have yet to let the victim know, if I let them know. A vulnerable, intelligent and very nice individual opened their heart to another and the trust was abused. My instinctive reaction is to reach out to try and help and help this person. Unfortunately reaching out can sometimes produce a negative, even angry response. The victim may also freak out knowing that personal details were sent to me. I'm stuck.
The perpetrator was originally asking me for help, was very charming and believable. I'd chatted with them earlier in the day, and they got back in touch. They used a false name and had stolen the identity of the other victim. After I got suspicious the perpetrator vanished. I then located the true owner of the false I.d and informed them.
As a fairly high profile male survivor myself I often get asked advice, or simply asked to be a listener. I try and be open and available to others online. I suppose that being in the "public eye" makes one an easy target. It's happened to me before, but nothing like this. The perpetrator was also quoting various lines from my own blog as their own.
I've reported the hacks and the use of personal details. I'm just so angry...
I've locked my own system and details right down now so hopefully will be safer in future.
Recently I've had a few problems online. An email account hacked, bank details hacked, my identity used without my permission. My blog received over a hundred scam/span attempts in over two days.
I thought that was bad enough. I was then the victim of a scam on an online forum I'm a member of which also involved another, innocent member. Attacks on myself I can handle. I was upset and annoyed that someone else was taken in and that I was involved. I will not go into personal details and the other victim was ok about it at the time ( though I think it affected them more than they let on).
Sunday I received an email, from what was apparently my own address. It contained details about the other victim, intimate details and images. It was obvious that the victim had been very open with the perpetrator. Responding to the mail only resulted in a mail daemon failure message stating the address was unknown. This has really upset me. I have yet to let the victim know, if I let them know. A vulnerable, intelligent and very nice individual opened their heart to another and the trust was abused. My instinctive reaction is to reach out to try and help and help this person. Unfortunately reaching out can sometimes produce a negative, even angry response. The victim may also freak out knowing that personal details were sent to me. I'm stuck.
The perpetrator was originally asking me for help, was very charming and believable. I'd chatted with them earlier in the day, and they got back in touch. They used a false name and had stolen the identity of the other victim. After I got suspicious the perpetrator vanished. I then located the true owner of the false I.d and informed them.
As a fairly high profile male survivor myself I often get asked advice, or simply asked to be a listener. I try and be open and available to others online. I suppose that being in the "public eye" makes one an easy target. It's happened to me before, but nothing like this. The perpetrator was also quoting various lines from my own blog as their own.
I've reported the hacks and the use of personal details. I'm just so angry...
I've locked my own system and details right down now so hopefully will be safer in future.
3 comments:
I am so sorry that this happened to you. I will never understand the kind of person who seems to get joy or satisfaction or something out of doing this kind of stuff to others. You are strong enough to deal with this and get on with your life and your purpose. Other survivors are not. That is what worries me. (((Hugs)))
This has happened to me too when I started up my website/blog. I was accused online of promoting child abuse (the very opposite to what I was am frequently am doing), and have had also to remove the feedback facility altogether due to spam & worse. Earllier this year, after posting the emergency numbers for Save The Children % NSPCC I had two large squares of material (about 90x60cm) pegged to the outside of my roadside fence. In very large lettering, one said: Do We Have To Love You Now?; The second, If you want sex, phone 999. Unfortunately I didn't notice anything until it had apparently been there for over 48 hrs, then due to my ms, it had to remain until my son could get over and take them down.
Most people are good - but their are some that are either total idiots or easilly made to feel threatened..
Smart move on your part. Good friends and true friendships are valuble to a victim and also hard to come by. I hope your friend values the friend you have been x
Post a Comment