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Headaches, Heartaches and Hassles Online...

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I'm speaking at an event tonight about how to protect yourself (and your brand) online. I know of a lot of young women out there who have had to deal with some very terrible online experiences including having fake online profiles created, people saying nasty things about them, and even online stalkers. Hopefully, none of you have ever had to go through this but if you unfortunately have had to... how did you deal with it?

I had someone create a fake Facebook account of me and then add all of my friends and say really mean things to them about me. I found out it was my ex-boyfriend's new girlfriend. I reported it to Facebook and it got removed but it was really hurtful... I'm so lucky to have my friends and family though b/c they were so supportive of me during this time. And my new boyfriend is so much better than my ex :)

this girl made a fake myspace in order to set me up on a fake date!
too bad for her i saw the picture she used on phototbucket!

I had people talk about me behind my back on a site where it was video chat. I thought they were my friends but really, they were just playing me and it hurt so bad. I never went on the site again.

I've had a few issues with people picking on me online. I'm very confrontational though. I found out who was doing it and talked to them directly. No computers involved. Let me tell you... They had nothing to say after that. Though I have had others who don't live near me start stuff as well. I delt with them too. I didn't sink to their game of spreading lies. I just called them on it in front of others. It just so happens, when you stand up for your self... you gain quite a bit of respect from other people.

I've had a few people call me down online. I just tell them that I'm honoured they spend so much time thinking about me and that I must be very important to them. That usually ends it.

My ex-husband posted nude pictures of me on the internet, then sent advertisements for the site to about 30 locations of my employer to embarass me, and of course he did it annoymously. I tried at first to get a lawyer to send him a letter letting him know I was aware of the activity and to back off, but when that didn't work, I filed a criminal case against him, and the detective who picked up my case soon had him shaking in his boots. The site soon came down, and he quieted down bigtime. The case is still being wrapped up, but because he made the site on his work computer (he works for the government), he will probably end up losing his job in the end.

My suggestion ladies, no matter what gets done to you, just hold you head high, you are better than some stupid retaliation. Don't email them back, don't make any nasty comments or spread your own rumors. Revenge that way won't work, it only fuels the fire. If something legitimately illegal has been done, take it to the legal people...don't try to handle it yourself. And if all else fails, trust in that old saying "Lest said, soonest mended" phrase your Grandma probably tossed around. In the internet world this is nothing, and your story will be forgotten in a week anyways.

what goes around always comes back in the end...don't think about it...do the best you can to think of anything but that, wisely...go out and be with your best friends and work hard...everything should be ironed out to be perfect especially, if you pray to god that he will send you the right friends to help you through and have his guardian angels bearing you up...god bless...c

I have been really lucky and I haven't had anything TOO terrible happen to me, but have had a few incidents that I could mention.

I was 14 years old when I first got the internet, so I was really stupid with what I did online. I remember I was chatting with this guy who was an hour and a half away from me (I knew the area pretty well) and I told him I'd meet him up somewhere. I was lying from the beginning, but I found it to be hilarious because I thought it'd be funny if he actually went to this place and wait for me. He did and when I happened to get back online, I couldn't sign back onto my name.

I freaked and I had a feeling it was that guy, so I IM'd him from another name. He told me that he had hacked into my computer and stole my screen name so I couldn't get back on it. He also said that he found out EVERYTHING about me - like my real name and where I really lived. I had truly made this guy mad and he was just going on and on about me. He never threatened me, but this strange man who started out knowing absolutely nothing knew everything in a matter of hours. I was so scared that I actually got sick. I threatened him with the cops and then I just broke down and begged for him to forgive me. I told him I would leave him alone and never do anything like that again to anyone, just as long as he gave me back my screen name and left me alone for good.

He finally gave me my screen name back and he left me alone. He blocked me and I blocked him and that was the last I heard of him. That was the last time I pulled a stupid stunt like that, as well.

I had another incident happen that wasn't as bad as the last one, but it was still bad nonetheless. I had been going into a Yahoo! chat room for quite sometime because I had discovered that the same people got on the same one every single night. They were all over the age of 25 and I guess I was really looking for an older, mature online friend to talk to. I really wasn't up to anything bad, I was honestly looking for a new friend to chat with. I hadn't said anything the whole entire time that I was visiting except for one night.

I piped up in the middle of a conversation and started to chat randomly. I made the mistake about revealing my age (which was 14) and for some reason, that set off a lot of people. Everyone was like, "Why aren't you in bed?", "What would your parents do if they knew you were on a chat room like this?", and blah, blah blah. It went on for awhile. I kept trying to make myself look good, like I wasn't some rebellious, up-to-no-good teenager. I told them that it was a weekend and I was allowed to stay up late and that my parents knew I chatted in chat rooms because they trusted me.

I think one guy was drunk or something, because he actually spoke out over the microphone and told me to go kill myself with my mommy's gun. This man was in his early 60's, according to his Yahoo! profile and his picture looked pretty legit too. It shocked me that someone would say that to someone else, especially to a kid. It didn't really hurt my feelings or anything, but it really did make me mad. I told my cousin about that and that whole summer, we gave that chat room hell. They kept booting us and blocking us, but we kept creating new names and going in and just annoying the crap out of them. Our main target was the man who told me to kill myself.

I actually had him convinced once that I was a middle aged woman with a few kids on this new name that I created. He fell for it and he started talking about the 'naughty box', which was his term for a private IM conversation. I asked him what it was and he popped up on me with an invitation to his webcam. I accepted it and there he was, sitting at his computer. He stood up and he was wearing these yellow, Spongebob boxers (which really weirded me out). He then told me that THAT was what the 'naughty box' was. My cousin was there with me and we were sitting there laughing our heads off. I exited out and I made an announcement to the entire chat room that I was really the kid they kept booting out of the room and that (insert random screen name here) was wearing Spongebob boxers.

I'll just say that the man quit going into that room and he recruited everyone else to another chatting provider. They dropped Yahoo! and went to something else (I can't remember what it was) and I never heard from them again.

hope no one is gonna do this to me.

I'm going through some trouble at the moment.
My ex boyfriend (we split in June) has been posting stuff about me on facebook and his blog since we split, and he has got his family and friends doing it too. I tried asking them nicely to stay out of it, and not say anything, but it carried on. I spoke to the police, and they wouldn't do anything because he hasn't threatened me. I rang his commanding officer (he is in the army), and they have been more helpful, but it hasn't stopped.
Now I have gone to a solicitor, who is sending him a letter. If this doesn't stop it, the military policeman who has been dealing with it will take further action against him, as will the civilian police, as the letter will warn him about harassment, and if he breaks it, he can be arrested.
I hate that it has gone this far, but he is a very sadistic person, and has done this to every ex girlfriend he has had. I'm the only who has done anything about it, but I'm sure that even if it stops against me, he will do it to future girlfriends. Not that I care about the current girlfriend, as she has brought into his lies, and has been sending me abuse too. He has also got two of my friends involved, and has been abusive to them. This is someone who is supposed to defend this country and the people in it. Instead he will abuse anyone he feels like, because unfortunately, being in the army keeps him almost untouchable in the eyes of the civilian law.

i am so sorry.. im going through something like this but the police cant do anything about it until they flat out threaten me face to face or physically harm me. it sucks. and for me, its group of people who i THOUGHT were my friends. i have case file at 4 different police departments right now and nothing can be done. its been going on for almost a year and 1/2 ., i just wish it would stop. im so tired of feeling like shit and being angry and defensive all the time.

I had my now husband's two ex girlfriends gang up on me. They created a fake myspace profile making fun of him and me. It was humiliating. They got people that were mutual "friends" to take pictures from our real profiles and then they uploaded them to the fake one with nasty captions. I've never felt more embarassed and humiliated.

We finally got the myspace site taken down but, it took ALOT of effort. I'll be so glad when they start making some firm rules about internet bullying. People are so brazen with the anonymity on the internet.

I was harassed over the internet.. it sucks ... and myspace wouldnt do shit about it. LAME to me its just people who dont have a life. and decide it will be fun to this i didnt take any of it to heart cause he was a heartless guy. i just sit back and laugh cause the stuff he said wasnt enough.. i guess its cause i knew he didnt know me and he was making him self look like a dick. the stuff he said was offensive and heart me at first but then i was like wait he dont know me. so i blocked him to have no more from it

I've been called some hurtful names online, and some guy, who is 'supposed' to be my friend, slags me off all the time. I just ignore those childish people now, and if it gets serious enough - I report them.

you know what! ,just because people say something about you, that doesnt make you that thing. you know who you are and thats all that matters! Dont let something like this ruin you. be strong ladies!

Totally agree with Lysie...

in agreement with Lysie and Ketura....

Whenever someone says something bad about me I laugh, really.
I say something like "I already know that", "And your point is..?" or "It's almost cute that you think I care about your opinion."
Don't let it get to me - especially if they've never met me.