A cyber-stalking victim has shared tips on how to spot if you are being followed online.
The woman was reportedly cyberstalked by her estranged husband and now has teamed up with a security expert to share the warning signs.
The victim, Jennifier (name changed) said it was “frightening” to realise she couldn’t communicate freely after being followed online.
She said the terrifying ordeal began when a strange notifications popped up, saying someone was signing into her social media accounts from random locations.
Darren Guccione, CEO and co-founder of Keeper Security, warned that “our digital and physical worlds” are becoming more connected than ever, reported Daily Mail.
He highlighted that there is an increase in consequences from online behaviour, which “play out in real life.”
Guccione and Jennifer have shared six warning signs to help spot if you are being stalked online.
Guccione warned that receiving a password request for online networking, email or banking accounts should be viewed as suspicious if you didn’t prompt for one.
He explained that it could be an indicator that someone is trying to prevent you from accessing your own account.
He said it can lead to someone gaining “control of personal or financial information.” He added: “If an attacker can take over those accounts, the damage can be far-reaching and severe.”
Jennifer urged people to reduce the information they share online to minimise the risk. It comes after she discovered her account was being accessed from the home she used to share with her husband. She took immediate action and changed her privacy settings.
She said: “I quickly made sure to block my stalker on social accounts and set them to private, as well as those close to him who may unknowingly feed information to him.”
Guccione suggested using tools such as Virtual Private Network (VPN) apps to help keep your location and passwords hidden. He also recommended regularly updating your passwords and using password managers, two-factor authentication and disabling geo-tagging to stop people from finding out where you are in real-time.
He explained: “A key component of cyberstalking is compromising the accounts and devices of victims in order to steal confidential information or install malware such as keyloggers to monitor their online activity and even track their physical location.
“Victims may receive threatening messages, and cyberstalkers may attempt to set up phoney accounts to further harass or control their victims.”
