Way, way OT: Internet Stalking/Harassment

Submitted by Cranky Dave on
My wife has been on the receiving end of some pretty brutal online harassment for the past 7 months. In addition to saying things like "you should kill yourself soon" the perpetrators have been sending anonymous emails to clients of my wife (she owns her own business) making untrue remarks about her being a convicted felon, abusing children, etc. causing her to lose business. We are fairly sure we know 2 of the girls involved. . My question is whether anyone on here has been in a similar situation and if so how did you handle it? Any MGoLawyers or LEO have any advice, around bringing suit for defamation/slander or criminal charges? It's tempting to start fighting fire with fire but we prefer to take the high road.
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Oregon Wolverine

July 23rd, 2016 at 11:49 AM ^

Best thing to do is to 1. File a police report re the threats, 2. Convey to perp, if possible, no further contact is wanted, demanding all contact, digital, telephonic, in person cease immediately, and 3. Consult w/lawyer in your jurisdiction about remedies.

Every jurisdiction's laws are different. Quasi-criminal remedies like stalking may allow you to seek attorney's fees, at least they do in Oregon.

Slander and libel are useless if the perps have no $$, or minimal $$. A cease and desist letter from a lawyer may help tho.



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The Mad Hatter

July 23rd, 2016 at 10:46 AM ^

Do you know the why of the story? Are they business competitors? Did she piss the wrong people off, either intentionally or accidentally? Either way, you're going to have to take action. If they're fucking with her career they need to be stopped. This isn't something you can ignore.

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turtleboy

July 23rd, 2016 at 1:22 PM ^

Honestly, in most of the instances of this that I have seen, from either gender, either online or in person, the only "why" that existed was "because they could." Especially extreme behavior like the op is referencing, there is no excuse or reasoning. Reason has nothing to do with it. The perps are just sick pathetic creatures and they enjoy doing this. I'm in total agreement with you that they won't stop until they are stopped. My advice is to prosecute them, because they'll do it to others, and potentially cause someone real harm

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BornInAA

July 23rd, 2016 at 10:46 AM ^

You can try to get the site you are using to ban them.

A slander suit will cost you $20k or more, so if your business losses due to the slander are larger than that it may be worth it - you can also ask for legal fees but in any event it probably could take years to litigate. If your losses are small and you should just get a lawyer to threaten a suit - the threat alone usually makes people stop. 

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The Mad Hatter

July 23rd, 2016 at 10:56 AM ^

Unfortunately it doesn't sound like they've done anything criminal, and LEO'S don't really know wtf they're doing with cyber crime. Maybe try to file a PPO against them for threatening and harassing behavior. A judge will often grant one at least provisionally until the defendants have a chance to be heard in court. That might be enough of a signal that you aren't fucking around. Also baiting them into making some explicit threats might not be a bad idea.

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xtramelanin

July 23rd, 2016 at 11:12 AM ^

you file what is called a 'john doe' lawsuit, meaning you name the unknown 'john doe' as the defendant.  when you have an active lawsuit you also have the power of subpoena - you then subpoena the appropriate ISP for the records/postings/address owner info and then amend your lawsuit when it turns out that suzy defendant has an actual name. 

should be alot cheaper than $20K to get to that point.   like, less than 10% of that.  

i would say it might be best to see if the cops will get involved.  some of the bullying can be pretty vicious and they just might take a shine to the case.  the stalking statutes are found at MCL 750.411h and i, i think.   slander per se is also a violation of criminal statutes, and you will find those at MCL 750.370 and 371.  

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Steve in PA

July 23rd, 2016 at 10:50 AM ^

Especially when sent by non-professionals.  I'd get law enforcement involved.  They take this stuff very seriously now after a mother pretended to be a teen and tormented a teen so long and viciously that she committed suicide.

Every server keeps a record.  With competent investigation this could be over in a week or two.

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MotownGoBlue

July 23rd, 2016 at 10:50 AM ^

If you have multiple email threats I believe that's not just stalking/harassment but assault. Start with your local PD. I really don't know jurisdiction in these cases.

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stephenrjking

July 23rd, 2016 at 10:54 AM ^

FWIW I am always one to appreciate the high road. After all, I consider the command to "turn the other cheek" important. Fun fact: "Turning the other cheek" is a response to an insult (it's the right cheek, and as written to a majority right-handed culture a right cheek could only be struck right-handed by the back of the hand, an insult) rather than an injury. If they are harming a legitimate business, that's not just an insult to your wife. It is injurious. And ethically you are not "lowering" yourself to pursue legal remedies. Take the lead, make some effort at least with law enforcement. Spend the time on the phone yourself as much as possible. Your wife will probably appreciate it.

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CorkyCole

July 23rd, 2016 at 11:30 PM ^

Regardless of where the ideology may have come from, "Turn the other cheek" is a good principle in and of itself that applies to anyone in many different circumstances. Even if that isn't your choice of advice, it's still one side of things that has a place in this conversation.

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bronxblue

July 23rd, 2016 at 11:21 AM ^

Forward the informariom you have to local law enforcement but be prepared for them not to necessarily do much. It's still a weird area of the law in lots of states, as it's treated almost like a nuissance and not a criminal act. States have different laws in place, though, so check with a lawyer in your area. Beyond that, see what you can figure out about the sender. If they are using a major email provider (gmail, yahoo, etc.) or even an ISP's one, you, can report them and see if that account will be banned. Those are probably good first steps.

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evenyoubrutus

July 23rd, 2016 at 11:21 AM ^

Not a lawyer but went through something very similar with some in laws. If you have already explicitly requested that they stop, then call the police and file a report. If they continue then you have an easy PPO case and they can go to jail of they violate it.

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Cranky Dave

July 23rd, 2016 at 11:37 AM ^

Everyone for the advice. We plan to contact our local police and will also go to the ISP. At least one of the emails did originate through a well know cable provider so perhaps they will ban or block that account.

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Steve in PA

July 23rd, 2016 at 11:42 AM ^

Of course XXX out your email info but narrowing in on your suspect(s) would be pretty easy if they are using email...even from a fake account.

 

Edit:  Just saw Dave posted that they came through a cable provider.  Really easy to find who it is then.

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Caesar

July 23rd, 2016 at 11:43 AM ^

Get the evidence, hire a lawyer, and take them to court. There are tons of torts you could potentially pursue. Based on the bare facts laid out, you might get them for defamation, interference with contractual relations, interference with prospective advantage, or injurious falsehood. If they're doing this stuff maliciously, you could even score some very serious punitive damages.  

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Danwitz

July 23rd, 2016 at 12:25 PM ^

It sounds like you can figure out who these clowns are fairly easy - as a lawyer I typically suggest two things to clients before filing suit as it often works - 1 - send letter to them that you've consulted a lawyer and are exploring all your options if it persists - 2 - have the lawyer draft a letter, on his letterhead of course, attach the draft lawsuit you're prepared to file and say you'll file if it persists or you don't get an agreement to stop, I usually add a demand for money but you're in a unique situation where you just want them to stop - a nonmonetary remedy...keep us posted how things turn out - this situation is making me cranky too and I don't even know you!

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1VaBlue1

July 23rd, 2016 at 3:16 PM ^

Don't really need a PI for this.  As others have stated, finding the real info behind a generic email is pretty simple when the generic emailer doesn't know what they're doing.  I'm willing to bet a lot of money I don't have that the perps are not cyber geeks, and thus really don't know what they're doing.  Their names, credit card info, and addresses will take a professional cyber investigator about 10 minutes to sort out.  Couple that to the threatening emails and there is nothing to defend - they did it, and will pay the price.

Find them, Cranky, and make them pay...

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youn2948

July 23rd, 2016 at 3:10 PM ^

Cut off their fingers, toes and tongue.  It'll be really hard to e-harass then.  Sounds like they deserve it too, I have 0 tolerance for this type of crap.

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