Increasing numbers of people in our region being harassed online
Offenders have been setting up fake social media accounts to target their victims.
Increasing numbers of people in Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire are being harassed online as offenders set up fake social media accounts to target their victims.
Humberside Police investigated more than 300 online harrassment cases last year.
That accounts for over 20% of all cyber crime incidents responded to by the force.
In many cases, ex-partners set up fake accounts on the internet and posted explicit pictures of their former lovers.
Detective Inspector Rich Osgerby said:
“This kind of offence can cause huge distress to victims and it is something that we take very seriously and will investigate thoroughly.
“If you set up fake accounts to harass others, we will find you and we will take action.”
DI Osgerby also emphasised the importance of prevention, adding:
“It is believed that 90 per cent of all cyber crime could be prevented by taking a few simple precautions.
“One of the most important things to remember is that no matter how close you are to someone, things may change in the future and there is always a risk of any intimate pictures or videos being shared with others – usually when relationships have ended.
“If you are targeted, don’t respond to threats. Gather evidence of the posts, by taking screen shots and then report it both to police and the site where the video or pictures have been posted, asking for them to be removed and the offender’s user account can be blocked.”
Kira Lisseter had malicious comments posted about her on a website that's since been taken down. She says it had a big imapct:
"Travelling to college, I was worried incase somebody came up to me and said something. I stopped going out with my friends and volunteering as I just wanted to sit at home and not talk to anyone.
"I was really taken aback because it was completely anonymous and I didn't know who it was, whether it was a friend or somebody I had just passed in the street so I was quite worried and hurt by it.
"I actually got the website taken down so all of the messages stopped but I did slowly get over the fact that it wouldn't have been any of my friends but it did take a while to trust people again."