Cyber stalker

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-20-2005
Cyber stalker
3
Sat, 09-09-2006 - 10:25pm

Okay some of you may remember the problems we had with the ex b/f a few years back stalking and harrassing DD. Well we finally got all that settled about a year ago and they can actually talk occassionally now w/o him thinking they are going to get back together and things have been pretty calm or so I thought. DD and I were talking Thurs and she told me she's been having problems with someone on the Internet. Apparently someone has managed to hack into my computer and record her IM conversations and Myspace comments and then use DD's e-mail to forward them to her b/f. Granted the b/f probably needed to know some of this stuff (she was flirting with other guys) but my DD's (and probably mine too) privacy has been invaded. What is it about DD that attracts the nutcases? I'm real worried that whoever it is seems to be targeting her and it is someone that definitely knows her b/c they've told b/f about seeing her out - dates and times, etc. Whoever it is wants her and her b/f broken up and I tend to agree with them on that but this is not the way to go about it. I'm now back to worrying about DD's safety. I'm almost glad she's at college now. She said she hasn't had any problems since she's been there b/c she's on a different computer and hopefully out of sight out of mind.

I had to take the computer in for some serious diagnostics and repair work to get this mess cleaned up plus spent a whole lot of time with our Internet provider closing the account and opening another one. I also had to change firewall programs b/c they had managed to get through the old one. I cancelled credit cards b/c I was afraid that if they had recorded IM conversations, they had recorded my online purchases, etc. It's a thousand wonders I haven't fallen victim to identity theft. She cancelled the e-mail account and got a new one and I can't have it - just in case. She's also not using Myspace and Facebook anymore. UGH!! She told me that this has been going on since Feb and she's just now mentioning it to me - she was embarrased that she was caught flirting with other guys and didn't want to have to hear that lecture from me. The thing is I already knew she was flirting and had mentioned it to her a couple of times but then let it go.

We've both racked our brains trying to figure out who it could be. She thinks its the new guy that lives across the field from us. He has no friends and talks online to her a good bit. He inherited the house from his grandpa. She and he were friends as kids but he's a little strange so she won't hang out alone with. He moved back in early Jan and this started in early Feb and she seems to think he's a computer genius. Of course, we have no proof at all. She promises me that she doesn't talk to people online that she doesn't know so it has to be someone she knows and she can't think of anyone else that wants her and her b/f apart that knows about computers. She accused one of the guys that she flirted with last fall but then she realized he doesn't know enough to do it.

I think I've covered all my bases about shutting them out and protecting my credit. Do you guys see anything I've missed?

Once again, please caution your kids about the computer. I tell my students if you don't want your priest or your granma seeing it don't put it on a computer!!

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-09-2006
In reply to: tobylady
Sun, 09-10-2006 - 12:19am
Wow!!
That is alot of info that they were able to get a hold of. Were they (diagnostics) able to find ANYTHING? Such as an IP address? You did the right thing by cancelling your CC's. I was the victim of online hacking and had my CC used to build porn sites out of Brazil!!
I was horrified.
So sorry this happened to you
iVillage Member
Registered: 10-16-1999
In reply to: tobylady
Sun, 09-10-2006 - 9:09am

Nicki had something similar happen to her when she chose to sidestep my rule about not chatting with people she didn't know IRL.

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-20-2005
In reply to: tobylady
Sun, 09-10-2006 - 5:14pm
They weren't able to find much as to who did this but we were able to find a monitoring software that was downloaded onto my computer that runs behind the scenes. I already have one on it but there was another one on it that I didn't know anything about. So they reformatted the hard drive and got everything off and then put back only what I wanted on it. I had them leave on the monitoring software that I had been using b/c DD is older now and not home much anyway. It had basically outlived its usefulness. But apparently someone else had managed to download one onto our computer and that's how they were getting her passwords and IM conversations. Anyway, I think it's all taken care of now but just to play it safe I won't have this computer on line for long periods of time like I used to. We're on dial-up and to do what they did they would need the computer to be online for several hours at a time. Not happening anymore!