AUTHOR: SalsaCrazy TITLE: Internet Anonymity: It's not a shield for Law Breakers DATE: Sunday, January 23, 2005 ----- BODY:

Would you do things on the internet that you might not do in "real"-life? Plenty of people do. In chat rooms, message boards, and through many websites, people do things they wouldn't dare dream of doing in the "public" eye. In particular, the internet provides a feeling of anonymity to people. They can create usernames, personas, and proceed under the theory that their actions can't, or simply won't, be tracked back to them. Perhaps they are right - if you look at all the scams, spam, and other unlawful behaviour that's taking place.

What is it about the internet that makes people think they can break the law? That they're anonymous or invincible? That they will not be held accountable for their actions? Recently, I was cyber-stalked. Some of you know about it. One person went after my business, and then me personally. It was a very hurtful experience - both to my business and to me. Interestingly enough, he hid behind the internet's veil of anonymity, and I found it very difficult to find out who it was. In fact, I found the process so difficult and so unnerving, it actually brought me back to studying the law, and laid the foundation for what is rapdily becoming my next business.

CyberStalking isn't new by a longshot. It's a scary and not-so-well documented crime, that is well on the rise. Most notable cases involve the jilted loved one, or the recently let-go employee, and in some cases, business competitors. Through emails, falsifying one's identity, and using internet message boards, you can really damage a business or person's credibility. Well, guess what. It turns out, it's very difficult to prosecute these lawbreakers. If you're getting harassed on the internet, you're going to get a crash course in red-tape. I'll be documenting what happened to me, and what happened to a friend of mine, and I'm looking for more personal experiences. Have you had troubles on the internet? Been cyberstalked? Been through identity theft? Let's hear about it.

My personal experiences are, I'm hoping, about to wrap up with what I hope to be a successful prosection. Perhaps one of the first in the country . . .

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