I've become the victim of an internet stalker in very strange circumstances. It began when a woman ripped me off on a private sale through a paid membership forum I was a member of. After a long drawn out saga, she finally refunded me through PayPal almost the full amount I had sent her. So I was happy to put the whole depressing story behind me and move on. However, after a couple of months had past, she then proceeded to send me threatening emails trying to imply that I had stolen the funds from her PayPal account. I blocked her e-mail address from my Yahoo account, so she tracked me down on Facebook! Why she couldn't just put it all behind her I will never know. Anyway, the lesson of the story is to beware online and keep the following 'stay safe' tips in mind:
• Always do a background check on anyone you are dealing with. Type their username & any other relevant details you have on them into google. You'll be surprised by what you can find.
• Never disclose your private telephone numbers or address unless absolutely necessary.
• When choosing a username try to pick something generic that doesn't giveaway too much about you such as your sex, race, hobbies etc
• Keep your primary email address private. Use your primary email address ONLY for people you know and trust and set up a generic mail for dealing with anything online such as chatrooms and forums.
• Don't give out information such as your full name, date of birth, address, phone number, email address, etc. when it is unneccessary. Many sign-up forms ask for all this info, but very often all you need is a username & email address.
