The federal statutes that most cyberstalking cases rely upon were not originally crafted in the digital era. Most are decades old and have been updated through amendments in an attempt to adapt existing laws to the new digital reality. As the report already cited points out, this can create complicated conditions for bringing a case to court: a single cyberstalking incident may require prosecutors to make cases under multiple statutes, each with its own burden of proof and evidence. States have their own cyberstalking legislation<\/a>, varying in scope, which may also address related crimes such as cyberbullying and online harassment.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Accordingly, prosecutions for cyberstalking (while growing) are relatively rare. The Rand report identified only 412 federal cyberstalking between 2010 and 2020. For context, the Bureau of Justice Statistics estimated the prevalence of cyberstalking in the millions of victims per year<\/a> as of 2019, the most recent year for which this figure is available. While this does not account for prosecutions under state law, it is unquestionably low in relation to the crime\u2019s prevalence.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n The low number of prosecutions is a reflection of the numerous difficulties inherent in prosecuting cyberstalking and online harassment. Those difficulties include the previously cited limitations of federal cyberstalking laws and the corresponding patchwork of disparate state laws. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A representative sampling of other complications include: <\/p>\n\n\n\n The use of social media intelligence (SOCMINT) tools and similar open-source intelligence-gathering products<\/a> can provide valuable assistance to LEAs undertaking cyberstalking investigations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In this context, social media can be thought of not simply in terms of well-known apps like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, but more broadly as any platform providing a means of both group and private communications. Such an expanded definition encompasses less-obvious apps and sites such as private enthusiast forums, the comments sections of video sites, gamer-oriented chat platforms, and even dating apps. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Collectively, these platforms account for a large percentage of the potential venues for cyberstalking and therefore represent a significant area of inquiry for investigators. Powerful new software tools designed to offer data collection and\/or analysis can be useful in such cases, especially when support from the LEA\u2019s internal IT staff is unavailable or limited due to staffing or budget constraints.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s look at a few specific use cases. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Often the stalker is known to the victim, but the actual stalking and harassment is carried out through the use of so-called \u201csock puppet\u201d accounts. These anonymous or pseudonymous accounts give cover to the stalker, providing plausible deniability and keeping these illicit activities at arm\u2019s length from their legitimate online interactions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Spokeo for Law Enforcement<\/a> provides a tool to chip at this attempt at obfuscation. Investigators can use its intuitive interface to search usernames provided by the victim, possibly tying public social profiles with the username back to the phone or email address used to open the account. The search will also return the publicly available details of any other accounts connected to the same email or phone number. Making these connections can expose a pattern of stalking and abuse that might otherwise be obscured by the multiple accounts involved: tracing the actions of those sock puppet accounts back to a single point of origin establishes the presence of one malicious actor.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n The phone or email associated with a stalker\u2019s accounts can be useful in their own right, even if they lead to a \u201cburner\u201d phone. At a minimum, Spokeo\u2019s search results can report which carrier the phone is linked to, and provide a rough geographic location associated with the phone line. Collecting any usernames, telephone numbers, and emails associated with the stalker and searching them all on Spokeo can tease out connections that would ordinarily be hidden. In some cases, the victim may know or suspect the identity of the cyberstalker, or someone with knowledge of the situation may provide investigators with a tip. In this instance, searching the potential perpetrator\u2019s name and known phone numbers or email addresses can yield any additional numbers or emails associated with that person. Here again, any lapses in OpSec by the perpetrator can be detected by searching those numbers or emails in turn, in search of further previously unknown accounts.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n The most fruitful of these are often the social media accounts linked to the person, phone number, or email. Some of these are the perpetrator\u2019s public, daily-use accounts, which the perpetrator may deliberately avoid using for stalking behaviors. However, other accounts linked directly or indirectly back to the person of interest may prove to have been utilized for cyberstalking purposes. These connections are difficult to tease out without the use of a potent data search\/analysis tool like Spokeo for Business. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Not all cyberstalkers are intelligent or technically inclined enough to practice good operational security. Some may in fact brag about their activities in trusted settings, counting on the obscurity of a given account or its pseudonymity to shield them from the attention of law enforcement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This is arguably one of the deepest areas of strength that the Spokeo for Business product offers investigators. Spokeo searches 120+ individual platforms, many of them not typically considered to be \u201csocial media.\u201d A self-incriminating boast on a chat platform or public form can become useful evidence, once Spokeo demonstrates a link between that pseudonymous account and your suspected perpetrator. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Even in scenarios where Spokeo\u2019s search results don\u2019t rise to the standard of verifiability required for in-court evidence, they may provide a basis for search warrants, geofencing warrants, or subpoenas to phone carriers or social platforms. Those, in turn, can yield the information needed to make a case. <\/p>\n\n\n\n To this point, we have focused on specific uses of Spokeo for Business as a SOCMINT tool, but now it is appropriate to take a larger and more general view. Its greatest advantage lies not in its excellence in a singular aspect of investigations, but its capacity to place meaningful social media investigations within the reach of LEAs and individual investigators, regardless of their prior skill sets and the LEA\u2019s own IT resources. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Conducting manual searches of even the top handful of social platforms requires a significant investment in investigators\u2019 time. The investigators, in turn, must be familiar enough with each individual platform to master its search functions and unique peculiarities. Extending that level of grueling manual search to over 100 separate platforms is simply impractical, or requires a level of IT support that may not be manageable.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Spokeo for Business, on the other hand, provides both intuitive and easy-to-use search tools for the investigators themselves; and simple but powerful management tools for those supervising the investigations. Spokeo\u2019s onboarding, training, and support are all excellent, but most investigators should find themselves able to use the product with minimal coaching. Freed from the necessity of learning multiple new skills in order to simply access the necessary information, investigators can focus on putting the pieces in place that will ultimately result in a successful prosecution. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A final difficulty for LEAs seeking SOCMINT help in cyberstalking cases is that they come along irregularly, especially for smaller forces. This militates against any significant spending on software tools, which can be difficult to justify when other priorities are more urgent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Here, Spokeo for Law Enforcement\u2019s flexible subscription plans make perfect sense for LEAs of any size. Smaller forces can take out lightweight subscriptions suitable for limited use, while better-resourced departments with deeper IT budgets can opt for heftier plans and take advantage of advanced features like the product\u2019s powerful application programming interface (API), which enable the easy transfer of data between Spokeo for Law Enforcement and your existing investigative tools and databases. <\/p>\n\n\n\n By empowering investigators to harness SOCMINT and other open data sources, Spokeo for Law Enforcement can also accelerate or streamline other forms of investigation, which are profiled ongoingly on this blog<\/a>. For further details, to arrange a demonstration of the product, or to secure a no-cost trial of the product in your own department, reach out to our team through the contact information on our Law Enforcement page<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sources<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rand Corporation: Cyberstalking: A Growing Problem for the US Legal System<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Cyberbullying Research Center: Cyberstalking Laws<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Bureau of Justice Statistics: Stalking Victimization, 2019<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nThe Difficulty of Investigating Cyberstalking<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nHow SOCMINT Can Aid in Cyberstalking Investigations<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Uncovering Connections Between Accounts<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Exposing Lapses in the Stalker\u2019s Operational Security<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
If stalkers incautiously create a new account using one of their own devices, searching that email, username or number may bring investigators to the name of a real person. At this point, all of the pseudonymous accounts associated with the cyberstalking become evidence that can establish the presence of a concerted, continuing online assault on the victim. This is necessary to meet the requirements of federal and most state cyberstalking legislation and represents an important step toward a successful prosecution.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\nConnecting Cyberstalking to a Known or Suspected Individual<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Detecting Self-incriminating Activity on Social Accounts<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Lowering the Technological Burden for Investigators<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Securing the SOCMINT Tool You Need<\/h2>\n\n\n\n