MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
We will be in touch
For a number of years now, I have been receiving what can only be described as 'hate mail' from a person who has used many different accounts to send it. It has never threatened violence, and so I have just deleted it and put it out of my mind.
For some reason, though, the frequency of his messages has increased of late, and I am starting to get more bothered. I have kept the last two messages in case I should need to refer to them, but as I say: they have never threatened violence. Consequently, I have always assumed there was nothing I could do about them.
In any case, I am pretty sure I know exactly who is sending these to me. He is a man with a serious personality disorder with whom I had interactions in the medium-distant past. I think it is him because on one occasion, he accidently left one of his messages for me in the comment section of a blog I was running using his real email address, and I happened to catch it in my 'approve before post' box. The messages since have all said the same thing, but with fake misspellings, etc.
Anyway, my question is: is there anything I can do? Should I just send the guy an email to his real email address, telling him that I know it's him and that he needs to stop? Or is this a matter for the law? I am not feeling threatened, but I definitely am feeling harassed at this point!
Report to the police and it's a shame that you have deleted the previous evidence. Archive any further harassment emails remembering that they don't properly exist unless they are in 3 places and on 2 different media.
Check if your email provider can find the deleted ones, but definitely go to the Police
Definitely one for the police.
Change your email address
Fake misspellings? Definately one for the police
Firebomb his house.
No, 😆 😆 😆 only kidding.
I'm so sorry to read this, noone should have to endure harassment and the associated anxiety that brings.
This isn't the sort of thing that owning with Bombers can fix, definitely go to the Police and talk to an officer who takes this sort of thing seriously. It doesn't matter if they've threatened violence or not, if their attention is unwanted then you've every right to ask that they respect your privacy and to leave you in peace.
if you think you know him do you think it could escalate any further? Is he just a keyboard warrior or does he have more 'potential'? If the former and he's just a sad keyboard warrior then maybe try going James blunt on him and reply with witty but cutting jibes back. Often comedy put down replies is the best way to hit back.
I guess when ti gets to the stage that it is bothering you in terms of not just an annoyance, but a real concern of a threat, then just get the police in, but if you see no threat and its just silly emails from a sad individual then maybe have some fun of your own.
@curto well played. I dropped similar in a different thread and no response..
Difficult really.
The first thing I'd do is stop deleting them. Create a folder and move them all into it. If you're at all contemplating third-party intervention then you're going to need evidence. Harassment is illegal but someone somewhere is going to need to prove it.
Second, engagement will likely encourage them. If you are going to send them an email going "I know it's you, knock it off" then make it a one-off and and ignore further replies. Also I'd want to be really certain, not just "I think" - if you're wrong then you've just confronted someone who is both innocent and mentally ill. (It does sound pretty cast iron in this case though...!)
Third, if they are mentally ill and they've been doing this for years then I highly doubt you're going to get them to stop of their own volition. You're likely either going to have to change your address to one they don't know, or just ignore them.
Subscribe him to loads of porn and sites of questionable content.
I used this to stop an ex partner from sending communications to me and said I would report her to the police if she continued.