Cyberstalking: The New Threat on the Internet

The phenomenon of stalking itself is as old as humankind itself. The past years and the expansion of digitalization have put the crime of stalking in a new light. A representative study from the USA shows that one in four Americans has already been “harassed” online. If stalking in the traditional sense (also known as offline stalking or classic stalking) is described as obsessive harassment/threat over a longer period, it takes on a new criminal dimension as soon as connected communication takes place. New forms of crime such as cyberstalking, cyberbullying, and romance scams have now reached our everyday lives. This article explores cyberstalking.