This involves monitoring a user’s online activities to collect enough sensitive information about them through Facebook. The info can include their friends list, stories, pictures, etc.
It is still impossible to know if a user visits your profile frequently, so the best advice for protecting yourself from Facebook stalking is to limit the information you post on the platform.
Risks of Facebook stalking
- Harassment: The stalker may often send threats or harassing messages to the victim. They can also try to intimidate them with other methods. Harassment can cause the victim to feel unsafe and paranoid, and sometimes, the attacker can physically harm the victim.
- Invasion of privacy: With that much sensitive data on the victim extracted by the attacker, the victim’s privacy is nonexistent. The attacker has their names, addresses, pictures, phone numbers, emails, info on their friends and family as well. That much information greatly threatens privacy and can be used in identity theft crimes.
- Distress: The victim of the stalking can feel greatly distressed from being the target of this discomforting act. It can induce insecurity, anxiety, and fear — all of which can have a lasting negative impact on their mental health.
- Damage to reputation: The stalker can choose to spread fake and ruinous information about the victim online to harm their real-life relationships and reputation.
