THE NATIONAL BULLYING HELPLINE - CYBERBULLYING
We all have a duty to report eCRIME and to protect others, particularly the vulnerable or those in our care, from eCRIME abuse.
ecrime-action.co.uk
What is Cyberbullying and eCRIME
eCrime and Cyberbullying are forms of bullying and anti-social behaviour using technology with intent to cause another person harm, distress or personal loss. This includes trolling, mobbing, stalking, grooming and any form of abuse online. Cyberbullying is most certainly on the increase with more and more cases are being reported to our helpline by children and by extremely worried parents.
Over half of the UK's 12 to 15 year olds have faced some form of bullying, including Cyberbullying over the last year. Research by the National Centre for Social Research found that 47% of young people reported being bullied at the age of 14.
We are focusing on this very serious issue and we are working closely with The Police, Facebook and other IT service providers, to work towards eliminating this unacceptable behaviour. We have been using the terminology ‘eCRIME’ for many years now because we believe it describes all forms of on-line abuse. Already the Police and others are adopting the term eCRIME when they talk about Cyberbullying.
Examples of Cyberbullying and eCRIME
Forums and tools used often vary and include a range of electronic devices often linked to forums or chat rooms. The tool may be a computer or laptop, a mobile phone, a camera or recording device, a tablet or games-console or simply email or mobile text messaging. Typically, the bullies use Social Networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and other interactive forums to target an individual or group. Some examples of cyberbullying can include
• Spreading malicious and abusive rumours and gossiping
• Emailing or texting someone with threatening or intimidating remarks
• Trolling someone
• Mobbing an individual (a group or gang who target one individual).
• Harassing someone repeatedly
• Intimidation and blackmail
• Stalking someone on-line and continually harassing them
• Posting embarrassing or humiliating images or video’s about an individual without their consent.
• General Bullying or Stalking
• Child exploitation
• Grooming (ie: enticing or goading someone on-line to self-harm, to harm another person or commit a crime)
• Setting up a false profile to target an individual
• Filming someone being attacked and then posting that video up on a website or inappropriate on-line forum
• Posting someone else’s private details on-line without consent
• Identity fraud or identity theft
• Using gaming sites to attack or bully an individual
• Theft over the internet
• Fraud or deception over the internet
• Espionage over the internet and so on
This list is not exhaustive. If you feel you have been effected by any of the examples in this list and would like to a talk to a professional for advice, please see our support page for further information
Avoid becoming a target
The best way to avoid being cyberbullied is to use the internet and mobile phones carefully and be a little more cyber-savvy. Don’t give out personal details, such as your phone number or address in a chat rooms or on Social media to people you don't know. Only give your mobile number to close friends.
Think carefully before posting photos or videos of you or your friends. Protect your passwords, and never give your friends access to your accounts. Don’t forward nasty emails or hurtful jokes and learn how to block instant messages or use mail filters to block emails. Know how to report bullying to internet service providers or website administrators.
Ask a parent or teacher for help, or contact a confidential helpline
Do Not
Don’t delete upsetting emails or messages, keep them as evidence. By pressing the ‘print screen’ button, you should be able to print of a hard copy of the threatening text or images. This will help you to help the authorities or the Police to identify the bully, even if the bully is anonymous. Even people who use a false name or email can be traced.
Don’t reply. This is what the bully wants. It might make things worse.
Someone you know is bullying you online
If someone has posted false, malicious or private things about you online and you believe the cyberbully is someone you know or used to be friends with, this can be very distressing. In some cases, photographs, images or unkind comments are being posted on-line without your consent by someone you know, or once knew.
The National Bullying Helpline have written a guide that will help you understand what you can do and how to persuade the perpetrator to stop bullying you. It contains sample letters which will help you strategize your case and deal with matters moving forward.
