ageless
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posted on April 3, 2002 12:59:42 AM new
Recently I had a buyer write me a very threatening email...threatening enough for me to phone ebay personally and then by their advice send all correspondance to safeharbor investigative department..and then contact the local authorities (police).
This person threatened me bodily harm...and I am thankful that the police officer who came for the report..is an ebay user and knew the laws regarding online electronic threats and immediately took it upon himself to not only file a report, but contact this person himself.
After the officer reached this buyer by phone..he encountered a person who tried to downplay the whole sitation but soon changed his tune once the officer read him the email he had in front of him. The buyer still tried softsoaping the officer.
The officer in turn told him if he had any further contact with me via email or otherwise..he would be arrested because they had enough evidence to do so.
Why am I even telling you this? Because all too often we slough off the nasty emails we sometimes get from buyers...and we shouldn't. There are laws to protect us from this kind of thing. And frankly...no one knows what a person is capable of when they stupe to such practices. A persons behavior cannot be predicted and/or shouldn't be ignored as just an angry outburst just because if comes in an email form.
My guess is this particular person will now think twice about what he says in his emails. His comment to the officer, "Well they didn't have to go to this extent", shows the mentality and ignorance of so many who use the Internet these days. These are real people with real possible threatening behavior to be carried out. Let us not forget how many kids threatened to hurt people in schools and no one took them serious enough and then the tragedies struck.
I personally can deal with most normal nasty emails I get on occassion...but I refuse to accept outward threats upon myself.
I encourage more of you to contact the proper authorities instead of ignoring the buyers and sellers (or anyone else) who think it's ok to hassle you, threaten you, or do anything that is not acceptable in person.
Anyone else have a similar situation? If so..how did it get handled?
Peg
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stonewallz
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posted on April 3, 2002 04:10:13 AM new
Hi Peg,
I had a similar situation last week though I was not threatened with bodily harm. I got a very nasty e-mail filled with racist, sexist and abusive language. I reported him to Safeharbor but have heard nothing yet and he is still selling and buying on Ebay. I also contacted his ISP and have heard nothing from them either. What's the point if nobody does anything?
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mrssantaclaus
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posted on April 3, 2002 06:49:07 AM new
I had a cryptic threatening email a couple of years ago. I contacted the local police and they called his ISP ... who booted him. Never heard from him again.
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ROADDOG84
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posted on April 3, 2002 07:03:38 AM new
We all get upset from time to time at a buyer or seller but some people don't think before they type. And if some people would just take a second and think before they type they wouldn't get in trouble. Just because the auction conclusion isn't going as planned their is no reason to treat people in a way you your self wouldn't want to be treated. Remember we are adults now so we must take responsibility for our action's.And stop and think before we type!
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kyms
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posted on April 3, 2002 07:36:40 AM new
" Remember we are adults now so we must take responsibility for our
action's.And stop and think before we type!"
So true! I wish more people would think first...
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sweetboo
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posted on April 3, 2002 07:57:16 AM new
yes, the police do care. I was dating a cop recently and he said that he has been called to several calls regarding email threats. They do want to make sure their citizens are safe, whether it be from local threats or cyber-threats.
It is our right to feel safe and that is what the cops are there for. Never feel bad about calling your local police dept about something like this, I wouldn't suggest using 911, as it is for true emergencies.
There's no danger of developing eyestrain from looking at the bright side of things!
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ahc3
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posted on April 3, 2002 08:36:21 AM new
That is great, thank you for posting. I've never been threatened through email, but I would have no problem escalating it to the level of contacting the police if someone made a threat of bodily harm. I hope that person learned their lesson.
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outoftheblue
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posted on April 3, 2002 09:31:39 AM new
We received a rather creepy email a while back from a some what mentally irregular bidder after we left a neutral feedback. The last sentence read:
I will be watching and praying for a time when something bad will happen to you!
Does that sound like a threat?
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Valleygirl
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posted on April 3, 2002 11:31:44 AM new
CyberAngels is an excellent group.
I had a seller who did not ship despite several email promises that the item had indeed been shipped. AFter contacting about 3 bidders in the same situation as me, we banded together and starting filing complaints. We had excellent results with BBB and his state's attorney general.
Then he went ballistic and threatened us. He said, "I have contacted an attorney in your area and I am coming to your town. Consider yourself served".
First of all, my husband works in the justice system in our county and I would have known immediately if my seller had contacted a local attorney.
But the threat "I'm coming to your town", was turned over to CyberAngels and within two weeks, we all had written apologies from this seller, and our merchandise was finally shipped.
CyberAngels deals with online threats. They require you to file a police report, but will work with you and all police agencies to stop the threats and stalking.
Not my name on ebay.
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sweetboo
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posted on April 3, 2002 12:03:05 PM new
I appreciate the information about cyberangels.com
Very interesting site. Glad to know they are out there if I ever need them.
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Valleygirl
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posted on April 3, 2002 12:10:12 PM new
CyberAngels.com was written up in Reader's Digest about a year ago? Excellent article.
Not my name on ebay.
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nycyn
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posted on April 4, 2002 07:01:50 PM new
Wish I could get Cheezlepuss et al to stop harassing me, I'll tell you that.
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gravid
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posted on April 5, 2002 05:45:45 AM new
Lucky him - if somebody threatens me I believe it and a personal protection order is a toothless document. The only safe action is a preemptive strike.
If you threaten people better be prepared to back it up.
[ edited by gravid on Apr 5, 2002 05:47 AM ]
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hoffy1324
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posted on April 5, 2002 06:35:24 AM new
It depends on where you are. My exhusband used the internet to harrass me and send death threats to me and my children. He also used the phone, I stopped answering it and let my machine pick it up! He left messages of the same nature there. All of this with a restraining order & a child abuse restraining order.
I filed like 15 complaints in a 1 month period. And I begged the police to put an end to it.
I got..... Well he does live in another state. (like he cant drive accross the state line and make good on his threats) They ended up issuing a worthless warrent for his arrest. I say worthless because, they wont pay to expidite him here. But they will pick him up if he comes into Wisconsin. ""But chances are he was just blowing off steam, so just ignor the emails or have your email address changed and dont give him your # ""(like I would).
I think you just got a really caring police officer and not one who was just doing his shift.
The average policeman is going to file a report and do nothing for you, because he thinks it is just someone blowing off steam!
LOL...LOL
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