What to Do If You Are a Victim of Cyberstalking (2026 Guide)

Cyberstalking — the use of technology to harass, threaten, monitor, or intimidate someone — affects an estimated 3.4 million Americans each year. It can take many forms: obsessive messaging, tracking your location, monitoring your online activity, creating fake profiles to harass you, posting private information, or using spyware to surveil your device. If you’re being cyberstalked, you are not alone and there are concrete steps you can take right now to protect yourself.

Recognize the Signs of Cyberstalking

Cyberstalking goes beyond an annoying ex or a persistent stranger. It’s a pattern of behavior designed to frighten, control, or harm you. Common signs include:

• Receiving repeated unwanted messages, emails, or social media contact after asking the person to stop
• Someone always seeming to know where you are or what you’re doing
• Discovering that someone has accessed your email, social media, or other accounts without permission
• Finding fake profiles or websites created about you
• Receiving threats of violence, exposure, or harm to you or people you care about
• Having private photos, messages, or personal information posted publicly without your consent
• Receiving contact from unknown people who reference personal details they shouldn’t know
• Noticing unfamiliar devices or apps on your phone that you didn’t install

Step 1: Document Everything

Evidence is critical for law enforcement and any future legal proceedings. Start documenting immediately:

• Take screenshots of every threatening or harassing message, email, social media post, or comment. Include timestamps and the sender’s username or profile.
• Save emails with full headers (which reveal the sender’s IP address and routing information).
• Keep a log documenting each incident: date, time, what happened, and any witnesses. Be as specific as possible.
• Don’t delete anything. Even disturbing messages should be preserved as evidence, not deleted.
• Save voicemails and record phone calls if legal in your state (check your state’s recording consent laws first).
• Back up evidence to a cloud account or USB drive that the stalker cannot access.

Step 2: Report to Law Enforcement

Cyberstalking is a federal crime under 18 U.S.C. § 2261A and is also illegal under the laws of all 50 states. File a report with:

• Your local police department. Bring your documentation. Ask for a case number and the name of the investigating officer.
• The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) at ic3.gov if the stalking crosses state lines or involves serious threats.
• Your state’s attorney general’s office if local police are unresponsive.

If law enforcement doesn’t take your report seriously, escalate. Ask to speak to a detective or specialized crimes unit. Many police departments now have cybercrime units trained to handle these cases.

Step 3: Secure Your Accounts and Devices

A cyberstalker may have access to your accounts, devices, or location. Lock everything down:

Accounts

• Change passwords on all accounts — email, social media, banking, cloud storage. Use unique, strong passwords for each.
• Enable two-factor authentication on every account that supports it. Use an authenticator app, not SMS (SIM swap attacks can intercept text codes).
• Review account recovery options. Make sure the stalker isn’t listed as a recovery email or phone number.
• Check login activity on each account and force sign-out of all active sessions you don’t recognize.
• Review connected apps and revoke access from anything you didn’t authorize.

Devices

• Check for stalkerware — spyware apps that a stalker may have installed on your phone to monitor calls, messages, location, and camera.
• Check for unwanted Bluetooth trackers (AirTags, Tiles) in your belongings and car.
• Update your phone’s operating system to the latest version to ensure you have the newest security patches.
• Review location sharing settings and turn off sharing with anyone you don’t trust.
• If you suspect your device is compromised and can’t identify the spyware, consider doing a factory reset from a safe location.

Step 4: Remove Your Personal Information From the Internet

Cyberstalkers frequently use people-search sites and data brokers to find your home address, phone number, workplace, relatives’ names, and more. Removing this information cuts off a critical intelligence source:

• Opt out of major data brokers like Spokeo, Whitepages, BeenVerified, and others.
• Request removal from Google Search results for pages containing your personal information.
• Hide your home address from online directories and public records.
• Consider using a P.O. Box or commercial mail-receiving service for your physical mail to keep your home address out of public records going forward.

PrivacyOn can accelerate this process by scanning 100+ data broker sites, submitting removal requests on your behalf, and continuously monitoring for re-listings. For cyberstalking victims, getting your data off people-search sites is an urgent safety measure.

Step 5: Protect Your Social Media

• Set all profiles to private.
• Review your friends and followers lists and remove anyone you don’t know or trust.
• Disable location tagging on photos and posts.
• Block the stalker on every platform. If they create new accounts, block those too and report them for harassment.
• Ask friends and family not to tag you in photos or check-ins, and not to share your location or plans publicly.
• Consider temporarily deactivating accounts that the stalker is using to monitor you.

Step 6: Seek Legal Protection

Depending on your situation, you may be able to get a protective order (restraining order) against the stalker. Most states allow protective orders for cyberstalking, even when there’s no physical contact. A protective order:

• Legally prohibits the stalker from contacting you
• Can require the stalker to stay a certain distance away
• Makes any further contact a criminal violation, giving police grounds for immediate arrest

Contact your local courthouse, legal aid organization, or the National Center for Victims of Crime Stalking Resource Center (1-855-4-VICTIM) for help with the protective order process.

Step 7: Get Support

Cyberstalking is psychologically devastating. You don’t have to handle it alone:

• National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233
• Stalking Prevention, Awareness, and Resource Center (SPARC): stalkingawareness.org
• Cyber Civil Rights Initiative: cybercivilrights.org (specializes in non-consensual intimate images and online harassment)
• RAINN: 1-800-656-4673 (if the stalking involves sexual violence)
• A therapist or counselor experienced with trauma and stalking

Take Back Your Privacy

Recovering from cyberstalking means regaining control of your digital life. Securing your accounts, removing your personal data from the internet, and getting legal protection are all essential steps. PrivacyOn helps by removing your personal information from 100+ data broker sites, providing dark web monitoring, and offering continuous protection so your data stays offline. If you’re being cyberstalked, taking your information off people-search sites is one of the most important things you can do for your safety.