Stalking

Harassing someone over email can be a crime whether or not the abuser signs his/her name or does it from an account that the victim isn’t familiar with. There can be ways to verify that it’s a particular person who’s sending the emails if someone has computer technical knowledge in this area. Law enforcement may help trace where the emails are coming from if a victim reports harassing or stalking behavior over email that constitutes a crime in that person’s state. If a person is thinking that s/he may want to pursue criminal charges or a civil restraining order for email harassment, s/he may want to print out a copy of everything that the abuser sends, which for emails, should include the “headers” which has identifying information. If you’re not sure how to do that, you may want to contact the National Network to End Domestic Violence’s Safety Net Program here: https://www.techsafety.org/contact-us - they are a program that deals specifically with abuse through technology.

If you want to report the harassment to the police, you may want call the police and ask if they have any sort of special unit that deals with cyberstalking. You may be able to contact the National Crime Victims’ Hotline for more information about resources for crime victims in your state. 

If you want to see whether or not you may qualify for a restraining order based on the abuser’s harassing emails, here is a link with protection order info in your state: LINK and a link for lawyers for advice or representation: LINK