Four Steps If You Are Under Attack
It’s tough when you come under attack online, but there are lots of things you can do. Here are some simple steps you can take.
You are the top priority. Everything will be OK. Remember this is not your fault. You have people to help guide you through.
Firstly, do you feel physically safe? If not, do you need to contact the authorities or go to another place?
Don’t worry about being online right now. All accounts will allow you to take a break. If you are not sure about how do this, then just turn off alerts and don’t look at them for a while.
Do you have friends or family you can reach out to for support? Sharing what you are going through can be a big help.
If someone has taken over one of your accounts then you must get it suspended as quickly as possible by contacting the company that runs the account or getting someone else to. If this happens, you must then check all your other accounts and change your passwords on them.
1. Put Yourself First
2. Stop and Block
If someone is attacking you online then stop contact with them.
Do not respond to what they say and do not reply to their messages even if they try different ways to contact you and send lots of messages to you or about you.
Do not reply to them even if they are making threats or blackmailing you. If they are making threats you might need to go to the police.
Block them on social media apps or messaging platforms.
It is usually best to stop all social media posts for now while you work your way through this. You will be back later.
It might be difficult to look at harmful messages or images, but you need to keep a record so you can show what has happened and stop the abuse.
Use your phone or your computer to make screenshots of all the harmful messages or posts you can find.
You can find help here on how to take screenshots with Android and iPhone.
Make sure you include the names of the accounts that attacked you in the screenshots. Make sure you get any web addresses you can.
If you need to take a break at any point, just do it. You don’t have to rush.
Once you have gathered the evidence, you are ready to report to the companies.
They all have ways that you can do this.
For most posts on social media you will see three small dots in the top right hand corner. Click on them and you can submit a report.
Sometimes you will need to make a more detailed report. There is more information here from different companies on doing that.
Read the instructions carefully and submit the evidence that you have.
Everything you send them is confidential. Whoever attacked you will not be told that you reported them, but they might be blocked or banned.
The companies will all review what you have said. It might take a little while.
They might also get back to you with more questions. If they do that then emphasise to them how much the attack is hurting you.
3. Record and Report
4. Further Action
Online abuse can be traumatising. At this point, you might want to take a longer break from social media and that’s fine. Put your health first.
If you have a therapist available, you might want to speak to them about the way that your experience has affected you.
You might also want to share what has happened with close friends or family.
There might be more you can do about the attacks too.
Online attacks are often illegal as well as harmful. You may be able speak to the police about it and show them the evidence you gathered.
This is important if you have been the victim of a scam.
You might also want to consult a lawyer about other legal action.
You will get back on the path to putting the attack behind you. Then is a good time to go over digital safety tips again.