“Hey, Beautiful!” – The Truth Behind White-Collared Internet Stalking in India

It is often said that it is difficult to understand the mind of a woman but it is equally difficult to know the mentality of a man! Recently ‘#MeToo’ went viral both on social media as women from all walks of life started to use it for bringing into light the prevalence of sexual harassment in the society.  

Almost all women have been subjected to some or the other kind of sexual harassment. Internet stalking is one of the most common these days. From poking, friend requests, to personal messaging, messenger voice/video calls and misuse of personal information females are at the receiving end on a regular basis. This is done at home or at a lone space with the power of the internet in hand via a laptop or a mobile phone, this explains the adjective of ‘White-collared’ attached to it.

It is more of mental than physical torture for the woman. However, the pleasure derived out of it is largely psychological. It is not the actual gain one seeks from this but a short-lived cyber pleasure or maybe it is a matter of taking chance. Whatever the reason for doing this be but white collared internet stalking in India isn’t cool at all. Moreover, it is a punishable offense amounting to imprisonment.

 

A classic case of internet stalking in India is seen when a girl posts an advertisement for reselling an old device or a household item. Now selling via websites, applications and through social networking groups is a very common practice nowadays.  It should be a simple task for most but it isn’t as simple as it seems especially for women.

Here is the step by step pattern followed by such stalkers:

Step Number 1: Initial Professional Seeding

Suppose a female from a group of commoners like us posts an advertisement on a buy & sell website or group then there are chances of the advertisement catching more eyeballs. Sheerly because of the seller photo or just because of a feminine name. There may be many posts with same product with better deals but for a stalker, the advertisement posted by a female is what matters. Generally, the initial responses are quite to the point, after which the stalking game begins. But some ‘gentlemen’ are direct starters pinging on the chat with a “Hi!”, “Wanna Chat?” or “Beautiful Pic..”

Step Number 2: 50 Shades of Negotiations

After the initial talks, the negotiation starts soon after. Here there are two types of behavior demonstrated by these pervert mentality cyber beings.

The first kind of stalkers, go on from being professional to friendly while negotiations happen. The extent of it is that they try to establish the girl’s social presence and later send friend requests or follow them.

While the second kind would still maintain the level of seriousness about the execution of deal till the time they manage to get the contact number. Once received harassment over blank calls, WhatsApp messages, and voice/video calls begin. In some cases, the girl’s number is shared by the pervert among his like-minded friends. This further aggravates the problem.

Stalking till this step is still manageable with ways like blocking the person, talking about it to your family, reporting to police and more.

But the next level of this internet stalking which a common girl like you and me has to undergo while trying to sell a device is really ugly.

Step No. 3:  The Meet

In most websites or groups meant for buying and selling old stuff, one needs to personally meet the buyer and handover the product in return for payment. Judging a prospective buyer as safe for the transaction in a short span of time is a difficult task. This step while executing a resell deal has a potential to be dangerous for the girl who wants buy or sell a product. For a cyber Romeo, it is a scenario of “Aaj unse pehli mulaqaat hogi..” But in no time a girl’s integrity is at risk. The fear quadruples if the stalker is joined by his friends. Even carrying a male accompaniment doesn’t help much here as seen in the past few sexual harassment cases.

As of now, only a few reselling websites have come to understand this type of harassment that women undergo. One such website named ‘Cashify, that is primarily for selling old devices have made reselling so simple. One doesn’t need to indulge in negotiation, no need to interact with 10-15 odd prospective buyers, no tension of device pickup and the best part is the instant cash payment. This process is as safe as receiving a courier or a home delivery. Plus absolutely no chance of being cyberstalked! 

Use coupon code CLEANCASH and get an additional Rs.250 on the sale of your gadgets.

Have you ever been a victim of any internet stalking, do write to us?

P.S: 'White-collared' term does not have a legal implication.