howwould you handle this?

[Briar Rose 7457]

a friend of mine recently received an "anonymous" e mail. the sender knew her real name, her former address, and the names and ages of her children. the sender made not-so-veiled threats against my friend's children.

would you consider this "Internet nonsense" or would you take this more seriously? and how would you handle it?

 

[grinningghost]

With the wackos around today, I think I'd report it.

 

[winniedapooh]

I think I would contact the police if I felt really threatened. This would make me feel really threatened. Even if it turned out to be a hoax, it was done in poor judgement and the person who did it needs to know this! JMHO

 

[Blondie]

For me it would be simple, I'd call my friend at the FBI and have her look into it.

 

[Pam]

I would definitely report it to the police, immediately.

 

[buzzlady]

Absolutely report it.

 

[Doesney]

I would without hesitation report it.

I was recently chastised for not providing personal information on my children. This just confirms to me that I made the correct decsion. JMHO.

You can never be to careful when children are concerned.

 

[Lanshark]

There are some lines that should never be crossed. Involving a person's children in a dispute is one of them. I would deal with it promptly.

 

[CEDmom]

I'd report it. However, this kind of information is not too difficult to find if you really want to go seaching.

 

[Mermaid02]

I'd report it- it won't hurt anything to tell the authorities, but something bad could happen if she doesn't.

 

[shortbun]

file a report. Change her email address and maybe her
email provider. If this person finds her again... worry more.

 

[marlasmom]

I would report it to each and every agency or authority I could - the e-mail provider, the FBI, the police - everyone, everywhere. Moreover, I would press for the strictest penalties that could be imposed. Nasty pms are one thing - involving one's children are another - there is nothing more vile or despicable. Please encourage your friend to take immediate action.

 

[Pat_Elliott]

I'd report it. A cute little advantage of the Internet is little people can do what they think are big things, and it's probably a hoax. But in today's world, how can you not take it serious?

If it was a real threat, the punishment should be obvious. If it's someone with an ax to grind trying to be cute, a baseball bat would be one recourse.

 

[floridafam]

Report it.

Print out a copy of the e-mail.

 

[MaryAnnDVC]

SB...aren't you a lawyer? Don't you have a pretty good feel for whether or not this is an actual threat, and whether or not it should be reported? I'm confused as to why you'd feel the need to come to the DIS to try to figure out how it should be handled.

 

[HauntedMansionGeek]

You say that the sender made "not-so-veiled threats against your friend's children"?

I can't imagine NOT reporting this if it really happened. Personally, I would not hesitate to report the email. Let the ISP or email provider handle it. Would your friend really be able to forgive themselves if the "threat" turned out to be real?

 

[Briar Rose 7457]

my friend was inclined to ignore the message and wait to see if she got a second threat before doing something about it. I advised her not to ignore it. when i saw what had been written I told her to contact the IP provider of the "anonymous" sender.

I didn't want my friend to call me an alarmist, so I thought to solicit other opinions.

 

[HauntedMansionGeek]

I would encourage your friend to NOT wait for a second threatening email. That's just not smart at all but that's JMHO.

By the way, her ISP should be able figure out where the email came from even though it seems "anonymous". That shouldn't be a problem at all.

 

[snoopy]

Its a no brainer - report it immediately. Internet threats are not something to be taken lightly. Always better safe than sorry.

I think you will be hard pressed to find someone who wouldn't give your friend that advice, Briar Rose.

 

[Briar Rose 7457]

as I said, my friend was ready to dismiss it as internet nonsense, but I was more alarmed.