I used to think there was no such thing as “unwanted attention.” I pined for the limelight and entertained with bad jokes and silly impressions. My social calendar grew.
Then I got a stalker.
Webster defines a stalker as “a person who closely follows and watches another person for a long period of time in a way that is threatening or dangerous.”1 My stalker started with creepy anonymous letters sent to me in the mail. He escalated with nightly drive bys. I went to the police. They told me nothing could be done until a crime had been committed. Gee, thanks. I feel safe now.
Fortunately it ended when I left for college.
Today there’s a new type of stalker who can gain access to your personal information by installing software — known as “malware” — on your smartphone without your knowledge. Often taking the form of a virus, malware attaches itself to apps downloaded from less-than-reputable sources. The result is anything from mild embarrassment to all-out invasion of privacy.
Stalkers can also take a low-tech approach and use social engineering. Unlike malware, social engineering stalking requires no technical background, but has a more sinister aspect.
The social engineering stalker gains your trust and then tricks you into sharing your personal information, such as your Twitter or Snapchat usernames. The stalker knows that most mobile social media sites use geolocation — and that makes stalking relatively easy.
Here’s how. Social media sites aggregate geolocation data for each user. Stalkers then use this readily available data to discover where you live, where you work and where you play. Once this level of detail is obtained, the stalker can leverage it to ascertain where you are, who you’re with and what you’re doing — without you realizing it.
Want to turn the tables on those creeps? Voxox, the premier “phone for free” app, is simple to download and set up, and it gives you three solid options for avoiding or combating unwanted calls.
Dead Ending
The first way to use Voxox to thwart a stalker is to Dead End their calls. When this useful feature is on, you decided whether the caller will receive a busy signal, a “phone number disconnected” recording, or a custom message you can record yourself.
Eavesdrop
With Voxox’s Eavesdrop feature you can use your “telephone for free” app to avoid answering the wrong call. When you receive a call from an unknown number, you can listen in as the caller leaves a voicemail. If it’s your doctor’s office or another call you’re waiting for, you can pick up before they finish their message and begin a conversation.
Call Recording
Call Recording with your Voxox app is perfect for gathering evidence on your stalker. To start Call Recording, just press *1 at any time during the call. To stop recording, press *1 again and the recorded call is saved in your Messages tab.
Of course, protecting your information is always the best way to prevent stalking in the first place. But apps that give you telephone for free, like Voxox, offer useful features perfect for dealing with the problem.
If you need help or more information, go to http://www.safehorizon.org/index/get-help-8/stalking-36.html
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