Quick Facts
Quick Facts
Learn about state laws, statistics, and research on cybercrimes with the quick facts and links below.
Cyberstalking
Cyberstalking is the use of digital technologies to monitor, watch, contact, control, threaten, sabotage, isolate, or otherwise terrorize someone, or to damage someone’s credibility or reputation. Perpetrators may use computers, tablets, mobile devices, software, the internet, email, social media, messaging apps, smart home devices, recording devices, tracking devices, and/or other technology. Cyberstalking often co-occurs with in-person stalking or other forms of interpersonal violence like domestic, dating, or sexual violence. It may also be called online harassment, cyber harassment, digital harassment, digital abuse, or technology-facilitated stalking.
NDII
Nonconsensual distribution of intimate images (NDII) involves someone sharing or threatening to share private, sexually explicit images or videos of another person without their consent. It can include images originally obtained without consent (hacking phones, using hidden cameras, or recording sexual assaults), as well as images/videos that were initially consensually obtained (within the context of an intimate relationship) and later distributed without consent. NDII can include both real images/videos and those created with or altered using artificial intelligence (AI), also referred to as “deepfakes.” NDII may also be called: image-based sexual abuse, image abuse, non-consensual distribution of intimate images (NCII), non-consensual pornography, or revenge porn.
Tech-Facilitated Abuse
Technology-facilitated abuse (TFA) is the misuse or repurposing of digital, electronic, or networked technologies to monitor, control, coerce, threaten, harass, stalk, impersonate, exploit, humiliate, sabotage, or otherwise harm another person. TFA can occur in intimate partner violence, dating violence, stalking, sexual abuse, harassment, fraud, or other forms of interpersonal harm.