I'm getting scared - the hate mail has elevated re: my fraud site

[Jo March]

As some of you know, I have changed my website to contain only anti-fraud links and articles.

Well, I'm getting more and more hate mail. I was flattered at first - someone is reading my site - but now I'm scared. The last one mentioned my family and my kids.

Does anyone know how I can report them? Who do I report them to? The FBI? Their ISP? If it's their ISP, how do I find out their ISP?

Help. I actually thought about taking my site down this morning. I can't risk my kids. I just can't.

Bastards. I have the one guy's email containing his email address but that's all I have.

[murielm99]

1. Ask your ISP what to do.

They probably have experience.

And when you find out what to do, take no prisoners. Report any and all threats. Then, announce on your site that you have taken steps.

I got some nasty bullshit in the regular mail after I did a couple of guest columns in an area newspaper about a year ago.

I gave all of them to the sheriff. Of course, they were anonymous, but I let it be known that I had done something.

This stuff is criminal. Take care of it now.

[NYC]

2. Contact the FBI.

Even if they are not the right agency, they can tell you what to do. However, I think threats are handled by the FBI. Good luck to you.

[AlbizuX]

66. take it from someone...

who wrote an article that pissed millions in this nation...i got over 4000 hate mails for it...

Go after them...I wish I would have...instead I internalized and had to travel out of town to avoid the media attention.

I would agree with other posters...write down on the website that you've been speaking with the FBI and your ISP to prosecute....that will eliminate 80% of the hate mail, that usually comes from right-wing blogs linking to your story. Most people won't want to risk prosecution to just say a few words...the rest who continue, go after them.

Don't make the mistake I did to let it pass...you will forever be angry that you didn't take these Republican bastards down.

[Jo March]

3. Thanks, guys. I can handle personal attacks

I just can't handle threats to my kids.

[complain jane]

9. How do these people know who your kids are?

Is the site registered in your name? The domain, I mean? Because if it is you can probably purchase something like "ID Protect", which masks your information whenever someone looks up the registrar of a domain name. Otherwise if you've registered it with your own personal information (real name address email phone etc.) all of that info is extremely easy to get.

[Jo March]

13. I have no idea. Several people know my "real" identity

and could be behind this.

My site is listed through a proxy so even searches on whois.com won't show my name.

[mordarlar]

34. Honestly i would not only contact the FBI but i would also contact...

someone like Conyers. Sounds lame i know but if the FBI is being watched they might move more efficiently. Make sense?

[el_gato]

39. don't waste your time with the FBI

they don't give a rats ass about you or your efforts to protect democracy

[Amaryllis]

64. yeah, Conyers is a good idea.

[Orsino]

4. Your ISP, Perhaps...

I'm assuming that your site is externally hosted, and that you cannot look at its access logs directly. If so, then your hosting company should be able to get that information for you.

If it's actual e-mail, and not a messaging function of your site, their will be headers on the messages that can be interpreted. Feel free to PM me on this matter, but your ISP can also assist. Direct threats are illegal, and could be reported to the FBI--they would want to see the headers of the e-mail, or the access logs that show his connections to your site.

[carolinalady]

5. I would call my local sherrif or state police and talk to the

detectives in charge of white collar crime first. They can direct you to whatever law enforcement agency is specialized in this area. Do not be afraid, you will begin an official paper trail. If you are uncomfortable with the results, find an attorney with this type of experience to help you keep the officials honest.

[Sydnie]

6. Start locally

print the letter and take it to your local police station. Get the threat on the record in the area where you are first. If you can get to the email header (the part that tells you what server sent the original email) then you can do a whois on the ISP and report the threat to them. Then you could contact your state police. Most have an internet crime division these days. Follow their advice about contacting the feds.

[Berserker]

7. Report them

here is a site http://www.cybercrime.gov/reporting.htm

[Jo March]

21. Thanks for that link.

Am using it!

[Bronco69]

8. Contact his email provider immediately with a copy of his email.

I get at least 3 attempts a day to hack my website. I don't have an email address on my website just for that reason. I really don't care what the freepers think about my protest of the bush* administration so I don't want to read any of their crap.

www.notmecampaign.com

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

11. What he says.

Email abuse@<his email provider> and send them copies of the offending email in an attachement(Not inline!). Make a nice, mannerly cover letter. That will start one ball rolling.

[NoBushSpokenHere]

12. Don't bother with any law enforcement that may

be part of the cover up. Contact either Green Party Attorney's or John Kerry's office.

[MarkusQ]

37. Wrong answer. (n/t)

[Jo March]

19. Did you ever get hate mail because of your site?

?

[Bronco69]

28. No, because I purposely don't have an email address posted

on there for that very reason, but I get hack attempts every day.

[Jo March]

32. Well, I've blocked their email addresses

and will remove the email address from the site. I hate that but I'll have to do it, I guess.

[FreakinDJ]

10. Even notice the "Gun sites" that have your url

You will see them in your web stats under links

It is like they are creating a list for when they launch the "Race Wars" here in America.

It is not about protecting their amendment rights. They want to have unregistered guns and fully automatic weapons to suppress (kill) an immanent racial uprising.

[Jo March]

16. I'm sorry - what? I don't understand what you're saying but it sounds

scary. ?

[FreakinDJ]

35. It is very REAL friend

I started noticing about 6 - 8 months ago my URL was popping up on some irrelevant sites.

I have a site relating to the Philippines in my sig line here. They were listing sites from here at democratic underground

Can't remember the names of the sites and the link has since disappeared, other wise I would post some of them for you. They were mostly .php message boards dealing with guns. Will I followed the link to see what they were listing my URL for and what I found was very disturbing.

One site was talking about retributions against all the unpatriotic commies opposing Bush and his invasion of Iraq. One site was discussing how to send illegal gun parts (parts to make assault weapons fully automatic) from different countries. They even had contacts posting there on the message forums from other countries discussing which method of shipping would get through.

Yep it is pretty scary stuff. Don't get me wrong, I am not against gun ownership. But I do advocate responsible, legal gun ownership

[frictionlessO]

47. That is some absolutely scary shit!

Have you posted threads somewhere about this? Like in GD? You need to make people aware of what you found in a very broad and real way! Many people here have their site/blog in their sigs.

We might also be able to bring conspiracy charges against these people if we investigate it welll enough.. maybe even bring a world of bad publicity down on freeptown as well!

just my thoughts!

[genieroze]

69. unpatriotic commies as opposed to what patrotic fascists.

First contact your ISP and host if it's different from your ISP. You should always use a yahoo or hotmail e-mail account.

[tives12]

14. That's Sick

It's pretty disgusting that they dropped down to the level of threatening your family. Good luck with all that.

[Jo March]

17. Compassionate conservatism at its best, I guess

I just called my hosting company but "the wait time is estimated to be 26 minutes." Okay...

I can't believe this crap.

[katinmn]

25. While you're on hold, press "O", should take you to the help desk

Any ISP worth doing business must have a responsive help desk for emergencies.

Pressing O should bypass the queue.

[newyawker99]

53. Hi tives12!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[txindy]

15. Contact your ISP and that one guy's ISP right away

Your ISP will know what to do, next. Who is the guy's email provider? That should tell you where to report him. Forward his email intact to them. I'd still go ahead and report it to my local police, though, since the threats involve those (your family) in their jursidiction. Then I'd go ahead and report it to the FBI. As someone points out in a post above, if you need to go elsewhere with the complaint, they'll help you with that, too.

Good luck. It's small comfort, I know, but anyone who threatens through email is almost always a coward. Take no chances, though, and report it to everyone you can. Please let us know how it works out, okay?

[Jo March]

18. I will. Thanks.

I'm pretty shaken up about it. Like I said, I can handle personal attacks but my kids are the most important things in my life.

I'll bet these people are "pro life" too. :mad:

[rodriguez94]

23. definetly report it...but I am not familiar

with your website and would love to check it out...is there a link?

[Jo March]

27. www.domainofarnheim.com

It looks like a kid put it together. I am not a professionial! :)

[WritersBlock]

45. Looks fine to me. :)

I love your "my freedom of speech trumps your ignorance" line.

I think you're being a little too nice on your "Hate Mail" page. I would post their actual e-mail addresses along with their e-mails. Most of them probably spoof the addresses, but there's always a moran or two out there.

[Truman01]

20. Please post his actual email..... I'll help if I can nt

[Jo March]

26. Here's the two main ones

[e-mail]

[e-mail]

Then there is another one:

[e-mail]

I haven't gotten any emails from that last one but it's always in the cc line.

:(

[Truman01]

54. I will pass these on to a friend of mine in an FBI office....

He will run them through the ISP, and surprise this ass with a call. If the situation warrants action will follow. I'll let you know. I'll bet he will be a bit surprised to get a call from the FBI, asshole that he is.

TC

[Truman01]

55. Hey you did the links wrong, that just brings up a reply.

Please forward the original to my personal email [e-mail]

[suziedemocrat]

22. Give the email to the police!!!

keep all the email names from all the emails. Report them to THEIR ISP , your ISP, etc. This is not funny.

[mattclearing]

24. All of the above. And I know people will say the FBI is a bad idea.

Sadly, you have to do it. It's still their job to protect you when your freedom of speech puts you in the crosshairs of potential criminals.

[Jo March]

30. I know. I hate this feeling

I would never threaten anyone for saying something that I didn't agree with.

[mattclearing]

29. Oh. Post his email on your website.

With a big "Fuck You" on it. I think you ought to talk to the police about it and make sure you are taken care of, and then call his bluff. This sounds like some Internet bully trying to scare you.

Martin Luther King got stabbed and shot doing what was right, and had to deal with death threats all the time. Sometimes living under the gun is the price of fighting for freedom.

[Jo March]

31. "The price for victory is high but so are the rewards."

Bear Bryant said that and I will have to remember it.

I can't beleive that someone would threaten me for saying what I believe in. I am no one. I am no MLK or anyone like that. I am little Arnheim. 1 person with a website that I pay $9.95 a month!!

[mattclearing]

33. Exactly. More reason to suspect this is a bullshit artist.

Still, you should probably get an investigation by your local police's cybercrimes unit if such a thing exists, and then press charges. This can and should be prosecuted.

[go west young man]

71. I wouldn't be surprised if this was an organized assault on DU'ers

personal websites by freepers to attempt to get us to quit communicating. They may hope that you will remove your email and then no one would be able to contact you. I don't put anything past freepers. What would be great is if the FBI did an investigation and found something like that out and shut down freeperville for good.

[helderheid]

36. I understand

I won't risk my kids either - call your ISP first. I'm sure they'll know what steps to take.

:hug: And these people tout moral values. :grr:

[No Exit]

38. My advice to you, since I am a former

prosecutor, is: Contact the FBI, plus your local law enforcement. While making these calls, take the name of each and every person you talk to. Ask that a report be made of this incident where you or your children were threatened. With local law enforcement, often they'll ask you, "Do you want me to send someone out?" Tell them, yes! If they don't offer, tell them you want to talk face-to-face with an officer and that you want this meeting to generate a written report.

NOTE: If you get ANYTHING via "snail mail", anything at all, you need to contact the area Postal Inspector. Trust me, Postal Inspectors (at least the ones I've seen) are some of the most zealous police entities out there. It would be worth it for you to maybe try to trick this person who's making the threats: see if you can dupe him into sending you something to a p.o. box--just so you could possibly get Postal Inspectors involved.

If they don't go any further than, say, making a report, then you may want to investigate on your own as far as possible--that is, if you can figure out the internet (IP?) address of who sent the threat(s). Preserve any info you find out. Of course you should take care to preserve the threatening communications you were sent.

There are laws against STALKING in MANY states. Mention this to the police--use the word "stalking" when you talk to them about this threatening person.

Be sure your children's schools/daycares/whatever have an updated list of who is allowed contact with your kids, and who can pick them up.

[SaveAmerica]

44. Excellent advice! n/t

[shance]

60. If you have a local ACLU chapter, call them with the information

of whats happened to you. Its important to get such information public and out in the open. Someone is threatening you and your family and that should never be brushed aside.

If you have neighbors that you trust, I would definitely let them know what is going on as well.

Keep us posted.

[hvn_nbr_2]

40. Don't assume the guy's email address is accurate

He probably forged the email address.

When you forward the threatening email to your ISP, law enforcement, or anyone else, be sure to include full headers. There's information in there that is harder to forge.

And please don't post the possibly forged email address on your site. You might bring repurcussions upon a completely innocent person. I've received lots of "bounce" messages from email servers for inactive addresses that someone sent spam to, using my email address as the "from" address. Luckily I haven't gotten any hate mail because of it.

[SaveAmerica]

41. Do Not Delay in Calling the FBI!!! Please................

Do it now, figure out the particulars later.

[Name removed]

42. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[floridadem30]

43. Please call FBI right away and let us know what we can do to help.

[fooj]

46. arnheim, old buddy, old pal!

My friends hubby works for the FBI and did not vote for Bush! Do you want me to try and get ahold of him? I'd be happy to help, if I can!

[L. Coyote]

48. Look up the source of the e-mail on a Whois

After you display full headers, you can see exactly which computer on the planet sent the e-mail. You can then look up who is in charge of the domain where the mail originated. There are various Whois sites online to do this, serving different areas of registry, Asia, US, etc. Here is an AllWhois link.

http://www.allwhois.com/

In Yahoo mail, there is a Full Headers link to display all. Here is part of a full header of a SPAM.

Received: from sma04.lax.affinity.com (<172.16.20.113>) by lmg14.affinity.com with ESMTP id <377909-22496>; Fri, 7 Jan 2005 08:10:29 -0800

Received: from iwebnews.net (mx62.uembroadcaster.com <69.60.0.62> (may be forged)) by sma04.lax.affinity.com (8.12.11/8.12.11) with ESMTP id j07GAQY8007075 for <my email here>; Fri, 7 Jan 2005 08:10:27 -0800

Message-Id: <[e-mail]>

From:"Investor Awareness" <[e-mail]>

This message apparently came from uembroadcaster.com at IP 69.60.0.62. The domain may be false.

The place to look up this IP address is the ARIN Whois:

http://ww3.arin.net/whois/

They report the following:

OrgName: Expedite Media Group
OrgID: EMG-28
Address: 1612 Ogden Ave
City: Lisle
StateProv: IL
PostalCode: 60532
Country: US

OrgAbuseHandle: ABUSE643-ARIN
OrgAbuseName: Abuse
OrgAbusePhone: [phone]
OrgAbuseEmail: [e-mail]

And you now have a contact to determine if the e-mail actually originated within their system. If so, they may know exactly which computer on the planet it was.

Save the e-mails with full headers. They are useless without full headers.

If you set up a message capability on your site, you can include in the form a capability to transmit to you the precise identity of the computer where the message originates and a time stamp. I recommend doing this. Someone using a State of Indiana Education Department offices computer made extremely impolite statements about what they intended to do to my mother. I took up the matter with that state, and they were able to deal with it because my information told them exactly which computer at exactly what time.

Hope this helps.

Intimidtion only works if you allow it to do so. Sticks and stones ...

[hvn_nbr_2]

49. Great info there

I wanted to suggest those steps generically, but didn't have the specific instructions and sites, so I didn't start something I couldn't finish.

[Emit]

50. This might sound silly

But I think we should all join the ACLU...join in great numbers. Especially the OPster...it's an issue of free speech.

[woodsprite]

79. I did that yesterday while I was waiting for the elec. college cert. n/t

[Old Mouse]

51. Don't start with the FBI

Call your local law enforcement and tell them you have received what you to believe to be a death threat via email. Make sure you get the docket or report number.

If you get no satisfactory reaction go to your congressman simultaneous to filing with the FBI.

[Carl Brennan]

52. Don't get scared get PISSED!! nt

[rumpel]

56. FBI has Internet Crime Unit. Sometimes, the main switchboard operators

are not up and up on what the FBI has.

[rumpel]

57. Internet is federal jurisdiction. Internet Crime Unit is especially keepin

an eye on crimes against children. You have gotten a threat on your children. Stress this fact.
They found my daughter in 4 hours 500 miles away. They are good.

[Old Mouse]

58. DO NOT INVESTIGATE THIS YOURSELF

Go to your local authorities. Anything sent with the purpose of threatening or even insinuating violence is a form of assault. It has nothing to do with whether it is over the phone, Internet or in person. The multiple instances may also be under local laws for stalking.

Call your local police at once.

[L. Coyote]

75. DO INVESTIGATE andpreserve the evidence yourself. Do this at least ...

Don't rely on others. Display the e-mail with full headers and record the information. Print it out for the authorities.

Do the Whois analysis because that can change later. Print it out for the authorities.

If you control the domain where your site is hosted, preserve the log files. These are overwritten after a period of time. They have the information for every computer that accesses your Web site.

If you don't have direct log file access, get a copy of your site's log files from your hosting provider. Do it now.

I know exactly how many people from each DU thread, blog, link, etc. access my Web pages. It's all in the logs. You should obtain the info on who the referrers are to your Web pages. Exactly where did they come from, Google or some forum. You can go to those links and see what is going on there. If you find something suspicious, preserve the Web page, print it out, and inform the authorities of the information.

Wait for someone else to do this, and it won't happen. They may not even know what to do!

[Old Mouse]

78. Internet threats are now a common crime

and most metropolitan police forces are equipped to handle it. This is not something you need a special FBI Internet crime division for.
When threatened call the police. AT ONCE.

[mzmolly]

59. I'm so sorry Arnheim.

:hug:

I agree it should be reported. Please keep us posted.

Also, the email addresses my not be accurate, I'd also contact your ISP and ask them to trace them.

Good luck.

[bear425]

61. Definitely, contact the FBI arnheim.

This is getting out of hand. People must report threats immediately. We will not be intimidated into assimilation, right?!

[rumpel]

62. I hope they get the bastard. My daughter's abductor is doing jail time

thanks to the FBI internet crime unit.

edited to add

but they may take your computer for evidence, until the whole case is over. (in other words: years) back it up now.

[bush_is_wacko]

63. Report to your local police and go through an internet search on

stalking. I had a mild incident of stalking and reported it to a website. They emailed me back to report it to my local police and gave me some other tips. I can't remember the site name but I think it may be this one. Take care of it right away. And take care!

http://www.cyberangels.org/

[AntiFascist]

65. Quick, move to California!

We have our own militia. B-)

[helderheid]

67. HEY!

In Utah, we have an investigative journalist with a show called "Get Gephart" that people contact when they have problems they haven't been able to solve - exposing companies that rip you off, etc. - if you have a show like that, contact them - if not, still contact the media. EXPOSE this and hey, you may also wake some people up to the problems all in one go.

[merh]

68. Take care my best friend,

Contact your ISP and the local white collar crimes unit of your PD or Sheriff's office. Also let the FBI know. Use the links others have been so kind to provide you.

Just be organized and rational. You are in control, the emailing sacks of hate are not.

Here is a hug :hug: and I am saying prayers for you, I know that this is very concerning. :grouphug: Take care of you and yours.

[skids]

70. I attended a session by the FBI Internet Crimes Unit...

...at a conference for higher ed techies. These guys are pretty good.
I'd start there -- the local police won't be able to cut through it like
the Internet Crimes Unit can.

[rumpel]

72. Exactly. Local police move in slowmotion.

[Beth in VT]

73. kick.

[Quakerfriend]

74. And don't forget, Arnheim

we are all praying for the safety and welfare of you and your family!:grouphug:

[Lisabtrucking]

76. Tell them they better watch out your friends at Du will kick their ass.

[Zookeeper]

77. I'm so sorry to hear that Arnheim...

I think you need to make a lot of noise about it, since most of those jerks are cowards that don't want to be revealed.

But, you have my support whatever decision you make. It must be terrifying to have your family threatened.

:(

[Daphne08]

80. I would not delay in getting this investigated!

It is indeed quite frightening when they threaten your family.