Many people think of stalking as the act of following someone around without the person's permission. However, following someone around is just one form of stalking; it can take other forms as well. Stalking is unwanted and repeated contact with another person, and the contact can take different forms. Below are other forms of stalking.
Online Monitoring
In this day and age, when many people have an online presence, you can be accused of stalking a person if you are constantly monitoring someone's online activities. Maybe you want to know how often the person is online, which social media accounts they use, which posts they like or share, and even the people they communicate with online. Some people even create a pseudo account that they can use to monitor their targets without the target's knowledge. This may be considered stalking
GPS Tracking
A Global Positioning System (GPS) allows you to track someone without being in the person's presence. For example, you could have secretly installed a GPS device on your target's motorcycle, car, or bicycle. A remote view of the GPS location can help you know where your target goes, and this is also considered stalking.
Sending Mails
You can also be accused of stalking someone if you keep sending mail, whether electronic or traditional mail, to the person. This is particularly true if the person has clearly made it known to you that your mail is not welcome. Say a romantic relationship with a person ended, and they have moved on, but you haven't moved on, and you keep sending mail to them. The person can accuse you of stalking if they can prove the repeated mail.
Making Phone Calls
Stalking also occurs if a person keeps making unwanted phone calls to another person. Some people go to the extent of hiding their phone number or using different phone numbers when contacting their targets. Say you want a music producer to sign up your band, the producer has declined your advances, but you keep calling the producer with the hope of changing their mind. If you don't stop, the producer may accuse you of stalking them.
Photography
Lastly, stalking may also involve taking repeated photographs of a person. Taking pictures of someone from a distance with or without their knowledge can be considered stalking if the attention is unwanted.
Therefore, if someone has accused you of any form of stalking, don't assume that the stalking charges against you are minor just because you didn't make physical contact with your accuser. Stalking is a criminal irrespective of its nature; consult a criminal defense attorney to help you defend your stalking charges.
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