Stalked by a VF Member
 

I am being stalked by a VF member. Friday morning, I received a vicious message from a VF member via FB messenger. She did not like my posting in this Covid thread: http://forum.videofitness.com/showth...=231634&page=5

In the FB message, she went to great lengths to attack me personally. Oddly enough, immediately after saying vile things about me and my husband, she bragged about the accomplishments of another VF member (that had conversed with me in the same thread) and her husband. I immediately reported the threatening message to FB and the profile has been removed.

This cowardly member used a pseudonym in her Facebook profile to conceal her identity. In addition, before writing to me, she also went online and researched information as to where I live, my husband, occupation and on a children’s book that I’d written. It was unsettling to receive such a message from an unbalanced mind. I cannot fathom how anyone can get so upset over a VF forum discussion.

I was able to discover the true identity of the stalker through a tip from another VF member. This stalker is also in the VF Roost group and possibly the Video Fitness Fanatics group.

The main purpose of this post is to let you know that there’s a lot of your personal information online on websites like Spokeo. Fortunately, you can opt-out and they will delete your information. You might want to do an online search of your name and see what comes up.

Also, another thing to consider is your Facebook profile. Most people use their first and last name on their account. This means any stranger can look up your home address using the internet. I changed my FB profile to my first and middle name only.

Admittedly, at first I was afraid of my stalker. Now that my emotions have calmed down, I pity my stalker. It must be terrible to have such stormy emotions, and to be such a moody person. However, I hope that someday she will learn that one can never find happiness by being unkind to others.

I am taking a hiatus from this forum. :heart:I have met some wonderful people here and will miss them. :heart: Stay Safe!

Hi
Video Fitness Fanatics group is my group. Can you please message me who this is? I please just want to be aware. We have a few very nice good people on there.

So sorry this happened to you. I changed my Facebook to my first and middle names, also. I don't Friend strangers and all my info is Friends Only. I have looked up info on people (not for malicious reasons) and am amazed and appalled at how easy it is to find online.

While I don't agree with you about the efficacy of masks, I don't think you should have been stalked on FB by a VF member because they didn't agree with you. That goes beyond disagreement into another dangerous territory. My stance on Covid, masks, vaccines, etc. may seem very controversial to some, which is why I choose not to go into detail about it. I would hate to prove to someone why it would be a bad idea to stalk me :). Thank you for the advice about Spokeo and for speaking out about what happened to you.

Wow, Karla, that is scary! Crazy that someone would go to the lengths you describe to find and harass you! I'm so sorry this happened to you. Like bubbles, you and I don't always agree but you have a right to speak your opinion without getting stalked. I'm glad that the tip you received could be verified so the person was removed and hopefully will be from other VF related groups as well. Thanks for the reminder that so much information is available online about each one of us. Take care of yourself and please come back once you've had a chance to regroup. :heart:

Please everyone, respect each other
 

Karla,

I'm so sorry this happened to you. I don't know why this covid business has made people act so horribly. Maybe my views on this will prove to be wrong in the end. If that is the case, I will acknowledge that fact and move on. I will not get into vicious arguments about this with anyone.

My closest friend and I disagree on the vaccination issue, but we agree to disagree and are still friends.

Karla, I just hope at some point you feel ready to come back. Remember most VFers are great people.

Wow. That's beyond the pale.

Before COVID, I had a rule of not discussing politics. Now, I have a rule of not discussing politics OR COVID. ;) I told my DH that I treat those sorts of discussions as though someone has passed gas in public. An unfortunate occurrence, but I use my good manners, pretend it didn't happen, and continue on with whatever I was doing. So far, so good. :D

Karla, you've been so kind and so generous on VF. I will miss you, and hope you return when you feel safe.

Speechless.

Karla I am glad that you chose to speak out about this here. I hope that you shared the name with Wendy.

No matter our differences and thoughts on covid or politics even when we have heated discussions here does not give anyone the right to intimidate or threaten anyone. I don't mind the differences in opinions here until others shame you for your beliefs. I also have a co worker that I think is GREAT but we are at opposite ends of our political beliefs and we steer clear of those conversations.

I need to look into this spokeo you mentioned. I have never heard of it. On facebook I do not use my real name because of my political beliefs which is a sad state consider we live in the FREE world. I guess it's not so free now is it.

I am glad we are facebook friends. Thank you for connecting with me.