What to Do If Someone Is Stalking You Online

If you believe someone is stalking you online, your first instinct might be panic. But what you need right now is a clear plan. Online stalking — also called cyberstalking — is a serious crime, and the steps you take in the next few hours can significantly improve your safety.

This guide provides the practical steps you need to take right now to protect yourself, remove your personal information from public websites, and involve law enforcement when appropriate.

If you are in immediate physical danger, call 911.

In this guide:

Immediate safety steps
How to remove your address and phone number from public websites
How to lock down your digital presence
How to document and report online stalking
Resources for stalking victims

Critical first step: Your home address and phone number are probably publicly listed on dozens of data broker sites right now — sites that anyone can search for free. Run a free Optery scan to see exactly where your information is exposed. Removing it is one of the most important safety measures you can take.

Immediate Safety Steps

If someone is actively stalking you online, take these steps first:

Trust your instincts. If something feels wrong — unwanted repeated contact, someone monitoring your activity, threats, or intimidation — take it seriously. You don’t need proof of physical danger to take protective action.

Do not engage with the stalker. Don’t respond to messages, emails, calls, or social media contact. Any response — even telling them to stop — can escalate the situation. Silence is safer than confrontation.

Document everything. Screenshot every message, email, social media interaction, and phone call log. Save them in a secure location the stalker can’t access — a separate email account, a cloud storage folder, or a trusted friend’s device. This documentation is essential for law enforcement and legal protection.

Tell someone you trust. Let a friend, family member, or coworker know what’s happening. Having someone aware of the situation provides both emotional support and a witness who can corroborate your experience if needed.

Secure your physical location. If the stalker has your home address — and if it’s listed on data broker sites, they likely do — take steps to secure your home. Change locks if needed, vary your routine, and consider informing your local police of the situation.

Remove Your Address and Phone Number from the Internet

This is one of the most critical steps for anyone being stalked online. Data broker sites like Whitepages, Spokeo, BeenVerified, and TruePeopleSearch publicly list your home address, phone number, and family members’ names — making it trivially easy for a stalker to find where you live.

Removing this information is a priority safety measure:

The fastest option (recommended for stalking situations): Use an automated data removal service that handles all sites immediately. In a stalking situation, speed matters — you don’t have 40-80 hours to manually opt out of each site.

Optery — Our top recommendation for stalking victims. Start with their free scan to see exactly where your address is listed. Paid plans ($39-$249/year) automate removal from 350+ sites with continuous monitoring that catches re-listings. First results within days. Read our full Optery review →

Incogni — Budget option. Covers 180+ data brokers for $6.49/month billed annually. Continuous monitoring prevents your address from reappearing. Read our full Incogni review →

Manual removal if you want to start immediately while waiting for automated services: Begin with the sites most likely to expose your address:

For the complete list: How to Opt Out of Data Brokers.

Also request Google remove search results showing your address using Google’s content removal tool.

Lock Down Your Digital Presence

After removing your data from broker sites, lock down everything else to prevent the stalker from finding information through other channels:

Social Media

Set all profiles to private immediately. Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter/X — every platform. Full step-by-step guide: How to Protect Your Privacy on Social Media.

Remove personal details. Delete your phone number, email, address, workplace, and school from all profiles. Remove location information from past posts.

Review your followers and friends lists. Block the stalker and any accounts you suspect may be connected to them. Remove followers you don’t personally know and trust.

Disable location sharing. Turn off all location tagging on posts, stories, and photos. Disable location sharing on your phone for social media apps.

Don’t post in real time. Never share your current location. If you want to post about a restaurant or event, wait until you’ve left.

Phone and Communication

Get a secondary phone number. Set up a free Google Voice number and use it for any situation where you need to give out a phone number. If the stalker has your real number, consider changing it — and use Google Voice as your public-facing number going forward.

Block the stalker’s number. Block their known number(s) on your phone. Be aware that stalkers may use different numbers or spoofed numbers to get around blocks.

Enable call screening. On iPhone, enable Silence Unknown Callers. On Android, enable Spam and Call Screen. Full guide: How to Stop Unwanted Calls.

Email

Create a new email account. If the stalker has your email address, create a new one for important communications (banking, work, personal). Keep the old one active temporarily to monitor for the stalker’s messages (for documentation) but don’t use it for anything new.

Enable two-factor authentication. Protect all your accounts with 2FA using an authenticator app — not SMS, which is vulnerable to SIM swapping.

Change passwords on all accounts. Use a password manager to create unique passwords for everything. Full password security guide.

Devices

Check for tracking apps. Stalkers sometimes install spyware or tracking apps on victims’ phones. Check your installed apps for anything you don’t recognize. On iPhone, look for unfamiliar profiles in Settings → General → VPN & Device Management. On Android, check Settings → Apps for unknown applications.

Change your Wi-Fi password. If the stalker has ever had access to your home network, change your Wi-Fi password immediately.

Review shared accounts. If you ever shared accounts with the stalker (Netflix, Amazon, iCloud, Google), remove their access and change passwords.

How to Document Online Stalking

Thorough documentation is essential for law enforcement and legal protection. Here’s how to document online stalking effectively:

Screenshot everything. Capture every message, email, social media post, comment, and interaction from the stalker. Include timestamps and the stalker’s username or account information in the screenshot.

Save, don’t delete. Don’t delete messages or emails from the stalker. They’re evidence. If you need them out of your immediate view, move them to a separate folder — but don’t destroy them.

Keep a written log. Maintain a chronological record of every incident — dates, times, platforms, what happened, and how you responded (or didn’t respond). This log helps law enforcement understand the pattern.

Store documentation securely. Use a cloud storage account the stalker doesn’t know about, or give copies to a trusted person. Don’t rely solely on your phone or computer — devices can be compromised.

Note any witnesses. If anyone else has seen the stalking behavior — coworkers who received emails, friends who saw social media interactions — note their names. Their testimony may support your case.

How to Report Online Stalking

Online stalking is a crime in all 50 states. Here’s how to report it:

Contact local police. File a police report with your local police department. Bring your documentation — screenshots, the chronological log, and any evidence of threats or intimidation. Even if police can’t immediately act, the report creates an official record.

Request a protective order. Depending on your state, you may be able to obtain a restraining order or protective order against the stalker. Contact your local courthouse or a domestic violence organization for guidance on the process in your jurisdiction.

Report to the platform. Report the stalker’s accounts to whatever platforms they’re using to contact you. Most platforms have specific policies against harassment and stalking. Reports can result in the stalker’s accounts being suspended or banned.

File an FBI complaint. For severe cases — especially those involving threats across state lines — file a complaint with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov.

Contact the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative. The CCRI provides support for victims of online harassment and can help you navigate the reporting and legal process. Visit cybercivilrights.org.

Long-Term Safety Measures

After handling the immediate crisis, these ongoing measures help maintain your safety:

Set up continuous data broker monitoring. Data brokers re-list your information every 3-6 months. Without continuous monitoring, your address will eventually reappear on people search sites. Services like Optery and Incogni automatically catch and remove re-listings.

Set up Google Alerts. Create alerts for your name, phone number, and address. You’ll be notified if your information appears on new websites.

Freeze your credit. Stalkers sometimes commit identity theft against their victims. A credit freeze prevents anyone from opening accounts in your name.

Use a P.O. Box. For mail, packages, and any situation requiring a mailing address, use a P.O. Box instead of your home address. This keeps your physical location off new public records and online forms.

Vary your routine. If the stalker knows your patterns — commute route, gym schedule, regular coffee shop — vary them. Predictability is a vulnerability.

Maintain your documentation. Continue documenting any contact or incidents, even after filing a police report. Patterns of behavior strengthen your case over time.

Resources for Stalking Victims

You don’t have to deal with this alone. These organizations provide support, guidance, and resources:

National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233 (available 24/7) — provides support for stalking victims, including safety planning and local resource referrals

Stalking Prevention, Awareness, and Resource Center (SPARC): stalkingawareness.org — comprehensive resources specifically for stalking victims

Cyber Civil Rights Initiative: cybercivilrights.org — support for victims of online harassment and cyberstalking

FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center: ic3.gov — for reporting serious cyberstalking, especially involving interstate threats

Local domestic violence shelters and organizations — many provide safety planning, legal advocacy, and support services for stalking victims regardless of whether the stalking involves a domestic partner

Take Action to Protect Yourself Now

If someone is stalking you online, the most important thing you can do right now is remove the personal information that makes you findable. Your home address and phone number are publicly listed on hundreds of data broker sites — and removing them creates a critical safety barrier.

Run a free Optery scan — see exactly where your address, phone number, and personal details are listed right now
Remove your data from broker sites — use Optery or Incogni for fast automated removal
Lock down social media — set everything to private and remove personal details
Document everything — screenshot all stalking behavior for law enforcement
Report to police — file a report and explore protective orders
Tell someone you trust — you don’t have to handle this alone

Your safety matters. Take these steps today.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is online stalking a crime?
Yes. Online stalking (cyberstalking) is illegal in all 50 states. Federal law also prohibits cyberstalking under the Violence Against Women Act. If someone is repeatedly monitoring, threatening, or harassing you online, contact law enforcement.

How do online stalkers find my address?
Most commonly through data broker sites like Whitepages and Spokeo, which publicly list your home address for free. They can also find it through social media, public records, and by searching your phone number. Removing your data from broker sites is a critical safety step.

Should I confront my online stalker?
No. Any response can escalate the situation. Do not engage, respond to messages, or acknowledge the stalker’s behavior. Document everything silently and report to law enforcement.

Can I get a restraining order for online stalking?
In most states, yes. Cyberstalking is grounds for a protective order in most jurisdictions. Contact your local courthouse or a domestic violence organization for guidance on the process in your area.

How do I remove my address from people search sites quickly?
Use an automated data removal service for the fastest results. Optery starts with a free scan and delivers first removals within days. Incogni begins processing within hours of signup. For immediate action, start with manual removal of the biggest sites: Whitepages, Spokeo, TruePeopleSearch.

What if the stalker creates new accounts after I block them?
Document each new account and report it to the platform. This pattern of creating new accounts to circumvent blocks strengthens your case with law enforcement. Continue blocking and reporting without engaging.

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