Author Adele Parks has revealed how easy it is to uncover a stranger's personal information online, after conducting her own research for a new psychological thriller. She selected a friend of a friend on Facebook, a person she had never met, spoken to, or messaged, and within a few hours had discovered where they were born, where they lived, their profession, and their workplace address.
Research reveals vulnerability
Parks, who was researching a character who compulsively stalks another, found that the person had not posted on Facebook for about three years and that their Instagram was set to private. However, by avoiding a friend request and digging through open sources, she was able to learn where their surviving parent and brother lived, what school and university they had attended, and even find photos of them aged 14, at their prom, at music festivals, and in pubs.
She identified which festivals they had been to, which pubs they were pictured in, their Pinterest boards, and their preferred tattoo design. She also discovered they used to sell used clothes on Vinted. All of this was done legally, with no money changing hands and no private detectives involved.
The scale of stalking in the UK
More than 1.5 million cases of stalking were recorded last year in the UK. According to the Crown Prosecution Service, young people are especially vulnerable due to the amount of time they spend online, which blurs the boundaries of acceptable behaviour. The number of stalking offences charged reached a record high last year at 7,168, a long way from the number of recorded cases.
Parks notes that while stalking is a crime experienced by both men and women, the Crime Survey for England and Wales shows that women are more likely to be victims. One in five women (20.2%) have experienced stalking at some point since the age of 16, according to the latest figures from the Office of National Statistics, compared to 8.7% of men.
Real cases and categories
Parks highlights several high-profile cases, including Lily Allen's seven-year ordeal with stalker Alex Gray, who broke into her bedroom and was given a hospital order. Alex Belfield, a former radio presenter, was sentenced to five and a half years in prison for stalking four individuals, including broadcaster Jeremy Vine. In 2022, Matthew Hardy was jailed for nine years after harassing at least 62 women and young girls using fake Instagram profiles over an 11-year period.
Psychologists have classified stalkers into five main categories: those driven by rejection, intimacy seekers, incompetent suitors, resentful stalkers, and predatory stalkers. Parks warns that victims often don't know which type their stalker might be, and that all stalking can be severely damaging.
Personal reflections
Parks admits that she actively encourages strangers to follow her social media for marketing purposes, but now wonders about the hidden cost. She says that when people jokingly announce they are "lurkers" on social media, it's not funny but creepy. She concludes that stalking should never be normalised, as it is not funny and not healthy.
Her new book, Eyes On You (HQ HarperCollins, £16.99), is published tomorrow [AUG 27].
