The problem arises not necessarily from these applications, but what they do: allow people to communicate without guarantee that the person sitting at the keyboard on the other end is who they say they are. Meaning a 45 year-old man can find a 15 year-old, unsuspecting victim and win her heart over without her ever seeing a face. When this man suggests a meeting, the love-struck female adolescent gallantly agrees. The next day, the girl's face is on a milk carton, the last place everyone will see it. When a person hears of Internet stalking, they think mainly of the above scenario. But really, corporate America also instigates Internet stalking. An internet cookie, in its intended form, is a very small program that is sent on to you hard drive that tells certain web sites who you are, so they can personalize their web site for you. This is what allows you to visit a member site and not have to type in your user name and password every time you stray from the main page. But it seems Yahoo had another idea. Yahoo was sued by Universal Image in 2000 for violating Texas" anti-stalking law by tracking computer users without permission. "Yahoo sent cookies to your house," Universal Image attorney Larry Friedman said. "Those cookies trespass on your hard drive without permission. It's like having an electronic eyeball in your house watching all your movements on the Internet. It's Big Brother personified." Unfortunately, this is not the first time this has happened, nor will it be the last.
Many other problems plunder the common Internet user. An article in the July 1, 2002 Time Magazine (pg. 70) entitled "Send That Email To Jail" the author, Lev Grossman, tells of the trash mail in his inbox. A credit card offer from a Crystal Jimmy. "He promises everyone on the mailing list a credit card even if the persons credit is shot." Susan Grant, director of the NCL Internet fraud watch was quoted as saying, "Theses are often targeted to people who are having money troubles.