Lily Allen, who has been targeted by abusive trolls on Twitter in the past, recently shared with The Guardian a quick and easy guideline for self-defense.
WARNING: Abusive Tweets from a stalker can escalate quickly. Just because they’re confident in their craft doesn’t mean you can’t be. Watch out for these red flags — and read on for a list of ones to avoid as well.
1. He/she keeps increasing their targeting of family members and then becomes more confident
2. They use threats like death or kidnap to coerce you into reaching out to them
3. They hide their screen name, make creepy online references or interest in women
4. They try to limit who sees his/her information
5. They often comment on you or your family by nicknames
6. They repeatedly ask you to send money (either via online transfer or money order)
7. They seem to think you’re in love with them, or something related to you
8. They regularly delete and restart accounts
9. He/she contacts you in an unexpected fashion
10. They seem to target other people close to you
Click here to read Allen’s entire piece.