Internet Troll

An "Internet Troll" is someone who creates fake online profiles in order to bully, intimidate, lie and steal another person's information for their own gain and pleasure.
They often feel sadistic glee at knowing they have caused sadness and distress to others.
For trolls such as Katie/Amber/Sierra the internet was her perfect playground and she had fun playing with other people's lives.
Sadly for Kelly and many other young mothers, they became a pawn in Katie's games.
The victims are NOT to blame, it is not their fault.
Some might say "don't feed the trolls" in other words suggests that doing so gives the trolls more power as they thrive on knowing they have antagonised another but its not as simple as that.
The victims try to ignore the trolls but if the trolls are constantly there in plain view there is only so much the victims can do before confronting them and fighting back.

This is one woman's terrifying story via interview of how her life was stolen by an internet troll.

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When and why did you join the social networking site Facebook?
I joined Facebook when I was in high school about 2008-09, to keep in touch with family & friends.

Why did you share your baby's scan photos and baby's photos on Facebook?
I shared my scan & baby photos on Facebook because I wanted my family & friends to see & I was a proud mum-to-be/new mother and wanted to show her off.

You were informed that a woman called "Amber" was sharing your baby photos on the website Instagram and claiming they were her own, what was your initial reaction?
When I was first told about the fake Instagram account I just got a nervous laugh because I thought it was some kind of joke but after a few minutes I realised no one with the right frame of mind would make a joke like that then the penny dropped.

You informed your partner, what was his reaction?
I told Ian (now my ex) & at first he was quite laid back and said ''oh its probably some kid, just ignore it, it will be gone tomorrow" until about a week down the line when he realised the person behind this account wasn't giving it up.

Through Blackberry you set up a fake account in order to contact the woman, what did you say and what was her response?
I added amber/Katie on BlackBerry messenger and as soon as she had accepted my request I saw red & sent her a long message asking why she's doing it and where she even found me, because she was from down south & I live in the north west.
She then told me she found me on 'The McParents Page' on Facebook, (a group for mothers).
She told me she had a still born daughter around the time I had given birth to my daughter Macie-Lea & it was a way for her to grieve.
I instantly felt sorry for her & kind of understood why she was doing what she was.
Amber/Katie then said sorry and promised to delete the accounts, but she didn't & I found out later that the stillbirth story was also a lie.

In addition to this you still felt angry and upset but she had agreed to remove the images and you decided not to pursue it any further, what happened next?
After that I decided I needed to put my Instagram & Facebook on high security and and deleted most people I didn't recognise, I have around 2,000 friends on Facebook so it was difficult to go through them all but that didn't bother me as I had put my Facebook on high security so I should be fine (so I thought).

Through Instagram you were infirmed by a group of mothers that Amber's real name was Katie and despite your efforts she was still continuing to steal your photos from your Facebook account and pretend they were her own, how did that make you feel?
Katie/amber was still getting photos of Macie-Lea & I knew the photos she where getting were only on Facebook so I knew she was on my friends list somehow.
I thought I'd never be able to stop her so I carried on with day to day life after that & tried to put it to back of my mind.
One day while scrolling through Facebook I saw a friend Sierra Sattenfield upload her status saying she was pregnant with twins with a twin scan photo, I knew straight away I had seen that photo someone else earlier that day, so I carried on down my news feed & seen the exact same scan photo on an advertisement so that's when it clicked that Sierra was Katie.

Katie/Amber upped her vile game and publicly accused you of "stealing her photos"
What happened as a result of this?
Katie/Amber sent a broadcast message on BBM (Blackberry Messenger) saying she would now have to watermark her photos of Macie-Lea because 'some bitch' (me) was stealing them.
I questioned her on how she would carry on pretending to be Macie-Lea's mum now she won't have access to my Facebook anymore because I had deleted the Sierra account & she responded with ''it's all good, I'll just say her dad killed her'' I was disgusted & thought no body could stoop so low until somebody had sent me a screenshot saying she had said "RIP to my beautiful daughter, died due to her father shaking her''
I was in complete shock that anybody could make this up, I felt sick, people thought my baby's father was a baby killer!
Anybody could believe that and potentially put him in danger.

Katie/Amber/Sierra was eventually taken to Crown Court and was sentenced to three years in prison.
Do you think that was the right punishment for her?
A few weeks past and I had found out she was going to court I was so relieved & I was glad she got sent down for 3 years. But I don't think any jail sentence would change her, she needs mental help not jail.
I 100% think she will carry on once she's released from prison.

What advice would you give to others in similar situations?
If I could give any advice, it is to NOT trust the "mummy groups" on Facebook or any social network.
The mums who add you off them might seem like they're being friendly but you haven't a clue who is sat behind that computer screen.
Keep your social networks private and limit who you are friends with and and be careful were you post your pictures & information.

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Help & Support:

https://www.getsafeonline.org/

https://www.victimsupport.org.uk/crime-info/types-crime/fraud