Social Media Monsters: Internet Killers

Book excerpt: Stalkers, rapists, and murderers.... These criminals have all discovered uncharted territory through the open door of the internet, and the victims are piling up in their deadly playground. Murder. Kidnapping. Cannibalism. Suicide. All of these themes can be found in this collection of true stories about killers who have used the internet to locate, lure, stalk, or exploit their victims. These monsters are identified as people who are motivated by a psychological factor: some murderers are triggered by anger or jealousy, others kill as a way to seek attention, and some are merely in it for the thrill of the kill. Who is really on the other end of that Facebook friend request, or behind that dating profile, or posting that item for sale on Craigslist? How can you be safe if you plan to meet up with a stranger you met online? What precautions should you take? In this book, we have detailed more than thirty chilling true stories of killers that have used the internet to locate, stalk, lure, or exploit their victims. Facebook, Craigslist, MySpace, chat rooms, dating sites-it does not matter where you are online; killers are lurking in the shadows. They lurk in suicide chat rooms, search for escorts on Craigslist, and create fake social media profiles to fool and gain the trust of their victims. Someone you have been talking to for months or even years could be a completely different person from what you envisioned.