Abuse Using Technology

“Doxing” is when someone weaponizes your private or identifying information by collecting and publishing it. That person may be trying to scare, humiliate, blackmail you, or encourage others to harm you or sexually assault you. The information posted publicly could include your:

• name;
• address;
• phone number;
• email address;
• photos;
• finances;
• family members’ names;
• social media accounts; and
• other things.

An abuser who wants to dox you may already know a lot of this information about you. If not, s/he might look for your information online through search engines, social media sites, or even by hacking into devices or accounts. An abuser may reach out to your friends or family members pretending to be you or a friend of yours. This could allow them to get more information about you.

There may not be a law in your state that specifically identifies doxing as a crime. But this behavior may fall under your state’s stalking, harassment, or criminal threat laws. To see what laws in your state may protect you, visit our Crimes page and enter your state in the drop-down menu to see the laws related to harassment.

NNEDV’s Safety Net Project has two resources that can help if you have been doxed or are worried about it: Removing Sensitive Content from the internet and Password Safety.