Nauseated
Chloe was frozen with no idea of what to do next. She wondered if this was as serious as she thought or if someone was joking with her. But she still felt nauseated and nervously scanned the busy shoppers passing by.
It was an unknown sender who had sent Chloe a video of herself. She had been eating her lunch when it was delivered. She cautiously stood up before realizing that someone was watching her and knew everything she was doing.
A Hard-Working Woman
Chloe Smith was a busy woman. As CEO of her own company, she was no stranger to hard work because that meant she was able to achieve her goals and dreams.
But this devoted businesswoman had no idea what was going to happen to her when she went for lunch by herself one warm summer day.
A Popular Boss
Chloe was 101% committed to her work. Although she was the boss, she was incredibly grounded and laid back, and despite the success, she had achieved, she was humble.
That was why she was very popular with her employees. They all thought she was the best boss ever. But one employee had a particular interest in Chloe. However, nobody knew the lengths they would go to in order to get closer to Chloe.
Having A Day Off
As the boss of her business, Chloe rarely had time off. So when an opportunity came up for Chloe to take a day off, she jumped at the chance.
She intended to spend the day relaxing and doing whatever she wanted to do. But little did she know it would be far from relaxing.
Treating Herself
On her day off, she intended to go shopping at her local mall and treat herself to a few designer clothes. She was then going to get lunch at her favorite cafe.
She thought it was going to be a peaceful day. But in reality, it was going to be a day filled with fear and worry.
Arriving At The Mall
Chloe had arrived at the shopping mall armed with her credit cards. She had already planned to get herself something expensive and was looking forward to it.
She made her way around the shops, then suddenly, out in the center, she saw something on the wall that made her stop in her tracks.
Poster On The Wall
A poster was hung up on the wall, and it said, “WANTED.” Below the headline was a picture of a man, followed by additional information. This man was wanted by the FBI and was considered dangerous.
Chloe felt a shiver up her spine as she read the poster. She carried on shopping, not knowing what was just around the corner.
Having Her Lunch
After maxing out 4 of her six her cards, she decided it was to time for a break. She headed over to her favorite cafe, and after picking up her food, she sat out in the canteen, thinking it was going to be a simple meal for one.
But someone was watching Chloe. And they were waiting for her.
Her Phone Beeped
Chloe quickly devoured her food, and it sure tasted good! She licked her lips after finishing off the last french fry that was on her plate.
Then just as she took a sip of coffee, her phone beeped. She picked it up, and a terrible feeling hit the pit of her stomach.
A Mystery Sender
Someone was trying to send her a video via airdrop. The notification didn’t say who was sending the video, so Chloe was instantly intrigued.
She was hesitant to go through with it at first, but then she clicked accept and waited for the video to be downloaded. She had no idea what was coming.
Who Was This Person?
As she sat there, watching the video being downloaded, hundreds of questions flooded Chloe’s mind. What would she see on the mysterious video? And who was it that had sent it to her?
Suddenly, the video had finished downloading, and Chloe opened it. As soon as she watched it, she felt sick to her stomach.
A Video Of Her
The video was of her. It was taken when Chloe was eating her lunch, not more than five minutes ago! Was it some kind of sick joke? Was someone she knew trying to pull a prank on her? Or had someone actually been watching her?
She quickly turned around, but what she saw left her even more startled.
Staring At Her
Chloe turned around and saw that the few people that were in the canteen with her, were staring straight at her. Did she have something on her face? Or in her hair?
She dismissed their strange stares and carried on watching the video. All the while, someone was watching her from above.
Making A Run For It
The video didn’t make sense to Chloe. Who was it that sent it to her? She was unable to get any information about the sender, so she felt both scared and frustrated.
She quickly got up, grabbed her bags, and headed for the exit. But this game of cat and mouse was far from over.
Driving Home
She got in her car, and although she was far away from where she was just secretly filmed, she still felt uneasy. With every person that passed by on the street, her heart skipped a beat, thinking it was them, the very person who had filmed her.
Her hands were trembling the entire journey home. How would she ever find out who sent the video? There was only one option.
Posting It Online
As soon as she got home, she posted the video and details about the incident online, hoping that someone on the internet would see it and have some information that she could use.
But as she sat and waited late into the evening, she never could have expected the response she was going to get.
Going Viral
Chloe’s post had gone viral, with hundreds of other women and girls coming forward and sharing that they had similar experiences at some point or another.
Although Chloe never got any more information about the mysterious video sender, she was reassured to know that fellow women and girls had her back.
How It Works
With Airdrop, if a person is within 30 feet of you, they can try to send you a file. However, if your settings are on contacts, only the file won’t come through.
It is also possible that the person is sending things at random. If they don’t know your phone name, the files could be sent to any iPhone in the surrounding area.
What’s Happening With Airdrop?
Recently there have been a lot of cases reported of unwanted Airdrops coming through on people's phones. Whether they are in trains, planes, or buses, people have reported getting unwanted messages from unknown senders.
Unfortunately, due to the way Airdrop is set up, it could be impossible to track down the sender.
Is It Dangerous?
If we take a case like Cloe’s, it certainly seems like the sender had some malicious intent. Luckily, she was just sent a video of herself, and things ended there. However, that’s not always the case.
Some unfortunate people have been sent files that are far worse, and the senders seem to pose a real threat to those people.
In Other Parts Of The World
There was a case in Canada where a woman was riding the bus and received a file from an unknown sender. The file was nothing more than a picture, yet it was far more disturbing.
There was also a case in New York where a woman received an explicit image as well as a message from an unknown sender.
Threats And Harassment
These messages are harassment, just as they were with Cloe, but both of them also included threats. However, the receivers chose not to go into too much detail about their experiences.
There was one woman who was willing to give all the details, though. Let's take a look at what she experienced.
Another Case
Abbie Matthews was a thirty-five-year-old actress and dancer living in New York. One day she wasn’t feeling too well, so she made an appointment with her doctor and took the subway to get there.
As she sat there, waiting to reach her destination, she received a notification that someone was sending her an Airdrop. She looked at the preview and was shocked to her core.
What Did The Preview Show?
On the preview, she could see an image of a plain, white CD with something written on it. The message was very aggressive. It stated that the CD was a playlist of songs that the sender would play while being physically violent with Abbie.
She was disgusted when she saw the message, but she was also afraid.
Afraid
Abbie had experienced trauma in her younger years, and the message was triggering her bad memories. She sat there, frozen in place, as fear overwhelmed her.
She knew the sender must’ve been close, so she cautiously looked around the train cart to see if she could make out who they were.
More Explicit Content
Three more came in as she was looking for the person who sent her the dreadful message. They all had approximately the same content as the first. The messages she received were pictures with offensive text.
It frightened her even more since nothing like that had ever happened to her before. She didn’t know what to do. All she wanted was to get away from the person as soon as possible.
Digital Age
In this new digital era, people who were doing sinister things in the past have a new avenue of targeting their victims. Be it harassment, sexual or not, or hacking, their goals are to get to their target and to strike fear withing them.
As far as we know, nobody has been seriously harmed by these kinds of messages, but they are frightening, and for some, they have more of an impact than they should.
Cyber Flashers And Harassment
The digital era has opened new doors for people like flashers and people who intend to harass someone else.
It’s a tool that keeps them anonymous and delivers the results they are looking for. They use something that was created to make our lives easier and use it to benefit their own sick ideals.
In The UK
While on the subway in the UK, one reporter apparently received over a hundred explicit images from an unknown sender, proving that places like subways are hotspots for these kinds of cyber attackers.
The British Transport Police, who monitor the railways, are said to receive approximately 2-3 reports of cyber flashing per month.
So Many Cases
But if there are so many cases of these things happening, why aren’t there stricter measures being put in place to prevent it? Sadly, not everyone reports the incidents. It can be because they don’t know who to report them to or because the receiver thinks it’s not serious.
It could also be that the victims don’t believe these people can be caught.
Advice From Authorities
However, the authorities have a different opinion about the matter. They know the chances might be slim, but they are also working hard to bring these cyber attackers to justice.
But they can’t investigate the cases if no one comes forward or they don’t have any evidence. So they would like to pass along some advice for the victims of these attacks.
Check Your Settings
The first thing they’d like people to do is to check their Airdrop settings. Check who can send in messages. Are your settings set as “contacts only,” or are they set as “public?” If they are set as “public,” the authorities would like to advise you to change them to “contacts only.”
That way, the fiends won’t be able to send you anything.
If You Are Contacted
But what if you need it to be on “public” for whatever reason? Then you should be cautious about what you receive and who sent it to you. If it’s one of your friends and you spoke about sending files to one another, then it’s fine.
But what if you fall victim to one of these attacks?
Save Or Copy The Received Files
The British Transportation Police advises that people who get contacted should save or copy the files they have received because it could help their local authorities to track the sender down. Understandably, not everyone wants to keep such images, especially not when they are threatening or explicit.
However, it could go a long way in bringing these people to justice.
Contact Authorities
The British Transport Police also urges anyone who receives these kinds of Airdrop’s to turn to their local authorities. It might seem like a long shot, but the police are open to helping any and all victims of these crimes.
They investigate them as they would any other claims of flashing or harassment.
In order to protect the privacy of those depicted, some names, locations, and identifying characteristics have been changed and are products of the author's imagination. Any resemblances to actual events, places, or persons, living or dead, are entirely coincidental.