Florida Woman Made Hundreds of Fake Social Media Accounts to Stalk her Enemies
CRAFTY
Kacper Pempel/Reuters
A Florida woman pleaded guilty to creating hundreds of fake online profiles in order to cyberstalk her enemies, the Miami Herald reports. Tammy Marie Steffen created nearly 400 social accounts to “cyberstalk, harass and threaten her victims,” according to United States Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez. Steffen first made headlines in July when she admitted to staging her 12-year-old daughter’s kidnapping in order to frame a former business partner. Prosecutors say her abusive activity online dates back to August 2016 and continued until July 2018. FBI investigators found that Steffen created at least 369 Instagram accounts, and 18 email accounts to target and harass six victims, some of which were also former business associates. Many of her targets received death threats, with some messages reading “I plan to slice you up into little pieces. Your blood shall I taste.” Steffen faces a maximum sentence of ten years in prison.