Lesson 2. Dangers of doxing

This lesson explains what the exact dangers of doxing are – what it can lead to and how.

Compared to the physical world, information on the Internet can spread very quickly and is almost impossible to remove once posted online. This makes doxing even more harmful.

How can doxed information be used against you?

• spreading fake information – including deepfake videos and photos
• public condemnation, public ridicule and shaming for exposed actions
• exposing sensitive content, albeit sensitive is a subjective term – while some habits and actions might be accepted in one part of a society, they might be opposed in another

The above can lead to:

• trauma: doxing may uncover past trauma or cause a victim to be re-traumatized each time they go online, post or allow themselves to be seen.
• psychological dangers -- an increase in anxiety, stress, sleep disturbances, psychosomatic disorders, decreased self-esteem, depression
• reputational harm - social stigma, spreading rumors, job loss, loss of friends and more

There can be different reasons for doxing:

The threat or act of doxing someone can prevent a victim from leaving an abusive relationship or taking steps to protect themselves.

There may be other reasons similar to this one, such as harassment, intimidation, or coercion.

By using doxed information, like names, addresses, passwords and phone numbers, doxers can impersonate people in order to purchase goods, gather more private information, spread false information  or commit crimes.

Doxed information can also be used for falsely reporting a crime at the targets home with dire consequences for the one who was doxed.

The threat of doxing can be used as leverage to extort money, assets and other things.

Doxing, alongside threats, spreading rumors and name-calling, can be part of a coordinated bullying campaign targeting a young victim.

Attackers often do not appreciate the harm done to the victim and act without thinking or  because they think it’s funny.

A jealous or angry attacker may use doxing as a way to harm someone.

Doxers may also simply wish to harm their target for any number of personal reasons.

Sometimes, doxers use the information found as a means of taking revenge. Often they publicly publish their target’s personally identifiable information online to shame them.

In some cases, doxing can even lead to physical violence. Doxers can visit the victim’s address or figure out their schedule in order to monitor or follow them.

Some people are more likely to be victims of doxing. Journalists, bloggers, gamers, teens, influencers, celebrities, BIPOC communities, LGBTQ+ folx, marginalized groups, activists, lawyers, sex workers, and law enforcement officers run a higher risk of being doxed.

For women, doxing goes hand in hand with nonconsensual pornography, online harassment, sexualized verbal abuse, and threats.

That does not mean that only these groups may be doxed. Anyone can be a target. Doxing does not discriminate; it is a tool that can be deployed to abuse and harm someone anywhere at any time. And because so many of us are online today, this puts us all at risk.

In fact, many users go through life believing they have nothing to hide. They often share or don’t properly secure sensitive or private information. These actions can lead to them becoming victims of online abuse like doxing. This underscores why we should all take preventative steps to protect ourselves (and those close to us) and decrease the likelihood of being targeted.

This real life example happened recently: a mother of 3 was recently doxed for being on OnlyFans — a social media platform that allows adult content — and her children were expelled from school.

Instances like this happen to many ordinary people who choose to share information about themselves on the Internet that could later be weaponized to harm them.

So, let’s learn more about the ethics of sharing data in our next lesson.