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Specialised Security Services was instructed to investigate a case of extreme intimidation and harassment on social media after our client and her family became the targets of a TikTok account with alias Scarecrow_Reaper82.
Our client partook in a live video broadcast on TikTok on the 7th of May 2024 where she had a disagreement with several TikTok users. Directly after the altercation, she received inbox messages on her TikTok account from users who attended the live video broadcast.
Our client stated that within a few hours, she had several conversations with the users who did not agree with her statements during the live video broadcast, and she thought the matter was resolved.
However, on the 13th of June 2024, our client received a message on her TikTok account inbox containing the physical address, mobile phone numbers, workplace details, and a link to the personal Facebook account profile of her son.
The contents of the message indicated that her son’s workplace would be contacted with information that he was a pedophile, and that he had sexually assaulted several women.
The message content also referred to the conversation she had on TikTok during the live video broadcast on 7 May 2024.
It was at this moment that our client realized that her son was being targeted by a cyber bully because of what she had stated during the live video broadcast. Our client initially attempted her own investigation into the account that sent the message to her, but as more messages about other members of her family were received over a period of 3 weeks, she decided to contact Specialised Security Services for assistance.
The Investigation:
The Specialised Security Services Cybercrimes Unit investigated the handset that our client was using at the time that the messages were received on her TikTok account inbox.
The investigation revealed that the messages were all sent from one TikTok account.
The messages were not sent by any of the accounts that had previously messaged our client.
The account that sent the messages to our client was named: “Scarecrow_Reaper82”.
The account username was: https://www.tiktok.com/@scarecrow.reaper82123
It was a newly created TikTok account.
Apart from the Profile photo, no other content was published on the account at the time of the investigation, our client provided screenshot photos and downloaded videos of content that had been previously published on the account.
The account had no public email or phone number listed on its profile.
The Specialised Security Services Cybercrimes Unit conducted a thorough forensic investigation into the TikTok account and found the following:
9 days into the investigation the account was deactivated by the user.
11 other TikTok accounts were found to be linked to the TikTok account through either the devices, networks, the location data, or the metadata that was obtained during the forensic investigation.
The photos published on the TikTok account were obtained from our client’s Facebook and Instagram profiles.
The photos were edited using the Samsung Photo Editor application, as well as a third-party desktop photo editor application.
The videos were created using the TikTok application, as well as the Samsung Studio Gallery application.
It was established that the person responsible for managing the TikTok account “Scarecrow_Reaper82” made use of Facebook and Instagram to search for and obtain personal information about our client and her family members.
The Confrontation:
Specialised Security Services identified the person responsible for creating, managing and deactivating the TikTok account “Scarecrow_Reaper82”.
It was established that the suspect is working as an IT software engineer with a large IT organization based in Gauteng.
The Specialised Security Services Task Team and our client confronted the suspect on Saturday 24 August 2024 at his residence. Upon confrontation, the 38-year-old man who is residing in Rustenburg Noord Wes initially denied the allegations, but once he was presented with the evidence from the investigation, he admitted to creating the account and harassing our client.
The suspect had no prior relation to our client and was not part of the conversation that took place on the TikTok platform on 7 May 2024.
When asked why he harassed our client, he stated that he saw a recording of the live video broadcast that occurred on 7 May 2024, and he felt that our client was “bullying those who disagreed with her opinion during the conversation, and I wanted to show her that she was not untouchable”, the suspect admitted to having harassed several other TikTok users in the past.
Following the confrontation, our client is deciding whether she will be pressing criminal charges, pending the outcome of a civil agreement between herself and the suspect, which will be mediated and monitored by Specialised Security Services.
The suspect agreed to 24/7 monitoring of his social media activity by the Specialised Security Services Cybercrimes Unit pending the outcome of the mediation which will take place over the next two weeks.
All connected TikTok accounts belonging to the suspect have been deactivated pending the outcome of the mediation process.
Specialised Security Services and our client agreed to not publicly reveal the identity of the suspect so as to protect his employment security - until a final agreement has been reached through the mediation process.
WARNING:
Do NOT:
Get involved in discussing the details of a case on an online platform.
Post illegally obtained material on an online platform.
Get involved in discussions about illegal material on an online platform.
Publish content about minors on an online platform.
DO:
Follow the legal and correct procedures when registering a case.
Provide a complete and detailed statement of events to the applicable authorities.
Always be truthful and honest when presenting a statement of events.
ADDITIONAL WARNINGS TO THE PUBLIC:
Do not believe everything you see, watch or read on social media.
Facts are often manipulated to suit an agenda.
Always confirm information with the appropriate authorities to separate facts from hearsay.
Do not entertain unverified information.
Be wary of forwarding, reacting to, or commenting on publications that contain unverified information.
The ideal course of action when you come across a publication that is upsetting, untrue, unverified or misleading is to block the publisher of the publication and to ignore the content published.
By reacting to such a publication, you give unnecessary airtime to the publisher, and you assist in spreading false or misleading information.
IF YOU HAVE BEEN TARGETED BY THE TIKTOK ACCOUNT MENTIONED ABOVE,
PLEASE CONTACT OUR SSS SPECIALIST INVESTIGATOR:
MR ANTHONY BOUCHER
Contact number: +27 64 747 3323
Email address: anthonyb@mikebolhuis.co.za
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CONTACT MR MIKE BOLHUIS FOR SAFETY AND SECURITY MEASURES, PROTECTION, OR AN INVESTIGATION IF NEEDED.
ALL INFORMATION RECEIVED WILL BE TREATED IN THE STRICTEST CONFIDENTIALITY AND EVERY IDENTITY WILL BE PROTECTED.
Regards,
Mike Bolhuis
Specialist Investigators into
Serious Violent, Serious Economic Crimes & Serious Cybercrimes
PSIRA Reg. 1590364/421949
Mobile: +27 82 447 6116
E-mail: mike@mikebolhuis.co.za
Fax: 086 585 4924
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EXTREMELY IMPORTANT: All potential clients need to be aware that owing to the nature of our work as specialist investigators there are people who have been caught on the wrong side of the law - who are trying to discredit me - Mike Bolhuis and my organisation Specialised Security Services - to get themselves off the hook. This retaliation happens on social media and creates doubt about our integrity and ability. Doubt created on social media platforms is both unwarranted and untrue. We strongly recommend that you make up your minds concerning me and our organisation only after considering all the factual information - to the exclusion of hearsay and assumptions. Furthermore, you are welcome to address your concerns directly with me should you still be unsatisfied with your conclusions. While the internet provides a lot of valuable information, it is also a platform that distributes a lot of false information. The distribution of false information, fake news, slander and hate speech constitutes a crime that can be prosecuted by law. Your own research discretion and discernment are imperative when choosing what and what not to believe.
STANDARD RULES APPLY: Upon appointment, we require a formal mandate with detailed instructions. Please take note that should you not make use of our services – you may not under any circumstance use my name or the name of my organisation as a means to achieve whatever end.
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