Bored Panda had the opportunity to interview Elizabeth Rapti, a clinical and forensic psychologist, about the topic of anonymous messages and notes that are perceived as disturbing or unsettling. When asked about what motivates people to send such messages, the psychologist shared her professional opinion.

"As a psychologist, I believe that for some people, the feeling of hate can fill an inner gap," Elizabeth began. "Sometimes hate through anonymity can be an easy emotion to pull off if a person is vulnerable and finds it hard to express their emotions."

Rapti went on to explain that anonymous messages are often linked to hate speech and are associated with the isolation of someone. "This is what people who purposefully communicate through anonymous messaging are all about," she concluded.

We also wanted to know about the psychological impact of receiving a creepy anonymous note, so the psychologist went on to explain, "Hate speech can have profound effects on the psychological state of adolescents and young adults; however, not all young people are affected in the same way. The effects depend on various factors, such as their previous experiences, mental resilience, and their supportive environment," she shared before continuing on to explain.

"Among other things, they may experience low self-esteem, intense loneliness or isolation, suffer from sleep disorders, increased anxiety, and feelings of fear and insecurity. Besides, we have seen that in cases where the teenager is exposed to anonymous hate speech for a long period of time, it has been found that he can present depressive symptoms."

When asked how one can manage their emotions in such a situation, Rapti emphasized the importance of a support system. "The role of relatives and friends of the victim is important, they are called upon to create a safe space, showing full acceptance and empathy for the situation of the victim, taking particular care not to further incriminate him."

Elizabeth also suggested that a psychologist could be helpful in managing the incident and enhancing the mental resilience of the individual, developing their assertiveness and self-esteem. "At the same time, the psychologist helps the person receiving hate speech to explore a possible supportive context," she added.

The psychologist also shared her professional opinion about effective ways for law enforcement agencies to investigate cases involving anonymous notes and messages.

"First of all, for the police to go so far as to examine anonymous messages, it means that there has been a complaint by the victim of a serious criminal offense. From there, the police under normal circumstances collect the evidence to proceed with the internal investigation procedures of each case," she explained.

She went on to share that text messages are important evidence in a criminal case and cell phone data is usually collected by the police. In order to identify the perpetrators, an analysis of the electronic traces, which result from the investigation of the electronic messages that have been sent to the victim, is carried out with special technological equipment of the latest technology.

"This technological equipment cannot be perceived by the anonymous user," Rapti stated. "The analysis of the electronic traces can provide significant information about the location of the sender, the time the messages were sent, and the device used to send them. Additionally, the content of the messages can also provide valuable insights into the identity of the sender."

Overall, Rapti highlighted the importance of law enforcement agencies taking anonymous notes and messages seriously and utilizing the latest technological equipment to investigate them thoroughly.

According to the psychologist, sending anonymous messages is a malicious and criminalized act that is driven by a hostile feeling towards the recipient or a group.

"The reasons someone sends anonymous messages are in no way benevolent and this is also the reason for hiding information. A hostile feeling towards another person or group consisting of malice, hatred, and a desire to harm or even destroy the object of hatred. Normally the nature of the content is often racist, sexist, or homophobic. Usually, the anonymous messages express threats to the lives of others, or to their relatives, while serious material damage and damage to relatives and shops can be caused, in the form of threats beyond the messages that someone can receive."

Rapti also noted that, "The cases of anonymous messages have been greatly reduced given that technologies have now developed internet user protection databases, which either prevent such malicious actions, or reject messages originating from anonymous senders."

"Raising awareness of the fact that anonymous messages are considered as a criminal act is important, provided that people quite often hide themselves behind an anonymous message. We need to acknowledge that this act has consequences and those who are sending anonymous messages need to consider that before they take that action. Besides, I would suggest that the victims should seek assistance from psychologists and law enforcement agencies regarding that issue," Elizabeth said lastly.