In addition to the more direct forms of harassment described in earlier chapters, stalkers may involve other people or agencies in their attempts to communicate, contact or track their victim. We have termed those stalking activities that are perpetrated by others on the stalker's behalf ‘stalking by proxy’. For the most part the involvement of others is unwitting. All manner of explanations may be offered by the stalker to encourage others to engage in these activities. Sometimes, friends and family members labour under the illusion that their loved one is in fact the victim of stalking at the hands of the true victim (e.g. see role reversal in Chapter 11). Some confederates are less concerned with the moral or legal implications, succumbing to bribes. In certain situations, such as delivery services, the transaction appears quite legitimate and may not arouse suspicion.

Victims may on occasion erroneously believe that others have been recruited by their stalker. They allege corrupt employees in telephone companies hired by the stalker to monitor calls or to interfere with traced calls, motor mechanics incited by the stalker to tamper with the victim's vehicle, or council workers recruited to watch the victim's home. These claims may have a delusional basis or reflect the overwrought reactions of a distressed victim driven beyond reason.

This chapter describes instances of individuals or agencies who have knowingly or unwittingly been suborned into assisting a stalker's pursuit and intrusions.