‘He tried to act like it was out of happenstance’: Miami woman posts her location on her Instagram. Then a man she curved at the store hunts her down
Being a woman online means you’re exposed to a level of harassment that seems to only be getting worse by the day. And there doesn’t seem to be a strong commitment to stop it.
According to UN Women, between 16% and 18% of women worldwide report online violence and harassment, with the advent of AI and deepfake images making the problem worse.
Just recently, in December of last year, Elon Musk’s AI chatbot Grok produced over 4.4 million images in just nine days on X. Of those, at least 41%, or 1.8 million, were sexualized images of men, women, or children, the New York Times reports.
X did put some restrictions in place after public outcry, such as reserving the image creation feature for paid users, but suggestive image creation still exists on the platform, as per The Guardian.
But what happens when this type of harassment begins online but follows someone into real life?
That’s what TikTok creator Lexy Puhlick (@lexy.puhlick) described after sharing a sensitive piece of information with a stranger. Her video is trending with over 10,400 views.
Why She Warns Against Sharing Your Location
“This is just a friendly reminder for all of the girls,” Puhlick begins. “Stop posting your location on your story in real time.”
The advice comes from a lived experience she says she recently had.
“A few weeks ago, before Thanksgiving, I met somebody in the grocery store,” she explains. “He approached me and asked me for my number.”
Puhlick says she attempted to give him her Instagram handle, but he wanted her number and wouldn’t accept no for an answer. After some back and forth, she decided to give him her old phone number and moved on with her day.
“He continues to text me on three separate occasions, which I don’t answer anytime,” she continues. “Also messaged me on Instagram and followed me on there.”
Puhlick repeats that she never replied to his messages, nor did she follow him back.
However, things got scary in person. One day, she says she went to an Art Basel installation on the beach, and posted a story about it while still there.
“He proceeded to message me saying, ‘you’re right outside my house lol.’”
The Man Shows up at Her Location
“He rode his bike down to the beach, and he was looking for me and my friend,” she recounts. “And guesswhat? He found us.”
The worst part, she says, was that he tried to act like it was happenstance. “I didn’t recognize him at first, so he rode his bike past me and my friend, and then looped around to try to talk to us again,” she continues.
Then he approaches her. “He goes, ‘Oh, my gosh. You don’t recognize me.’”
“No, I don’t,” she responded.
She concludes the video reiterating her piece of advice. “Stop posting your location in real time, because you never know,” she says. “People might actually show up to come and find you. It’s just not worth it.”
Why You Shouldn’t Give Your Phone Number To Strangers
Security experts say this is a bad idea because it exposes you to a great number of risks.
For one, like in Puhlick’s case, the stranger was able to find her Instagram account, likely via the platform’s “find your contacts” feature. Even if it was an old phone number, Puhlick may have still had it linked to her social media accounts.
Strangers can even use your phone number to find your full name, home address, and other personal information.
Moreover, it exposes you to scarier things like SIM swapping, phishing, unauthorized logins, tracking your location, targeted scams, and more.
Commenters Are Horrified For Her
In the comments section, viewers expressed concern and shared stories of their own. Others offered their advice.
“Omg so scary!!” one commenter wrote. “Glad you’re safe.”
“This happened to me too!” shared another. “I never post in real time anymore.”
“Just say NO TY instead of giving him your energy,” advised a third.
“It’s so sad we have to be so careful like this,” remarked one user.
@lexy.puhlick Just a friendly reminder to all the girls…stop posting your location on your story for safety reasons!You never know when someone might actually show up. Be safe out there. ??? #safety #womenoftiktok #stalker #creatorsearchinsights ♬ original sound – Lexy Puhlick
The Mary Sue has reached out to Puhlick via Instagram messages for comment.
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