Advisory Board

J.A. Hitchcock Print bio

J.A. Hitchcock

J.A. Hitchcock is a lecturer, book author, and freelance writer whose work has appeared in numerous publications. She is an internationally recognized cybercrime and cyberbullying expert who has helped pass laws related to online harassment in many states, including Maryland, Minnesota, Michigan, Maine, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire.

Jayne is the author of ten books. Six are about Okinawa, Japan where she lived for three years, and the latest four are about internet crime. The Net Crimes & Misdemeanors: Outmaneuvering the Spammers, Swindlers, and Stalkers Who Are Targeting You Online published in 2002, with its 2nd edition of Net Crimes & Misdemeanors: Outmaneuvering Web Spammers, Stalkers, and Con Artists published in 2006. The world changed drastically over the decade and internet had a big part in it, as it has made the world more accessible to anyone of any age, race, or gender and with that also gave us Cyberbullies and Cyberstalking.

Her following book True Crime Online: Shocking Stories of Scamming, Stalking, Murder, and Mayhem, was released in 2012 and in 2016, Jayne published the book Cyberbullying and the Wild, Wild Web: What You Need to Know. In it she explains how someone can become a victim to cyberbullying and how they can stay safer online. This book offers victims, and parents, the chance to be able to relate to and truly understand the unfortunate reality of cyberbullying through real-life examples of what happened to someone who had been through a similar situation.

“J.A. Hitchcock uses her own experience as the victim of a cyberstalker to help others avoid the very real problems of online crime.” — St. Petersburg Times on Net Crimes & Misdemeanors

Jayne began to have an interest in cyberstalking and cyberbullies in 1996 when she blew the whistle on a literary agency scam. They stole her identity and began posting messages online pretending to be her; and that was only the beginning of a barrage of threats. When she contacted local police they had never had an internet-related case and couldn’t help her, so she taught herself how to track down online criminals, how to handle the situation, and how to stay safer online. After 10 years of being a victim, her cyberstalkers were brought to justice. Unfortunately, not all internet crime stories end with a happy ending.

She is an internet crimes and security expert and as a cybercrime & cyberbullying expert she is the president of Working to Halt Online Abuse (WHOA) and WHOA KtD (Kid Teen Division), where Jayne helps victims of cyberstalking crimes fight back. She volunteers her time as a consultant on internet crime cases for police departments worldwide, the U.S. Department of Justice Victims of Crime, and the National Center for Victims of Crime. She is, also, the recipient of the 2017 Real Heroes Education Award for Southern Maine, the 2015 Mary Litynski Award, and was named Lifetime TV’s “Champion For Change”.

Jayne is also a freelancer for magazines and travels the world training law enforcement about cybercrime, speaking at educational institutions from middle school up to college and university levels, and provides lectures to librarians, businesses, other organizations, the public, and parents concerned about the online safety of their children.

Her expertise has been used in media coverage of cyberstalking and related topics in Time, the Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe, Ladies Home Journal, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, and the Associated Press newswire. She has appeared as a contributor to episodes of 48 Hours, America’s Most Wanted, Good Morning America, and Primetime.

Jayne has been a teaching assistant at the University of Maryland University College (UMUC) for computer-related courses including ‘Internet Basics’ and ‘Advanced Internet’ since 1996, teaching the courses virtually since 1999, as well as virtual guest lectures.

She was born in Maine, and grew up in California, where she graduated from Oxnard High School in 1976, the Bicentennial year! With her late husband they settled in northern New England in 1998. On June 7, 2008 she married again. They live near the beach in York, Maine where she is continuing her writing, lecturing, and teaching.

At a younger age, to pay the bills, Jayne worked in advertising as a copywriter for over a decade and even owned an ad agency in New Hampshire for three years. When she moved to Okinawa, Japan in 1992, she decided it was time to see if she could do anything with her writing. She ended up publishing six books while there, Okinawa Tour Guide, Folktales of Okinawa, The Ghosts of Okinawa, Torment, Iwo Jima — A Retrospective, &and the children’s book Gil The Gecko.

As a noted cyberbullying and cybercrime expert, as well as President of WHOA and WHOA-KTD, she has been consulted for books, articles and brochures, including:

In addition, Jayne is a volunteer consultant for several police departments, including:

  • Providence, Rhode Island Police Department
  • York, Maine Police Department
  • Maryland State Police Computer Crimes Unit
  • Kennebunk, Maine Police Department
  • Somerset, Kentucky Police Department
  • Alexandria, Virginia Police Department
  • Maine State Police
  • New Hampshire State Police
  • Wells, Maine Police Department
  • Dover, New Hampshire Police Anti-Stalking Unit
  • U.S. Department of Justice Office for Victims of Crime

She is a member of:

Visit her LinkedIn profile, her personal page, WHOA, and WHOA-KTD. View her True Crime page. Follow her on Facebook and Twitter.

Member of