Orange County Bail Bonds

What Counts as Stalking in California?

What Counts as Stalking in California?

In healthy relationships, there is an equal amount of love and adoration from both parties involved. Unfortunately, not every relationship is a healthy one. There are a lot of one-sided relationships out there that are not good for either parties involved. What can be incredibly upsetting, and even scary, is when a person is way more into a person than that person is in to them. In extreme cases, the person who is infatuated with the other could become a stalker. Having a stalker can be truly terrifying and can cause a person fear for their own safety. Due to this fact, the act of stalking someone is illegal here in the state of California. Anyone caught stalking another person will face legal consequences.

Stalking Explained

Being stalked by someone can be very upsetting, even traumatizing, which is why it is illegal to stalk someone in California. Penal Code (PC) 646.9 defines stalking as: “Any person who willfully, maliciously, and repeatedly follows or willfully and maliciously harasses another person and who makes a credible threat with the intent to place that person in reasonable fear for his or her safety, or the safety of his or her immediate family is guilty of the crime of stalking.” That is a whole lot of legal speak that can be a bit confusing, so let’s break it down a little bit.
  • Willfully – For something to be considered stalking, a person has to willfully choose to commit the act, which means he or she did it one purpose.
  • Maliciously – Maliciously means that the person intentionally did a wrongful act with the intent of disturbing, annoying, or injuring the other person.
  • Harassment – Harassment means acting in a way that annoys, alarms, torments, or terrorizes another individual.
  • Credible Threat – A credible threat is one that the threatened individual would have reason to believe the person could carry out, and therefore causes the victim to fear for their safety, or the safety of their immediate family. The threat can be made verbally, in writing, or electronically.
  • Immediate Family – Means spouses, children, siblings, parents, grandparents, or any person who lives in the same house as the person in question.
11 February, 2020 /
Tips for Dealing with Door to Door Scams

Tips for Dealing with Door to Door Scams

For most people, the safest and most relaxing place to be is within the walls of their own home. There, they are isolated from the rest of the world in safety. They can rest easy and recharge before having to venture outside once again. When someone intrudes on the space it can be a bit upsetting. This is especially true if the intruder is up to no good. In today’s modern world, a lot of scammers have taken to the internet to trick and con people. Most people are aware of this fact. However, some scammers out there prefer to stick to more old fashioned methods. Door to door scams do still occur and it is important for people to be aware of this fact. Since there are so many different scams out there, it is important for a person to learn to spot the warning signs of something being a scam. This way, no matter what type of scam they might be dealing with, they will be able to recognize the con for what it is and avoid it.

Preferred Targets for Scams

When it comes to door to door scams, there is one age group that falls victim to it more than all the others. People over the age of 60 are more likely to be targeted by, and fall victim to, these types of scams. This is due to the fact that Baby Boomers were raised to be more trusting of people and polite towards everyone. They are also the main age group that is home during the day. These are traits that scammers love to exploit in order to get their foot in the door. When a scammer comes to the door, someone in this age group is more likely to answer the door to an unexpected guest. Meanwhile, people in later generations are more likely to ignore the knock at the door if they weren’t expecting anyone. Similarly, Baby Boomers are less likely to close the door on someone once they begin talking to them. Other generations have no problems closing the door in someone’s face.

Common Scams and Warning Signs

There are primarily two types of door to door scams that a person needs to be wary of:
  • Someone ‘selling’ a product or service.
  • Someone distracting the person so an accomplice can break into the house.
09 February, 2020 /
California Laws on Sexting and Revenge Porn

California Laws on Sexting and Revenge Porn

When two people are together in a relationship, things are bound to get intimate. Couples can get up to all sorts of things behind closed doors, and for the most part, that is okay. Most states are fine with whatever romantic things couples do to express their love for one another. Only a few states have issues with certain private matters. Luckily for couples, no one in their right mind enforces those particular laws. Still there are things that could be done between two people that could get someone into trouble. For instance, if someone were to send a risqué text to the wrong person, such as a minor. Another example would be if private images of an ex were posted online out of anger over a breakup. Either of these acts could get a person into some very serious legal trouble.

California Sexting Laws

A lot of people out there like to have pictures on their phones, or other devices, of their significant other. Some people like to have images that are a little more intimate. They may even send risqué texts back and forth to one another. This kind of communication is referred to as sexting. The act of sexting itself is not illegal. However, what is illegal engaging in any sort of sexual conduct with a minor. If a person were to accidentally send a sexual message to the wrong person, they could get into very serious trouble. If a person were to purposefully engage in that sort of behavior with a minor, then things would be even worse. Depending on what happens, a person could be charged with a few different laws:
  • Possession or Control of Matter Depicting a Minor Engaged in Sexual Conduct.
  • Sexual Exploitation of a Child.
  • Harmful Matter Sent with the Intent to Seduce a Minor.
  • Sending, Distributing, Printing, or Possessing Material Depicting Sexual Conduct by a Minor.
09 February, 2020 /
are-you-prepared-for-a-california-earthquake

Are You Prepared for a California Earthquake?

As Puerto Rico is rocked by large earthquakes, many people are being reminded of the dangers of earthquakes. Being wary and prepared for earthquakes is very important for anyone who lives in an earthquake prone area, such as California. With the rarity of earthquakes, it can be easy to forget about them altogether. Then one hits and sends everyone into a panic because they’ve forgotten what they need to do when an earthquake strikes. This is why it is so important to have reminders and practice for earthquakes frequently. Doing so can help a person react appropriately in the event of an earthquake, and be prepared for what follows.

What to Do During an Earthquake

Depending on the size of the quake, the results can be extremely disastrous. Buildings can crumble and roadways can be ruined by all of the shaking. That doesn’t even take into account what can happen to a person. In order for someone to stay safe during an earthquake, they need to follow the three basic steps:
  • Drop.
  • Cover.
  • Hold On.
28 January, 2020 /

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27 January, 2020 /
Beware of the IRS Mail Scam Going Around

Beware of the IRS Mail Scam Going Around

Most people are just trying to live their life. They don’t want any trouble and do everything that they can to avoid it. Whenever some government official or law enforcement officer tells them to do something, they do it, often without question. Every law abiding citizen does that. Unfortunately, even that can get a person into trouble if they are not careful. Sadly, there are people out there who don’t exactly follow the rules, and they like to cause trouble. Their favorite people to target are the ones who are afraid of causing trouble. These bad people create scams that trick good people into giving them money or risk getting into trouble with the law. If people want to avoid something like this, then they need to be aware of all of the different scams out there and how scammers like to operate.

IRS Mail Scam

A common scam, especially around tax season, is for scammers to send letters to potential victims. The letters arrive via the United States Postal Service (USPS), which is one of the primary forms of communication that the IRS actually uses. This adds a layer of believability to the scam. The phony letters almost perfectly replicate Internal Revenue Service (IRS) forms stating that the person is behind on some type of payment or something of that nature. The letters will often state that a discrepancy was found on the victims tax returns and that they owe the IRS some amount of money. One obvious red flag that people should be aware of when it comes to scams is that the scammer will try to intimidate the victim. This can be done in a number of ways, but often involves threatening to arrest the individual or getting the police involved. The IRS would never do that. Another warning sign involves how they ask for payments. Often times, the scammers will request money be paid immediately and in certain, untraceable ways. This way, once they have the money, there is nothing the victim can do about it. Some preferred methods include:
  • Prepaid cards
  • Gift cards
  • Money transfers
13 January, 2020 /