Can I tell you a secret? Episode two: the widening circle
As the cyberstalker spreads his net wider, anyone could be a target. The fast-changing world of social media creates new opportunities for him to find more victims. Only now, someone is watching him …
In this new six-episode podcast, Guardian journalist Sirin Kale investigates the story of Matthew Hardy, a cyberstalker who terrified people in his hometown and beyond for over a decade.
His harassment would often start in the same way, with a fake profile posing as a young woman asking a simple question: “Hey hun, can I tell you a secret?”. This series attempts to untangle his web of deception to find out how and why he wreaked havoc over so many people’s lives.
Episode two takes us into the world of the Instagram influencer, an era when glamorous young women can become brands online. Building a brand means sharing information about yourself, and that information is used and weaponised by Matthew, who has moved on from targeting people in his home town to finding victims across the country.
We meet Abby Furness and Lia Hambly, two young women who have been relentlessly targeted by Matthew. The women don’t feel the police take their reports seriously. But things change when one police officer, PC Kevin Anderson comes on to the case - he’s determined to make him stop.
- Subscribe to Can I Tell You a Secret? on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts
- If you need any support around stalking and harassment, you can get in touch with the Suzy Lamplugh Trust or call the National Stalking Helpline on 0808 802 0300
The Guardian is editorially independent. And we want to keep our journalism open and accessible to all. But we increasingly need our readers to fund our work.
Support The Guardian