A TABLE Top mother who put an ad in The Border Mail to find her missing dog has received harassing phone calls and text messages that have left her in fear for her life.
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The woman, who did not want to be named, is one of several who received sexually explicit and harassing text messages and phone calls after placing advertisements in the paper.
Wagga police are investigating the woman’s complaints as it’s believed the calls and text messages are coming from that area.
Police said they were aware of “plenty” of victims of the crime, which breach federal carriage service laws including use carriage service to make a threat or menace, harass or cause offence.
The Table Top mother placed an advertisement to find her six-year-old Staffordshire Bull Terrier that went missing last month.
She received 21 messages and up to 60 phone calls in a week from the same man.
She said the caller wouldn’t talk on the phone but his text messages continually asked her to meet him to get Tubsy back.
One read: “Hello u. Still havent found your dog if i say were the nice dog is wot in for me babe” (sic).
She said the messages “freaked her out”.
“What if someone knows where you live?” she said.
“What sort of sick mind has he got?”
Three Border real estate agents, whose businesses placed ads in the paper, said they were also the victims of sexually explicit messages and calls believed to be from the same man.
Ray White Real Estate Wodonga agent Shae Reuss received several text messages and calls.
One text message read: “Hi Miss U the morning. How work going think for last night babe text me ASAP” (sic) while others were more explicit.
Ms Reuss, 29, said the man spoke to her in one phone call, saying “I want to have sex with you”.
She said she questioned her safety at work.
“It wasn’t pleasant at all because it’s my job to meet people at empty houses,” she said.
Another Border agent, who did not want to be named, described the hundreds of text messages and phone calls she received.
“It just wouldn’t stop,” she said.
“It was just disgusting.
“You stress because you don’t know who it is and if they’re watching you. And because we go to properties on our own, you just don’t know if this freak is going to turn up or not.”
More victims were found on the website reverseaustralia.com
Wagga police have encouraged victims of the harassing calls to contact them on (02) 6922 2599.
