Ask Sam letter

Hi there,

If someone threatens to kill you, even if they aren't serious about actually doing it, that's called harassment. In some cases, those threats might turn into more serious things so it's important to not ignore them and to tell someone about it. There are different ways to go about this and you should do what you're most comfortable with.

If someone is making death threats, it can have a big impact on how you feel -  you might feel anxious, which can affect your daily life. If the person making the threats isn't showing who they are, this can be even more difficult as you might begin to feel paranoid about things you wouldn't normally be worried about.

You can report death threats to the police straight away if you want to. Threatening someone is a crime and it's okay to tell the police about this but they’ll want some proof that it's happened. So, if this is happening online, keep messages and screenshots of what they've said. It might be hard for you to keep these messages instead of deleting them, but it’ll help the police to do something about it. Unless you feel like you're in immediate danger, you can ring 101 to report it to the police.

If the threats are online you can also report the person to the platform you're using. For example, if it’s happening on Instagram you can report their profile and block them. Most apps allow you to block and report someone doing things that they shouldn't be.

If you know the people making the threats – maybe they go to your school - then you can also report it to the school. And remember, it doesn't have to be happening on the school grounds for them to get involved.

Whatever happens, you shouldn't try to cope alone. Getting death threats can be scary so it's good to have people around you who can support you and make sure you're doing okay. If you don't think you can talk to anyone else, Childline counsellors are always here for you.

I hope this has helped and thanks for writing this letter to me.

Take care,

Sam.