PARAMUS, N.J.—In May 2019, members of the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Cyber Crimes Unit received information about a pattern of Internet “doxings” and harassing telephone calls targeting public officials from northern New Jersey.
“Doxing”/”Doxxing” or “to Dox” refers to the Internet-based practice of researching and posting online the personal identifying information of another. A typical dox may include a person’s full name, date of birth or social security number, home address, telephone numbers, e-mail addresses, names of relatives, or private social media usernames. In this investigation approximately 38 people, mostly police officers, were identified as the victims.
During a months-long investigation by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Cyber Crimes Unit, it was determined that Evan V. Koulikov, 21, of Spring Valley, N.Y., unlawfully accessed a secure database of a New Jersey medical services company and unlawfully copied the personal identifying information (“PII”) of approximately 50 public employees, the BCPO said. The data was then used to accomplish the 38 online doxings. The victims were selected, doxed, and targeted by Koulikov, culminating in 33 harassing and/or antagonizing phone calls he subsequently made to many of these 38 victims, according to the prosecutor’s office.
The investigation also revealed that Koulikov enlisted the assistance of Eric A. Williams, 24, of New City, N.Y., to select victims for doxing, prosecutors said.
As a result of the investigation, Koulikov was arrested on Aug. 22 in Spring Valley, N.Y. by the Spring Valley Police Department with the assistance of detectives from the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office and charged with: one count of computer theft, unlawful access and copying of a database, a second degree crime; one count of computer theft—unlawful access of a network or database, a third degree crime; one count of “doxing” by posting law enforcement officers’ information on the Internet, a third degree crime; one count of stalking, a fourth degree crime; and one count of harassment, a petty disorderly persons offense. Koulikov was released with conditions following an appearance in Central Judicial Processing Court in Hackensack.
Williams was also arrested on Aug. 22 in New City, N.Y. by the Clarkstown Police Department with the assistance of detectives from the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office and charged with one count of “doxing” by posting law enforcement officers’ information on the internet, a third degree crime. Williams was released with conditions following an appearance in Central Judicial Processing Court in Hackensack on Aug. 30, 2019.
“…[C]harges are merely an accusation and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt,” the Prosecutor’s Office says.