Can I Tell You A Secret? is a Netflix true crime documentary that traces the crimes of cyber stalker Matthew Hardy. Hardy was known for infiltrating the social media accounts of different women and sending abusive messages while impersonating them. He had also created fake profiles to talk to his victims or simply spread rumors about them on social media. The documentary was released on Netflix on February 21, 2024.
Matthew Hardy was convicted of stalking with fear of violence and harassment after breaching a restraining order. Authorities found that Hardy would relentlessly message his victims. He kept them in an endless fear of being watched. The first message he would send to a victim was reportedly, “Can I tell you a secret?”. He often messaged to come across as a young woman and would reportedly sign off with a kiss.
Eventually, Matthew Hardy claimed he knew intimate details of the victims’ lives. Accoding to Guardian, trhis includes information on their partner cheating on them, their friends talking behind their back, and other details about them. When blocked by the victim, the stalker would reappear with a new account and continue sending such messages. If unresponsive, the victims would receive incessant calls on their phones. When they answered, the victims would only hear someone breathing down the mic.
Sometimes, the stalking went on for years and allegedly caused the victims grave loss in personal and professional matters, the BBC reported. Hardy would reportedly spread rumors about them to their friends and co-workers. He would also eventually hack into their social media accounts and post intimate photographs that he stole. Hardy would further engage in sexually explicit conversations with others on the app.
Can I Tell You A Secret?: How was Matthew Hardy caught?
Perhaps the most frightening aspect of the abuse that Matthew Hardy perpetrated on his victims is that he was arrested 10 times over the years during his crime spree. However, none of the arrests or attempts from authorities to deter his actions worked. When he was finally arrested for the last time in January 2022, the court sentenced him to 9 years in prison, the longest sentence for a stalking charge.
In 2006, Hardy began stalking when Facebook had been gaining popularity. He went to a school in Northwich where he started messaging multiple girls from his class. When one of the girls lost her mother in 2010, Hardy reportedly messaged her and threatened to tell her father that her mother was cheating on him. She reported Hardy to the police immediately. However, the police were reluctant to take action as the abuse happened online. Moreover, cybercrimes were yet to be deemed as punishable offence back then.
In 2011, another complaint from a former classmate pushed Matthew Hardy to plead guilty to hacking and harassing her. He hacked her Facebook account and impersonated her online. On one occasion, a stranger approached the victim in public and enquired if she was the one who was engaging in sexually explicit conversations with him online. In 2013, he was convicted again and given a restraining order, only to breach it and resume the abuse next year.
His victims reported suffering from paranoia and constant anxiety. Many of them grew depressed and began taking medication.
Can I Tell You A Secret? is currently streaming on Netflix.
