Glasgow, Scotland, Oct. 09, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --
Craig Campbell, a prominent Scottish businessman known for his highly renowned Craig Campbell SEO services, has released an intimate article that details his personal experience dealing with a stalker and the impact it had on his approach to business.
The article, which can be found on Craig Campbell’s website, walks readers through how, after innocently offering John McWhinnie, an aspiring businessman, one of his one-day digital marketing sessions in 2018 resulted in over 5 years of threats, harassment and mental turmoil for Campbell and his young family.
With Campbell’s ordeal culminating in McWhinnie receiving two guilty charges relating to sending grossly offensive, menacing, or indecent electronic communications, the digital marketing expert wanted to release his ordeal to help warn others of the potential dangers of a public-facing role in the SEO industry can bring.
A Guilty Plea Closes a Dark Chapter
An extract from Campbell’s article, ‘A Guilty Plea Closes a Dark Chapter’ has been included below:
This disconcerting saga began innocuously enough in July 2018 when Campbell, a skilled specialist in search engine optimisation (SEO) hailing from Glasgow, generously extended his expertise to McWhinnie during a one-on-one web design class. What began as a professional engagement eventually transitioned into a casual friendship as the two realised they shared common interests and an affable rapport.
However, their seemingly innocuous connection took a dark turn when an ill-conceived and rather playful prank instigated by Campbell spiralled out of control. Campbell, in a light-hearted gesture, utilised a spoof text message from Amazon to prank McWhinnie. Unbeknownst to Campbell, this seemingly harmless jest would serve as the catalyst for the gradual and terrifying deterioration of their relationship.
As tensions between the two escalated, McWhinnie launched a relentless barrage of threatening emails and messages in Campbell’s direction. While McWhinnie did issue a perfunctory apology initially, the respite was short-lived, and he soon resumed his campaign of harassment, causing Campbell considerable distress and alarm. This sustained psychological torment reached its peak when McWhinnie was finally apprehended by authorities in March of the current year.
The crux of McWhinnie’s threats, however, transcended the boundaries of mere intimidation. In March 2019, Campbell received an email from McWhinnie containing a spine-chilling threat that extended to Campbell’s newborn son, with McWhinnie ominously vowing to slit both their throats. Horrified by the message, Campbell wasted no time and immediately reported it to the police, taking swift measures to distance himself from McWhinnie for several months.
Despite this brief respite, the spectre of McWhinnie’s threats loomed large. In November 2021, McWhinnie reached out to Campbell once more, this time expressing remorse for his past actions and offering an apology. During this communication, McWhinnie also disclosed that he was grappling with psychosis, which added complexity to the ongoing saga.
However, the nightmare would not be so easily dispelled. In January 2023, Campbell received a bone-chilling 17-minute phone call from McWhinnie, during which McWhinnie reiterated his threats. In a surreal and paranoid tirade, McWhinnie asserted that Campbell was not just a target of his ire but also a high-ranking member of the Russian mafia. He declared that their interactions had pushed him to
a life-or-death precipice, with intentions to harm Campbell before taking his own life.
This relentless barrage of threats ultimately led to McWhinnie’s arrest by the police in March of the current year after he was tracked down to Edinburgh. Subsequently charged, he was released on bail under conditions stipulating that he was not to approach or contact Campbell.
However, the unsettling aspect of this situation was the revelation that McWhinnie was privy to both Campbell’s office and home addresses due to the bail conditions imposed. This left Campbell and his family in a distressing predicament, knowing that McWhinnie had access to information that could potentially endanger their safety.
