The most common stories you hear about revenge porn are ones of jilted men who leak their ex-girlfriend’s naked photos. In reality, she says, it’s not always so personal. “One girl lost her cell phone and some guy from South America got it and posted her pictures off her phone onto the internet,” Laws says. “I got a call from a teacher who actually had to quit her job because of this whole thing. Some of the people are hacked, some of the people are photoshopped.”

On Jan. 10, 2011, Laws' then-24-year-old daughter Kayla, who at the time was pursuing an acting career, was at the restaurant where she waitressed when she got a phone call. It was a panicked friend who told her that her name, the city she lived in, and her Twitter handle were on Is Anyone Up. Next to her personal information was a topless photograph she took of herself and a slew of other intimate snapshots. She was confused and scared. She hadn’t sent the nude photos to anyone.

Kayla walked back into the restaurant and finished her shift, still crying. She soon discovered that her Is Anyone Up page was emailed to everyone in her workplace. Her boss threatened to fire her over it. She called her mom, distraught. Laws figured the pictures wouldn’t be too difficult to yank down — Kayla took them; she owned them. But Hunter Moore wasn’t paying any attention to takedown notices.

Over the next year, Laws gathered every piece of information she could find on Moore. She watched his Twitter feed closely. She got him kicked off Facebook. She had his PayPal account shut down. She even went so far as to call his mom’s workplace.

“I used to be a private investigator in the 1980s and I basically just started contacting anybody and everybody associated with him,” Laws says. “He was always aware of what I was doing, but he didn't know it was me." She laughs, noting that the irony of the situation is not lost on her.

Laws finally came face-to-face with her nemesis and his fans when she went undercover at one of his club nights at a hotel in Long Beach. “I had on white, pasty junk all over my face, a black wig, a beatnik cap, a velvet jacket,” she says, cringing. “I get out of my car, and guess who the first person I run into when I get out of my car is? Hunter Moore!”

Moore didn’t recognize her. She followed him and his friends into the run-down hotel. The place was packed, Laws says, except for the room Hunter was DJing in. “I couldn't believe how empty it was,” she says.

At the time, Laws says everyone was terrified of Moore and what he could do. There was an aura of unpredictability around him. It was rumored that he was a master hacker who could fill anyone’s computer with viruses. When Laws saw him in person, however, the reality was a lot different.

“So he starts out the gig and he has his cup of beer and he throws it into the air and messes up his laptop,” she says, laughing. “The whole evening he had trouble getting the music to play. It kept sputtering and it would stop.”

Laws’ one-woman investigation took its toll on Kayla, though. She became withdrawn. She abandoned acting. Now she’s hoping to start over working in real estate.

“She believes in the cause and she likes the fact that we've been able to help victims,” Laws says. “But on the other hand she doesn't like the fact that she's linked with this issue because she's worried that it could negatively impact her career in the future.”