Tracing the identity of an email sender

Tracing the Identity of an Email Sender

It can be very scary to receive harassing or threatening email in your inbox. If you have been targeted by someone with threatening or scary content it can be very unsettling especially if it’s someone you don’t know. Is this a real threat? Is this some kid who thinks it’s a funny prank? Is there something more behind this continuing harassment than just a prank? These types of questions can keep a person awake at night, so you might consider an email address search. If you receive an email like this, the most important thing to do immediately is to save the email- don’t delete it. You may need it for evidence later. The key to finding the identity of the sender is in the email header. It is the key to find a person.

Most emails do not show a full header. The header you normally see is a compact version that shows only the ‘to’ and ‘from’ email addresses and the time at which the email was sent. Typically this is all you need. But when it’s a matter of harassment or threats, the full email headers can provide authorities with enough information to find the exact location and identity of the person who sent the email. In fact, there is very little the authorities can do without the information contained in the headers. You can then do a people finder search to get more identity information.

Determine if your email account will allow you to display the full header. It is usually an option you can click while you have the offensive email open. But if you have trouble finding it, a simple email to the email provider’s customer service department can answer any questions you may have about finding the header. Once you know how to display the header, you can forward an email to the perpetrator’s email provider (a customer service department or a dedicated abuse department) with the full email headers intact. Most email providers will respond to these types of complaints.

One very important piece of information contained in the email headers is the IP address. To avoid any confusion, it is important to know that this is not the IP address of the perpetrator in most cases. However, it will get you the identity of the email provider’s outbound server. Make no mistake, the ISP can use the information in the headers to find out exactly who is bothering you, but they will not give the person’s name or any other information to you, a private citizen. If this doesn’t work you can provide this information – especially if threats were made in the email, to the authorities. While there are tools available on the internet that will help you analyze the headers in any email you receive, the information will probably not prove useful to you in putting a stop to email harassment without help from the authorities. The best course of action is to save the email and enlist the help of local law enforcement and any other establishment that may be able to help, such as your own and the perpetrator’s email providers.