Internet Scams - Locate an IP Address
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Erillia
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Good evening everyone,
I just realized that I fell victim to an online scam, via Paypal, a kind of phishing I think. As I really don't appreciate this, you can imagine, I would like to:
1. Find an IP address
2. Locate it
3. Provide it to the authorities so that the person can be punished
Let me explain: I was contacted for the purchase of a pair of jeans that I am selling on a second-hand site. The person suggested making the transaction via Paypal. So I sent a payment request (29 euros) through my Paypal account. I saw that the transfer was pending, but apparently, that's normal since Paypal has secured transactions: I need to provide the tracking number of my package to prove that I sent it before receiving my payment. In hindsight, it already smelled like a scam, but oh well, let's move on.
So I’m going to post my package no later than earlier today, I’ll send the tracking number of the package to "Paypal" or at least an address resembling Paypal.
Then the person sends me an email saying that since they reside in Switzerland, I need to internationalize my account and thus make a strange transaction of 300 euros. Sensing that this was anything but normal (since Paypal is supposed to facilitate transactions abroad, it made no sense), I checked online and I’m indeed a fool since it’s a scam.
I have already reported the person's address and modus operandi to the governmental body that handles online scams but still, for my personal pride, I would really like to be able to locate this person. I know this is possible thanks to the IP address, but I don't know enough to understand how the IP address works and even less to geo-locate someone with it.
Is there a generous soul tonight (who is not trying to scam me haha) to help me solve this little technical problem...?
Here’s a copy of the email regarding the 300 euros, in case you’re interested:
“I was just contacted by the Paypal service via email, informing me that we need to pay the PCS reloads of 300€ for the activation of our account at the International level and it turns out that my Paypal account and yours are not active on their international server which is why the 29.00€ remains pending in your account and given that we need to go as quickly as possible to a tobacco kiosk to pay for 2 PCS reload coupons of 150€ and after that, we need to communicate the various recharge codes to the Paypal service by email so that they activate our accounts and believe it or not, this amount of 300€ will be added to the 29.00€ allowing you to receive the amount of 329.00€ in your Paypal account which will be credited, and you could then receive the funds. I will look into this recharge first thing tomorrow, I ask you to do the same in order to finalize the transaction as quickly as possible.”
(OBVIOUSLY, given the spelling, it was clear it was a scam... My laxity regarding the grammar and spelling of others will be my downfall...)
I just realized that I fell victim to an online scam, via Paypal, a kind of phishing I think. As I really don't appreciate this, you can imagine, I would like to:
1. Find an IP address
2. Locate it
3. Provide it to the authorities so that the person can be punished
Let me explain: I was contacted for the purchase of a pair of jeans that I am selling on a second-hand site. The person suggested making the transaction via Paypal. So I sent a payment request (29 euros) through my Paypal account. I saw that the transfer was pending, but apparently, that's normal since Paypal has secured transactions: I need to provide the tracking number of my package to prove that I sent it before receiving my payment. In hindsight, it already smelled like a scam, but oh well, let's move on.
So I’m going to post my package no later than earlier today, I’ll send the tracking number of the package to "Paypal" or at least an address resembling Paypal.
Then the person sends me an email saying that since they reside in Switzerland, I need to internationalize my account and thus make a strange transaction of 300 euros. Sensing that this was anything but normal (since Paypal is supposed to facilitate transactions abroad, it made no sense), I checked online and I’m indeed a fool since it’s a scam.
I have already reported the person's address and modus operandi to the governmental body that handles online scams but still, for my personal pride, I would really like to be able to locate this person. I know this is possible thanks to the IP address, but I don't know enough to understand how the IP address works and even less to geo-locate someone with it.
Is there a generous soul tonight (who is not trying to scam me haha) to help me solve this little technical problem...?
Here’s a copy of the email regarding the 300 euros, in case you’re interested:
“I was just contacted by the Paypal service via email, informing me that we need to pay the PCS reloads of 300€ for the activation of our account at the International level and it turns out that my Paypal account and yours are not active on their international server which is why the 29.00€ remains pending in your account and given that we need to go as quickly as possible to a tobacco kiosk to pay for 2 PCS reload coupons of 150€ and after that, we need to communicate the various recharge codes to the Paypal service by email so that they activate our accounts and believe it or not, this amount of 300€ will be added to the 29.00€ allowing you to receive the amount of 329.00€ in your Paypal account which will be credited, and you could then receive the funds. I will look into this recharge first thing tomorrow, I ask you to do the same in order to finalize the transaction as quickly as possible.”
(OBVIOUSLY, given the spelling, it was clear it was a scam... My laxity regarding the grammar and spelling of others will be my downfall...)
3 answers
Hi
An IP address will not provide you with the scammer's address. It will only give you the geographical location of the server.
Only the authorities can request the address of the computer from ISPs.
To obtain the IP address, you need to have access to the email's source code.
--
Curiosity on CCM is not a flaw but a quality.
An IP address will not provide you with the scammer's address. It will only give you the geographical location of the server.
Only the authorities can request the address of the computer from ISPs.
To obtain the IP address, you need to have access to the email's source code.
--
Curiosity on CCM is not a flaw but a quality.
Good evening,
So, if I provide the authorities with the IP address, could they track down the person? In the end, I "couldn't care less" about finding this person myself, since the only loss I've had is an old pair of jeans, 8 euros in shipping fees, and a small piece of my self-esteem. However, I REALLY want the competent authorities to find this person to prevent them from doing it again and scamming other people like me, who could be scammed out of 300 euros...
I enabled the "show all headers" option in my email since, apparently, that's the best way to get the IP address. Is this how I should proceed?
Thank you very much for this answer :)
So, if I provide the authorities with the IP address, could they track down the person? In the end, I "couldn't care less" about finding this person myself, since the only loss I've had is an old pair of jeans, 8 euros in shipping fees, and a small piece of my self-esteem. However, I REALLY want the competent authorities to find this person to prevent them from doing it again and scamming other people like me, who could be scammed out of 300 euros...
I enabled the "show all headers" option in my email since, apparently, that's the best way to get the IP address. Is this how I should proceed?
Thank you very much for this answer :)
Hey,
So I feel like the person went through different servers (that's quite possible, right? aaaah, I'm way too bad at computer stuff, I absolutely need to learn!). What does an IP address actually look like? I see lots of lines of code but I'm having trouble finding it...
Thanks :)
So I feel like the person went through different servers (that's quite possible, right? aaaah, I'm way too bad at computer stuff, I absolutely need to learn!). What does an IP address actually look like? I see lots of lines of code but I'm having trouble finding it...
Thanks :)
You can have fun visualizing the path taken by the message at: https://www.yougetsignal.com/tools/visual-tracert/
But the route information is specific to the moment of the request because depending on the traffic, a different route may be used. However, the starting and ending points are always the same.
But the route information is specific to the moment of the request because depending on the traffic, a different route may be used. However, the starting and ending points are always the same.
Thank you for your response; however, even if I have to take justice into my own hands (my inner Batman, you see), I am still interested in obtaining this IP address...
I turned to this internet community because I know that the answers from users are generally reliable and clear, but perhaps I am not on the right site to address these kinds of questions...?
Thank you for your response, in any case :)