Online abuse

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Couldyouhelpmeplease
Couldyouhelpmeplease Posts: 9 Forumite
in Techie Stuff
Without giving too much detail, I'd be very grateful if anyone could advise regarding online abuse that has been an ongoing problem. It is something the police are aware of but in the words of the PC who is dealing with it hes 'not very tech savvy'.

Amongst other things this person purports to be me and signs me up to various websites and makes requests for material to be sent to me. These requests are made by filling my details in on web pages. What is the procedure the police need to follow in requesting the originating IP address from the companies involved?

Assuming they get that information is it then straightforward for them to get the account holders name from the ISP?

What are the responsibilities of the account holder regarding a third person using their internet service for harassment and abuse?

Am I correct in thinking that it is not possible to find the originating IP address of emails delivered to a Hotmail account?

Thankyou in advance
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  • AndyPix
    AndyPix Posts: 4,847 Forumite
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    Hi - welcome to MSE - sorry you're having these problems .

    Couldyouhelpmeplease wrote: »
    What is the procedure the police need to follow in requesting the originating IP address from the companies involved?
    The police should know this, they have teams that deal with this kind of stuff.
    In short, they need to contact the companies involved and request the IP address ...

    Couldyouhelpmeplease wrote: »
    Assuming they get that information is it then straightforward for them to get the account holders name from the ISP?
    Yep


    Couldyouhelpmeplease wrote: »
    What are the responsibilities of the account holder regarding a third person using their internet service for harassment and abuse?
    Not sure on this one - this isnt a technical question but rather a matter of law.
    Couldyouhelpmeplease wrote: »
    Am I correct in thinking that it is not possible to find the originating IP address of emails delivered to a Hotmail account?
    No, you are incorrect - this is possible


    Good luck
  • Couldyouhelpmeplease
    Couldyouhelpmeplease Posts: 9 Forumite
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    Thank you for your quick response Andypix, that was extremely helpful

    Yes I thought the police should know how to do it but it appears the local bobbies are pretty clueless.

    So is the originating IP address in the header of a Hotmail email? If so could I post the header here so you can point me in the right direction please?
  • that
    that Posts: 1,532 Forumite
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    Would it not be easier and possibly more effective to open another email account using a non name descriptive email? Harder to do if it is a business email.

    Multiple accounts are also useful, say one for bills, one for work and one for friends. Personally, my phone even has its own email account which has a totally different email name, because if I ever loose it i do not have to worry about banking, paypal, work and friend stuff and there is no online association between my accounts. Google and I are the only ones that know it exists :)

    Are you sure the person does not have your email password, as most sites I have signed up to send you an email to confirm you want their service to which you have to respond to sign up to?

    I have found that gmail offers fairly good spamming and blocking service.
  • AndyPix
    AndyPix Posts: 4,847 Forumite
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    edited 21 February 2018 at 10:10AM
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    Right direction ==> https://whatismyipaddress.com/trace-email


    Tip : forget your local plod and call 101, they have teams for this
  • Couldyouhelpmeplease
    Couldyouhelpmeplease Posts: 9 Forumite
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    that wrote: »
    Would it not be easier and possibly more effective to open another email account using a non name descriptive email? Harder to do if it is a business email.

    Multiple accounts are also useful, say one for bills, one for work and one for friends. Personally, my phone even has its own email account which has a totally different email name, because if I ever loose it i do not have to worry about banking, paypal, work and friend stuff and there is no online association between my accounts. Google and I are the only ones that know it exists :)

    Are you sure the person does not have your email password, as most sites I have signed up to send you an email to confirm you want their service to which you have to respond to sign up to?

    I have found that gmail offers fairly good spamming and blocking service.

    Thanks for that reply. No I do not think they have my email password and in some ways the email address is secondary as this person has my home address and that is where the unwanted marketing material is sent. I agree that some sites need a confirmation but others do not.

    Changing email addresses would not achieve the desired outcome as work dictates that I need an online presence and a point of contact for genuine people.
  • Couldyouhelpmeplease
    Couldyouhelpmeplease Posts: 9 Forumite
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    AndyPix wrote: »
    Right direction ==> whatismyipaddress


    Tip : forget your local plod and call 101, they have teams for this

    Thanks again.

    Yes I do go via 101 then the local bobby knocks on the door.

    I think I've tried tracing before with that site, or one similar, and I've just done it again but got a mail server although to be honest I'm not really sure what a mail server is.

    Details for 40.92.8.97

    IP:40.92.8.97
    Decimal:677120097
    Hostname:mail-oln040092008097.outbound.protection.outlook.com
    ASN:8075
    ISP:Microsoft Corporation Organization:Microsoft Azure
    Services:Likely mail server
    Assignment:Static IP
    Blacklist:
    Continent:North America
    Country:United States
  • AndyPix
    AndyPix Posts: 4,847 Forumite
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    Yeah you're not going to be able to trace that yourself ..


    However the police could if they really wanted to


    Are there not any more "received : from"s further down the header ?
  • Le_Kirk
    Le_Kirk Posts: 22,316 Forumite
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    AndyPix wrote: »
    Tip : forget your local plod and call 101, they have teams for this
    I believe Action Fraud is the team you want but you might get there via AndyPix's suggestion to dial 101.
  • Couldyouhelpmeplease
    Couldyouhelpmeplease Posts: 9 Forumite
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    AndyPix wrote: »
    Yeah you're not going to be able to trace that yourself ..


    However the police could if they really wanted to


    Are there not any more "received : from"s further down the header ?

    No just a 'private IP address' and a 'loop back address'
  • onomatopoeia99
    onomatopoeia99 Posts: 6,964 Forumite
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    Couldyouhelpmeplease wrote: »
    What is the procedure the police need to follow in requesting the originating IP address from the companies involved?

    Assuming they get that information is it then straightforward for them to get the account holders name from the ISP?
    The procedure is called a "Norwich Pharmacal order" which must be sought from a court. Then once the IP address is obtained another will need to be served on the ISP, if the ISP can be identified. It may be the absuer is using a VPN which will hide their true IP address, and things get more complicated then, especially if the VPN is overseas.
    Proud member of the wokerati, though I don't eat tofu.Home is where my books are.Solar PV 5.2kWp system, SE facing, >1% shading, installed March 2019.Mortgage free July 2023
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