Saturday, February 21, 2009

Reverse Email Lookup, Reverse Email Trace, and IP Trace to Stop Online Scams

With more and more people turning to the internet for solutions to everyday questions and problems, online scams are becoming more prevalent. Although this is true, there is something you and everybody else can do about it. There are several online tools of which you are probably aware, such as reverse email lookup, reverse email trace, and IP trace that will allow you to identify the culprit behind those vicious scams.

There are some online scams that are well known and usually are quite obvious to the person who happens to stumble across them. But there are some sneaky people who go to great lengths to present their 'opportunity' as a legitimate enterprise, and all too often they fool the unsuspecting onlooker. It is these that present the biggest problem, but alas, there is a solution.

You may have seen the websites where you can perform a reverse email lookup or a reverse IP lookup. Anytime someone receives a fraudulent email or happens to fall victim to a petty online scam, these are two of the first things they will employ to try and identify the person behind it. The reverse email lookup usually will give the name and address attached to the email account if there is one. All too often, this information is invalid and fabricated. Most people will use the reverse IP lookup to try and find out where the email was actually sent from, hopeful that they can also identify where the scam originated. Although, these tools may give you some information, they are not what you should be using to track down the person behind an online scam.

What is needed is the skills of an experienced private investigator, and one who specializes in dealing with online scams. They will be able to perform these services on a professional level, and with highly developed tools that provide the most accurate data available. A private investigator can perform a reverse email trace and header comparison to reveal the real name of the person behind the emails, thus revealing the person responsible for pushing the scam. An email trace will not only give the name of the person who sent the email, but also the address and phone number.

A full email trace report will give the type of computer the sender used, either Mac or PC, it will tell the browser and operating system, and will reveal links to other internet activity. The private investigator will also perform a header comparison, and this will be used to check against a list of possible suspects. The header comparison can rule out suspects, but more importantly, can be used to identify the culprit from a list of potentials.

Most email traces can take a while, with the time frame ranging from 24 hours to 14 days. Obviously, the more complex the situation, the more time it will take to get results. Once the private investigator has gotten the results of the email trace and header comparison, it can be turned over to law enforcement officials, and they will be able to perform a full fledged investigation and seek any necessary criminal prosecution.

If you suspect an online scam, or have fallen victim to one, visit Ed Opperman's online investigation website for more information. He is an expert private investigator with over 10 years experience in tracking the criminals behind online scams. Please visit http://www.emailrevealer.com for more information.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ed_Opperman

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