Trace an Email

Email users receive many emails every day; many are work-related, but many others are spam, sent by people unknown to the addressee. Each sender has an Internet Protocol (IP) address associated with their computer. An IP address is a label that identifies the location of a device that uses an Internet network. If you are unsure of an email's purpose and would like to locate the sender, it is possible to use the IP address to track an email's location. While not every email address can be tracked, using the fields that are hidden from view by top email providers, it is possible to track many emails down to their area of origin. This article will tell you how to trace an email using an IP address.

Steps

  1. Open the email using your Internet browser and email program. If there are suspicious attachments, do not open them. You can find the information you need without opening image or document attachments.
  2. Find the email header. The header contains information about the routing of the email and the IP address. Most email programs like Outlook, Hotmail, Google Mail (Gmail,) Yahoo Mail and America Online (AOL) hide the header information because they see it as non-essential information. If you know how to open the header, you can still find this data.
    • On Outlook, go to your inbox and highlight your email using your cursor, but do not open it into its own window. If you are using a mouse, right click the message. If you are using a Mac Operating System (OS) without a mouse, click while holding down the "control" button. Select "Message Options" when the menu appears. Find the headers at the bottom of the window that will appear.
    • On Hotmail, click on the drop down menu next to the word "Reply." Select "View Message Source." A window will pop up with the address information.
    • On Gmail, click on the drop down menu next to the word "Reply" in the upper right hand corner of your message. Select "Show Original." A window with the IP information will pop up.
    • On Yahoo, right click or press "control" and click when you are on the message. Choose "View Full Headers."
    • On AOL, click "Action" on your message, then select "View Message Source."
  3. Identify the IP address in the information you have just uncovered. Following any of these methods for your chosen email carrier, you will have a window that pops up with a lot of code information. You will not need all of this information.
    • If the window is too small to effectively pick out the IP address, copy the information and paste it into a word processing document.
  4. Look for the words "X-Originating-IP." This is the easiest way to spot the IP address; however, it may not be listed in those terms on all email programs. If you cannot find this term look for the word "Received" and follow the line until you see a numerical address.
    • Use the "Find" function on your computer to easily spot these terms. Click "Command" and the letter "F" on Mac OS. In Internet Explorer click the "Edit" menu. Select "Find on this Page," then type the word into the box that appears and click "Enter."
  5. Copy the IP address. An IP address is a series of numbers with a period/full stop between the numbers. An example is: 68.20.90.31.
  6. Do an Internet search for an IP address locating website. There are many to choose from and most of them are free.
  7. Paste the IP address into the box provided by the IP address search engine. Press "Enter."
  8. View the information that is provided to you. Most results will show the originating state or city of the IP address and possibly the computer name that the IP address is associated with.

Tips

  • On many email programs, you can choose to show full IP address information on all emails. For example, using Hotmail, open your inbox and click the small word "Options" in the upper right portion of your screen. Under "Mail Options" select "Mail Display Settings." Under "Message Headers" click the button that says "Full." Click "OK." Return to your inbox and select your message to see full header information. Note: This will enable full headers on all your emails. You will have to return to these menus if you want to return your headers to the "Basic" setting.
  • Some IP address locating sites allow you to file a complaint if you feel the message was illegal or unsolicited. Enter the information you just received to file the complaint.
  • If you are concerned about even opening the email, or trying to find the person without revealing your own location (by bating a response), use a public computer (like at a library).

Sources and Citations

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