[JudyKayTee]

I am attempting to locate the server in a matter involving internet threats and harassment - Scott posted some good advice and I went to that site but I am such a computer novice that I am totally lost.

Does anyone have a source, an expert, who does this sort of checking? I believe they are being sent from a place of employment, a large corporation.

This has gone beyond the "block and ignore" stage -

Police are involved but it's the internet, the new Federal law has everyone's head spinning - and not much is being done.

[Fr_Chuck]

The police can trace internet very easy as long as its not a dial up server.
Those are harder to trace. I have had the police trace several over this last 12 months for certain reasons.

[NeedKarma]

If it's not webmail then your chances increase dramatically. The domain name of the email should give the ISP or company, it's simply a matter of scoring a contact there and forwarding the offending emails.

[Fr_Chuck]

Yes, if it is a DSL or a cable, the ISP address is always the same. If it is dial up, the ISP changes each time you log on, but can be traced back to the company. Then the company will have to ( with a warrant) trace which uses were on during that speciic time, it is much more work.

[ScottGem]

Judy,

There was a case that hit the papers on Long Island today about a gang of kids who put up phony ads on Craigslist for a Porsche. When prospective buyers showed up they were attacked and the cash deposit stolen.

I mention it because the ring was traced by the IP address used to post on Craigslist. So its definitely possible if you get the right police.

[NeedKarma]

Yes, if it is a DSL or a cable, the ISP address is always the same. If it is dial up, the ISP changes each time you log on, but can be traced back to the company. Then the company will have to ( with a warrant) trace which uses were on during that speciic time, it is much more work.

Actually I'm referring to the email providers not the internet providers although it's often similar. The email provider does not need session info like an ISP does, they just need proof that one of their users is violating their terms of service.

[Fr_Chuck]

Do you mean like hot mail or Yahoo mail?

[NeedKarma]

Those webmail services all have an abuse@ email address. Hotmail would be [email protected], Yahoo would have a [email protected], etc. I know because I have used it and gotten replies. The only recourse there is that the user would have their account terminated.

ISP or corporate email accounts are better in that you can get the actual person in some trouble. For a corporate email account I would find their website then find a few contact email addresses (one for the hosts of their site and one for HR of the company), then ask if they are the correct people to contact if you have received some abusive emails using their domain name email account. An ISP email account (Comcast, AOL, etc) usually has an email address similar to the abuse@ that the webmail folks have. The kicker here is that the account is tied to real information about the user and thus action can be taken.

[JudyKayTee]

Those webmail services all have an abuse@ email address. Hotmail would be [email protected], Yahoo would have a [email protected], etc. I know because I have used it and gotten replies. The only recourse there is that the user would have their account terminated.

ISP or corporate email accounts are better in that you can get the actual person in some trouble. For a corporate email account I would find their website then find a few contact email addresses (one for the hosts of their site and one for HR of the company), then ask if they are the correct people to contact if you have received some abusive emails using their domain name email account. An ISP email account (Comcast, AOL, etc) usually has an email address similar to the abuse@ that the webmail folks have. The kicker here is that the account is tied to real information about the user and thus action can be taken.

Oh - this might work because the Police are definitely not interested. Excellent when you can't get legal intervention.

[excon]

Hello Judy:

If you're not getting help from the establishment, which doesn't surprise me, you may need the marketplace. I found these people after googling "internet private investigation":

Internet Investigation Solutions

There are more.

excon