[SOLVED] Instagram IP tracking question

[OffbeatBryce]

Hello,

There is someone who I believe is harassing me. I'm pretty sure I know who it is. I've gotten messages for about 6 months non stop telling me I've been using fake accounts to harass this girl but I I have not been making any fake accounts. This morning I got a message claiming I messaged them on Instagram from a fake account and they tracked the IP address from the message and said it was me. Can someone really track an IP from a Instagram private message? If so is there anyway for someone else to legitimately make another account look like it came from my IP address?

Thanks,

 

[bill001g]

Instagram may know the IP address that the message came from but they do not make that information public. The police or the government may be able to force them to reveal it but there is no way you or anyone else is going to get it. Idiot gamers already do stuff like run denial of service attacks when they get IP so companies know the risk so they make a effort to prevent you from getting someone elses IP.

Besides if someone was doing bad stuff they would not be dumb enough to do it from their own IP when there are many vpn services you can use to hide it.

They are telling lies. Have then tell you what your IP address is if they think they know. You can not actually fake a IP address...maybe the government or a ISP could but not some hacker.

 

[OffbeatBryce]

Message I got today was to stop harassing this girl and they had tracked my IP back to another account that wasn't mine and they knew the state I was in. I don't get how this random person would know my state then. I have gotten messages and phone calls in the past from people claiming to be the police and that they are after me but 6 months from now nothing comes of it and yesterday I was told via Instagram the police were after me again they keep brining up my name and the same girl too. I run a film business and it's gotten so out of hand clients are dropping me because this girl supposedly is telling others not to hire me. Only reason I'm guessing that is because so and so client tells me something along the lines of how I was a pervert and they heard it from a few girls. There is zero evidence to back up what is being said. This girl that people keep referencing is someone I used to know and we got in a big argument and she told me she was going to ruin my life and I haven't spoken to her in 4 years yet here I am getting messages regarding her and losing business

 

[COLGeek]

Sounds like a potential legal matter. Do you have a lawyer?

Determining your IP address really isn't that hard. However, bill001g is correct. Tell the person to put up, or shut up.

If the police wanted to talk to you, they would.

 

[OffbeatBryce]

Sounds like a potential legal matter. Do you have a lawyer?

Determining your IP address really isn't that hard. However, bill001g is correct. Tell the person to put up, or shut up.

If the police wanted to talk to you, they would.

Yes and my lawyers advice is to not use the internet because then I can't be accused of anything but that's not going to work during covid. Kind of dumb advice in my opinion.

 

[OffbeatBryce]

Sounds like a potential legal matter. Do you have a lawyer?

Determining your IP address really isn't that hard. However, bill001g is correct. Tell the person to put up, or shut up.

If the police wanted to talk to you, they would.

Quick question. I am able to find my IP address on my PC but when I looked it up it said a different city then where I'm located yet this person in the message told me when they tracked my IP it showed my exact house address. Do IP's ever show home addresses? That would seem weird since I can't even find mine via my own IP address.

Also, can one use a VPN to make to make it like it at least came from my State?

 

[SamirD]

Yes and my lawyers advice is to not use the internet because then I can't be accused of anything but that's not going to work during covid. Kind of dumb advice in my opinion.

Get another attorney--a real one. You have potential defamation of character remedies because you have lost business due to slander and libel, and online harrassment is also actionable. If your homeowners insurance has identity theft protection, I would look into what remedies may apply.

Also, the platforms that allow these type of communications are not immune--if they are allowed a user to continue to harass them after you have reported it, you have the ability to sue the platform for damages too.

The immediate solution would be to remove any form of contact from these people. Phone numbers can be changed, accounts can be deleted and remade, etc.

 

[Grobe]

I'd advice you to contact the police, because it may be a scam - somebody may just picked your name from some public register and try to harass and scare you. Espechially If the voice in the phone calls is agressive in nature.

Also - save any messages and try to record any phone call (may have to use another phone for that - depending on country)

 

[SamirD]

I'd advice you to contact the police, because it may be a scam - somebody may just picked your name from some public register and try to harass and scare you. Espechially If the voice in the phone calls is agressive in nature.

Also - save any messages and try to record any phone call (may have to use another phone for that - depending on country)

In my experience here in the US, the police don't do anything about this type of harassment until an attorney gets involved to make them investigate.

 

[COLGeek]

Yes and my lawyers advice is to not use the internet because then I can't be accused of anything but that's not going to work during covid. Kind of dumb advice in my opinion.

Get a new attorney. That is terrible and unrealistic advice.

 

[COLGeek]

Quick question. I am able to find my IP address on my PC but when I looked it up it said a different city then where I'm located yet this person in the message told me when they tracked my IP it showed my exact house address. Do IP's ever show home addresses? That would seem weird since I can't even find mine via my own IP address.

Also, can one use a VPN to make to make it like it at least came from my State?

IP addresses don't trace to your physical address. If a person knows where you actually live, in some cases, the geolocation of your physical address and IP address can be inferred. It is not exact.

If the police were involved, they would have already been knocking on your door.

 

[OffbeatBryce]

Get another attorney--a real one. You have potential defamation of character remedies because you have lost business due to slander and libel, and online harrassment is also actionable. If your homeowners insurance has identity theft protection, I would look into what remedies may apply.

Also, the platforms that allow these type of communications are not immune--if they are allowed a user to continue to harass them after you have reported it, you have the ability to sue the platform for damages too.

The immediate solution would be to remove any form of contact from these people. Phone numbers can be changed, accounts can be deleted and remade, etc.

I've blocked all accounts I interacted with in the past. It still happens. The lawyer I have is a criminal law lawyer. Not sure how more real I could get here. I've changed numbers 3 times and somehow the same people call me. How are they finding my number?

 

[OffbeatBryce]

IP addresses don't trace to your physical address. If a person knows where you actually live, in some cases, the geolocation of your physical address and IP address can be inferred. It is not exact.

If the police were involved, they would have already been knocking on your door.

Well it's been a full day and no police have showed up. The local police lives literally 15 min from my house. NO joke

 

[OffbeatBryce]

I'd advice you to contact the police, because it may be a scam - somebody may just picked your name from some public register and try to harass and scare you. Espechially If the voice in the phone calls is agressive in nature.

Also - save any messages and try to record any phone call (may have to use another phone for that - depending on country)

This isn't random it's the same name of a girl that I used to know that's brought up over and over again. The same language etc

 

[Ralston18]

Bottom line, per COLGeek, Post #10

Get a new attorney.

Hopefully an attorney who is knowledgeable about and even specializes in situations/cases such as yours.

All the more so if your clients are dropping you....

Legal guidance is a must.

 

[SamirD]

I've blocked all accounts I interacted with in the past. It still happens. The lawyer I have is a criminal law lawyer. Not sure how more real I could get here. I've changed numbers 3 times and somehow the same people call me. How are they finding my number?

Criminal is just one area of practice in law. You need an attorney that understands what is actionable in your case, which yours obviously doesn't know. Also, there are dumb and bad attorneys out there. In fact, ime I would say most of them are and you have to search for the good ones. If your number is listed then it can be found. You need to just get a prepaid number that you can change all the time or a google number that you can forward to your real number and keep your real number hidden. And if these people are calling from the same number, just block those numbers.