How to Trace the Original Writter of an Email

You have probably received hundreds of them, even several today--emails that have been forwarded from a long list of recipients. Maybe it is a humorous email and you want to know who the funny person is. Or, it is an offensive email and you need to report it. Whatever the reason, you are curious as to where the email originated. Once you know where to look, it's easy to find the source.

Instructions

Finding the Headers

1. Find the headers of the email. These are the lines of information at the top of every email that are used by servers to route them to the right location. Most email programs hide this information because most people aren't interested in them or know what they are. Finding the headers varies, based on the email client that you are using. Find out how to display the headers for your email client below.

   In the headers, you are looking for the line that starts with "X-Originating-IP header" or "Received From". This will be the IP address of the computer the originating writer used to send the email message.

2. For Gmail, click on the "More Options" link of the message you want to trace. Click on "Show Original". The headers will pop up in another window.

3. For Hotmail, click on "Options" link in the navigational bar in the upper corner of the window. Click on "Mail Display Settings". Change the option under "Message Headers" to "Full" before clicking "OK". Open the email you want to trace and see the headers at the top of it.

4. For Yahoo, look for the "Options" link in the navigational bar. Click on "General Preferences". Change the settings for "Headers" to "All". Open the email you want to trace and see the headers at the top of it.

5. If you are using an email program like Outlook or Outlook Express, right-click on the message you want to trace and click on "Options" from the pop-up menu. Headers are located In the box at the bottom labeled "Internet Headers".

Tracing the IP Address

1. Go to ARIN website to do a search for the IP address and find out who it belongs to. ARIN is the American Registry for Internet Numbers. You will not need an account or have to pay a fee for a quick search.

2. Copy the IP address into the box at the top right-handed corner of the page where it reads "Search WHOIS" and click "Search".

3. Read the information on the next page that appears as a result of your search. It will give you the organization or individual who owns the IP address used to send the original email.

Tips & Warnings

• Accounts at ARIN are intended for businesses or individuals of organizations who want to use the information for commercial reasons, or to register their business information.

References

• ARIN Website
• See the Full Headers with Outlook