How to View an IP Address of an Email
Email IP (Internet Protocol) addresses are assigned by a host. That host will forward emails from one of its members wherever he is in the world. When tracing the IP address of an email, seek the IP address of the sender, not the mail server that routed the message. This information is sent with every email, though not automatically displayed.
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Instructions
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1
Locate the email you want to trace and click on it without opening it. With some email clients, detailed in Step 2, you must open the email. The actions you take to locate the sender's IP address depend on the email software or client you are using.
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2
Display full headers for the email. In Microsoft Outlook, right-click on the selected email and select "Options" from the pop-up menu. Another pop-up will appear, and you will see the header information in the "Internet Headers" section. In Apple Mail, press "Shift-Command-H" on the keyboard to show full headers. In Mozilla Thunderbird, press "Ctrl-U" on the keyboard. The headers will display in a separate window. In Hotmail, right-click on the message and select "View Source" from the pop-up menu. A new window will show the source of the email, starting with the full headers. With Classic Yahoo Mail, a "Full Headers" link is located at the bottom of the message after you open it. In later versions of Yahoo Mail, right-click the message and select "View Full Headers" from the pop-up menu. In Gmail, open the message and click the down arrow next to the "Reply" button. Select "Show Original." A new window will display the full headers.
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3
Look through the full headers to find a "Received: from" line. There will be several of these lines, because the email will have been relayed by a number of mail servers, and each put on a header when they receive the email. Looking down the list, you will be reading the "Received: from" records in reverse order--the most recent first. The last "Received: from" in the list will show the IP address of the sender's location.
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Tips & Warnings
Use the IP Address in a reverse look-up site to find the physical address of the IP Address. "What is my IP Address," "Active Whois" and "IP Tracer" are three examples of such sites.
References
Resources
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