| There are services that offer "anonymous" email | | | | users is sending illegal mail. They may decide to delete |
| addresses. Sites like these tout their extremely high | | | | that user from their service and cooperate with police |
| levels of privacy and security so users feel safe in | | | | investigations. If the emails are merely annoying, you |
| sending correspondence from these addresses. How | | | | can block the email address so you don't receive them |
| does this work? When you sign up for one of these | | | | anymore. |
| anonymous email accounts, you are given an address | | | | If someone is sending you "anonymous" email from |
| generated from that site. When you send an email, the | | | | another email provider (such as yahoo or hotmail), you |
| recipient won't be able to tell where it came from. At | | | | can do an IP search yourself. This will tell you the |
| most, they will trace it back to the site. Those who | | | | region from which the email originated. This may help |
| own and operate the website refuse to disclose any | | | | you narrow down who is sending it. Again, if they are |
| information whatsoever about the account owner. This | | | | at all threatening, you can save the messages and |
| is true with one exception: if the email account holder is | | | | give them to the police. They will be able to get more |
| sending threatening, harassing, or otherwise illegal | | | | information about the owner from the internet service |
| content to someone, then that person can go to the | | | | provider that is unavailable to you as a private citizen. |
| police. With a subpoena, they can find out who owns | | | | You can also be more proactive and do a free |
| the address. | | | | reverse email lookup. This will tell you who is trying to |
| If someone is sending you mail from an address like | | | | hide behind their email address. You have every right |
| this, and you keep tracing it back to the website, you | | | | to this information because this person has contacted |
| can do a few things: one, if the emails are harassing or | | | | you. Just like caller ID tells you who is calling your home, |
| threatening, save them and give them to the police. | | | | reverse email lookups can help you determine who is |
| You can also inform the website that one of their | | | | getting into your inbox. |