Find out an anonymous email address?

[DevilMayCry42]

In short, someone had a go at blackmailing our head boys/girls to be, by using an anonymous email address to send photos of them drinking and messing around to the head teachers and apparently copies to the newspapers. I was wondering, is there any way to track back what IP the email came from? I'd hope, from there that I could ask my ISP or some other way find out a physical address to find out who did it? Or am I just thinking wishfully?

Any help is appreciated, thanks,
DMC42

[Moby-Dick]

depends on how intellegent they've been - if you look at the email header it might help, but if its a web based mail service you probably wont get very far

[TheAnimus]

if it was a real blackmale case, then the authorities should investigate, that might give them a shock.

[MadduckUK]

if the pictures have already gone to the head teacher and newspapers then they are doing it wrong

[Salazaar]

if the pictures have already gone to the head teacher and newspapers then they are doing it wrong

Unless the OP is planning the scam and is just using a cleverly worded post to figure out the best method....

Only kidding

Or am I...

Who could tell?

[Mike Fishcake]

depends on how intellegent they've been - if you look at the email header it might help, but if its a web based mail service you probably wont get very far

Would the headers not show the IP address the email was posted from, or do they just give the IP of the web mail server?

[MadduckUK]

Unless the OP is planning the scam and is just using a cleverly worded post to figure out the best method....

Only kidding

Or am I...

Who could tell?

i think your on to something there!

is there any way we can find the OP's uni from his anonymous username?

DevilMayCry42 - £1000 in used £20's in a brown paper bag,, leave it under the statue by 02:00am tonight or we let the cat out of the bag

only joking

[Lucio]

I'd go to the police, let them deal with it. Also, assuming you're in the schools IT department, you might want to check back through the logs to see if anyone has accessed the mail service from a school computer.

[DevilMayCry42]

Unless the OP is planning the scam and is just using a cleverly worded post to figure out the best method....

Only kidding

Or am I...

Who could tell?

ZOMG! My secret is out!

On a serious note, it was a badly worded post. I think the people(s) did it to try and make sure they didn't get the head boy/girl rather than black mail.
Going to the police wouldn't help very much, I don't think, as we are a year 12 lot, mostly 17 and a few 18 year-olds. Plus, given our current physical location (the middle east, if you must know), I'm not sure if them drinking is totally legal.

Oh and I'm really confused about the whole email-header thing

EDIT:

I'd go to the police, let them deal with it. Also, assuming you're in the schools IT department, you might want to check back through the logs to see if anyone has accessed the mail service from a school computer.

Everyone uses the schools computers to check their email, so I don't think that'd be the best solution really...Also, our techies are a little bit...ummm, whats the word? Lets just say not the most helpful or friendly...

[moogle]

Oh and I'm really confused about the whole email-header thing

view the source of the email (full text) and look for X-Originating-IP: [x.x.x.x]

but if the mail was sent in school you'd have little chance of finding out who it was.

[arthurleung]

Well, sure the one who did it will be there in the drinking party (or whatever), and if you cross-check with everyone who was there you should be able to find the culprit?

[Taz]

Viewing the properties of the images themselves may reveal some useful information too (camera type used and if the picture was edited then the person's name might be in the image properties if the editing program picked that up from Windows).

[MadduckUK]

devilmaycry - why do you care so much about these people becoming head boy/girl? if there doing naughty stuff there obviously not right for the position

bonus points for avoiding self incrimination

[DevilMayCry42]

Well, sure the one who did it will be there in the drinking party (or whatever), and if you cross-check with everyone who was there you should be able to find the culprit?

Nah, everyone in school has facebook, and they put loads of photos up there...I'm guessing it probably came from there so anyone who had access to their profile stuff could have done it

Taz: Thanks for the idea, I'm gonna try that, I'll get someone who had the email the forward it to me...

Madduck: More than one of these people are my 'friends', or at least people I know and get on with (the rest are right plonkers and they deserve it) so I'd rather help out. Plus I have a strong suspicion that it was a particular guy in my year, who spent most of year 11 bullying me, so I also feel strongly that he should get what he deserves - the school has threatened to expel whoever is responsible....(I have no clue why)

[MadduckUK]

if i was in that guys position i would just leak them then tbh, if the school is threatening that. it will tarnish there rep as well

ooh. its not been mentioned yet as far as i can see. but what does the anonymous person want in exchange for not giving out the pics?

[DevilMayCry42]

if i was in that guys position i would just leak them then tbh, if the school is threatening that. it will tarnish there rep as well

ooh. its not been mentioned yet as far as i can see. but what does the anonymous person want in exchange for not giving out the pics?

What?

And I dont know the specifics of what he wants...I just want to catch the guy out if it is who I think it is