When Gmail first jumped onto the web based e-mail scene a few years ago, its service was available only to those who had been invited to use the service. Now it is free to anyone who wishes to use it and it has become one of the most popular free web based e-mail services on the internet. This is due largely to its large storage space and extra features like POP3 access and chat. Of course, Gmail is also very attractive to cyber stalkers and like other web based e-mail services, is popular among those who use e-mail to send uninvited harassing or annoying messages to others.
If you have been receiving unwanted e-mail from a Gmail address, there are steps that you can take to find out who has been sending you the e-mail and get them to stop.
Your first step should be to use the reverse e-mail search offered by Gmail itself. This is because it is easier for Gmail to search its own e-mail records than it is to get them to reveal information to an outside source. If you are a Gmail account holder yourself you might also have more leverage than you would as an "outside" e-mail account holder. Try using Gmail's reverse e-mail lookup system to see what kind of information you can uncover about the identity associated with the e-mail address that has been sending you unwanted e-mail.
If you don't have much (or any) luck with the Gmail reverse e-mail search system, there are a lot of independent reverse e-mail search systems on the World Wide Web. A simple search with any of the major search engines will turn up plenty of different search systems in which you can look up the identity that has been assigned to the e-mail address that keeps turning up in your e-mail inbox. The key in this search is to be tenacious. Do not give up if you don't find out who has been sending you unwanted e-mail with your first reverse e-mail search. One search service might have an easier time of accessing Gmail's records than others.
If the e-mails feel particularly malicious you might consider hiring a professional to run a reverse e-mail search for you. Gmail is especially attractive to the cyber bully because Gmail will strip the senders IP information from the header. Thus the Internet stalker thinks that he cannot be identified from a header trace.
While it is true that the header information from a Gmail email is useless in tracing their identity. That does not mean that it is impossible to identify and locate the sender of a Gmail email.
Every time a person uses the Internet or signs up to an online service and enters their email address, they leave a footprint and that footprint can be tracked and traced back to the sender. The professional investigator has developed years of sources and resources in order to obtain this information that may be unavailable to the average person.
There is also something called the "deep web" and this information is not accessible by a simple goggle search but it is available to a seasoned investigator that has spent years developing methods to search these areas of the web.
So a Gmail account may be more difficult than the average reverse email search. It may even be too difficult for the average person to trace but It's by no means impossible for a professional that specializes in email tracing
Copyright (c) 2008 Ed Opperman
When Gmail first threw its hat into the email ring a few years ago, its service was open only to those who had received an invitation. Now, however, it's free and has exploded into one of the most popular email services available - thanks to Google's trusted brand name, its simplicity, the huge amount of storage space available for absolutely free, extra features (such as POP3 access), embedded web and video chat, and so many more! Is it any question, then, that millions of people are already using Gmail - even though it's a relative newcomer on the email scene?
And though Gmail's spam filters are among the best available, there is a chance that, at some point, you'll receive unwanted email - and it might even be from a Gmail address. In such an instance, your best bet is to use Gmail's own reverse email search; it's easier for Gmail, after all, to search its own records than to have an outside source looking in. See what you're able to discover about the sender. (Gmail is especially attractive to those wishing to remain very much anonymous, because the headers in any given piece of mail are stripped of any and all IP information. Thus, the stalker or hacker believes himself or herself to be secure.)
Even if you don't have much luck, or any at all, you are far from out of options. In fact, now would be a good time to check out one of the many free independent reverse email search engines available online. When using these sites, the key is to remain tenacious - because it may take a good while before you produce results. Giving up is the last thing that you want to do; after all, even if the reverse email search engine you are using isn't having any success at all, bear in mind that there are those services which, for whatever reason (and there exist a few possibilities), have more success than others!
If you are still having little to no success, or if the email received was of a particular harmful or malicious nature, you might want to consider contacting a third party for some needed extra help. I am referring to professional investigators who specialize in online matters, since they have tools at their disposal not necessarily available to you. Every step taken online leaves a 'footprint' - data that can be tracked and which will inevitably lead to the person who has been taking the steps all along. This is true even if the person in question is using dial-up or a handful of proxies; while these factors could slow down a search, they are never able to stop a search in its tracks altogether!
Private investigators often have access to what is known as the "deep web" - information not available through conventional means such as, say, a simple Google search. So always remember that the only way to ensure your subject gets away is for you to run out of steam and simply give up. Otherwise, you should inevitably be able to find the information that you are looking for! Best of luck!
Ed Opperman has sinced written about articles on various topics from Mobile Phone Reviews, Phone Bills and Child Custody. Ed Opperman invites you to visit his cyber investigation website for all of your email search needs. He offers cyber stalking investigations , internet infidelity investigations,. Ed Opperman's top article generates over 90500 views. to your Favourites.