To catch a scammer

[TG]

Just wondered what you guys thought about the following.

I followed a link today on Facebook, concerning a scam artist who travels the country and makes off with various amounts of money. I recognised the picture, if not the name, and so sought out a few more links as a result, containing the name of the guy that I DID recognise.

It looks like he's still wanted judging by recent articles on police websites (Feb/March this year) and I know where he hangs out. Well, not physically, but certainly online.

My question is, can forum owners follow up the IP addresses of any of their users? Could a person be traced from that? If so, and even if not, i have to say, TVF has a wanted criminal who still posts regularly.

I'm not going to shout the username out, but suffice to say, I think most of us know him to be a liar due to certain fake media companies.

I'm not trying to play Miss Marple, but it's definitely the guy - he contacted me when he was in my part of the country, although thankfully I only actually met him when delivering shopping.

Long, rambling, yes, sorry - but really just wondered if any more techie people would know if he could be traced through such means as TVF posts? Is it worth reporting or could they not trace him this way?

[Gavin Scott]

An IP trace resolves to a specific location, certainly - although not exactly. It would help to trace a persons location.

PM me if you like, I may be able to help.

[Bail]

You should report what you know to your local authorities, should they wish to investigate further they'll contact the relevant ISP and website. The problem is however they can't ever be sure of a link between the real life and online persona, so it's very likely they can do much without further proof that person a really is person b online. But by all means PM me over there and I'll add some notes to the account in question.