IP address search giving multiple location results?

Question

I am contacting breeders to enquire about puppies and got an email from someone whom I believe may be a scammer. I searched their IP address which I obtained from gmail and have received some differing results.

One was Canberra, others were Brighton VIC, Anglesea VIC, Craigieburn VIC.

Is there a way of determining their location? Could they be based in Melbourne but have sent the email when they were in Canberra? They told me they were visiting family in Sydney at the moment but I'm not sure why you would go to Sydney with a 9-12week old puppy?

Any insight into IP addresses would be appreciated!! Thanks.

Answer 1

Ip address lookup is not an exact science, it's not as consistent as postal codes. The process involves manually compiled tables of Internet Service Provider locations, the IP address identifies the location of their providers connection point to the internet, not the physical location of the user.



I see geo targeted ads thinking I'm in a city 20 miles South or 30 Miles West of my actual location.





This article notes:

"Note that if you receive an email sent from a Gmail account through the web browser, you may not be able to find the real IP address because Google hides the real IP address of the sender. However, if someone sends you a mail from his/her Gmail account using a client like Thunderbird, Outlook or Apple Mail, you can find the originating IP address."



http://aruljohn.com/info/howtofindipaddress/

Answer 2

No it seems like this person is using TOR or something like that. Think of TOR as a means to bounce your IP address so no one can trace it. If you think it is a scam then move on after all the dealers you should trust are the ones you meet face to face. Well even then ...

Answer 3

Oh right, thanks I didn't know you could do that.



I have only received an email saying there is a puppy available so I will see what their next reply is and if they will let me view the puppy and it's parents.