Question from Kailey.: I need help, Rick.
Someone I don’t even know sent me a message on Facebook. He said he has my IP address and he’ll use it to get me into trouble if I don’t agree to accept his friend request.
I don’t know this man and I don’t want to become his friend. What kind of trouble can he cause for me if he really does know my IP address?
Rick’s answer: Kailey, the short answer to your question is “really nothing”.
While it’s usually pretty easy for someone to track down a person’s IP address (it’s in the source code of every email you send, for example), there’s actually very little they can do with it after they have it.
They certainly won’t be able to use your IP address to make it look like you committed some kind of crime. They would need some type of access to your physical computer or mobile device in order to do that.
The bottom line is you don’t really have to worry about someone causing mischief with your IP address.
All of the above being said, you still need to be very careful when someone makes a threat like the one you received. After all, who knows what this person’s real intentions might be?
I recommend that you not send this person any messages or contact him in any way. Instead, report his account to Facebook, and then block him.
That should prevent him from harassing you on Facebook again, but you’ll still need to be careful in case he starts harassing you in other ways (either online or in the real world). If so, I recommend that you report it to your local police.
I hope this helps Kailey. Good luck!
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