Does an IP Address reveal our identity?

[austriandiveress]

I've gotten myself into somewhat of a mess. I wanted to download a video player, which is advertised as Freeware, for a web site (turns out the site is based on the island of Tonga!) that plays current episodes of TV shows, etc. You are asked to register and agree to the terms of use (here's where the trouble starts) they ask for your name, street address, date of birth and of course email adress. I chose to give none of this information truthfully, except my city and email adress, because you are sent a link to activate the player.
Long story short: I couldnt get the thing to work and ended up downloading it 3 times, each time with a different email address, because the site wouldnt accept two registrations for the same address.
I confess that I didnt read the terms of use : flame if you must, but I suspect I'm not the only person who has not done this. As it turns out, there is a clause which states that if you dont send an email cancelling your membership in this download site within 10 days, you will be billed for two years' membership.
I have received three rather unfriendly emails, one for each registration, telling me this, and also saying that if I by any chance gave them untruthful data when I registered I have already committed a crime, etc etc.
I googled frantically, and it turns out that this web site is quite well known for this. Many, many people have fallen into this and the advice thats most prevalent in computer forums is to simply ignore these threats: there are issues regarding the legality of the whole set-up, their claim that giving a false date of birth is a crime, and above all trying to charge money for what is advertised as Freeware. Also, the folks that have paid are no better off: they get a bill a year later. There have been reports about this company on TV: the show is simlar to Dateline or 60 Minutes.
So: I expect to get three more bills stating that my payment(s) are overdue, then some emails from a rather cheesy lawyer.
I plan to simply try and stay calm and do nothing: it seems according to the law in Austria and Germany I must react only if and when I get a registered letter in the mail from a court of law.
My question for you guys is this: can this company find me using my IP address? I know a law enforcement agency can, but it seems as if these people operate in a quite shady area, and I doubt that they would have any connection to the authorities.
I'm obviously uncomfortable with this entire mess and have learned my lesson: has anyone had a similar experience?

 

[mike_s]

It's hard to tell your direct address by your IP address. it will show the IP address of your Internet Service provider. but they shouldn't give up your address based on that.


as for "terms of service" license agreements, most of those are written "iron clad" by lawyers.

but I doubt they'll come after you for it. (but ya never know).



in the future set up a bogus email account for downloads.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

They are from Tonga? Do you think it is possible for mail to get "lost" on it;s way to Germany? I would not worry about it. If you ever do get a letter from a " lawyer" in Tonga make sure you have some way of verifying it really is a lawyer and not another way to scam you into paying. If the company has so many complaints and bad reports why not turn them in to someone. Over here we have state attorney generals that take a dim view of these kinds of operations. Do you have a consumer fraud agency that you can turn to. If the terms were not crystal clear on the site you may be in a position to sue them for false advertising. You probably would not get anything but if a government consumer agency went after them they might just turn tail and run away. I would not be too worried about it unless you see pygmies with blowguns and little tiny bows and arrows following you.

 

[rainynight65]

You certainly haven't committed a crime by giving untruthful information. And there's very little they'll be able to tell from your IP address alone. Many of these scam enterprises work on intimidation and rely on the fact that, given the choice between paying and being left alone, as opposed to not paying and being threatened with legal action, most people will probably pay. But if you try and give them a taste of their own medicine, they are likely to back off.

 

[Web Monkey]

My question for you guys is this: can this company find me using my IP address? I know a law enforcement agency can, but it seems as if these people operate in a quite shady area, and I doubt that they would have any connection to the authorities.
I'm obviously uncomfortable with this entire mess and have learned my lesson: has anyone had a similar experience?

If you're referring to your home service, nobody on earth can relate your specific IP address to a particular physical address except your internet provider and you.

In the US, getting this information from your ISP requires a court order (or a search warrant, don't remember which), or a really sleazy internet provider. However, I don't know what the privacy laws are in your country.

My advice would be to clear all the cookies in your browser (and in fact if you have a recent version of internet explorer, use the "reset to original configuration" button in case they've installed anything nasty), and ask your email provider to block their IP address so you don't get any more mail.

Also, whatever you do, don't post their return email address on as many high profile websites as you can find, since this would produce a lot of spam and could cause problems for them.

And especially don't post their nasty emails here or on slashdot.org, because other people might get angry with them for being such an unethical business.

Terry

 

[Jim Lapenta]

I like those last two suggestions Terry. Of course if someone went against that advice it would be a real shame to see a dirtball sleazy site operator get stuck with loads of spam.

 

[BKP]

There are more of these bait 'n switch scams than you can count, on the net... unfortunately, there are quite a few here as well. The IP can be traced as far as your provider. That's it (unless they're ordered to release it via a court order -- which is not going to happen).

Forget it. Block their e-mail domain, or better, just kill the e-mail accounts you used (that's just to keep from being bothered, as opposed to it representing a vulnerability to you). They'll just purge your e-mail from their db, once they get a non-deliverable error. They count on suckers that actually are intimidated into sending money... they're not in the pursuit business...

 

[mike_s]

for future address registration, I suggest using 1600 Pennsyvania Ave, Washington, D.C.

It's the perfect address for junk email to be sent to.

 

[wardric]

I just checked you IP adress and look what I learned:

You're a woman from Vienna, Austria.
You were certified with SSI 3 years ago and since then, you logged about 100-199 dives in lakes in Austria, Switzerland. You also made three visits to Croatia (Dubrovnik/Mlini), Montenegro and three visits to Egypt (Dahab). You reached AOW but remain humble and still consider yourself an "Average" Diver.

All that just with your IP number

 

[wardric]

for future address registration, I suggest using 1600 Pennsyvania Ave, Washington, D.C.

It's the perfect address for junk email to be sent to.

:lol: