What can someone do with your IP? Protect yourself now
July 08, 2024
When you take measures to protect your data, you probably think about safeguarding your passwords, contact information, and banking details. But your IP address is also an important part of the picture.
You’re probably wondering, what can someone do with your IP address? If a cyber criminal gets hold of your IP, they can use it to learn your location or commit nefarious acts under your name — which can lead to consequences like identity and data theft.
Here’s how IP addresses work and how to protect yours from this cyber crime.
What is an IP address?
An IP address — which stands for internet protocol address — is a numeric identifier that helps networks recognize and interact with your device. Any device that connects to the internet, like a phone or computer, has one of these digital addresses.
IPs make it possible for the internet to distinguish your device from another one and correctly deliver or pull information from you instead of, say, your coworker. When you receive an email or wish to open a website, your IP address helps the network make sure your device gets that message or can view that page.
What does your IP address reveal about you?
Chances are you don’t know your IP address like you know your mailing address. Even if you did have your IP memorized, it could change if your internet service provider uses dynamic IPs. In other words, it’s not important for you to know the specific number — so why would anyone else want to?
These numbers matter because your IP reveals your general geographic location. Someone who views the IP knows whether your device or the router it’s connected to is in Illinois or Italy. If you’ve ever been unable to access your favorite streaming series while traveling, that’s because streaming sites see your IP and block you from viewing films unavailable in that geographical area.
If a cyber criminal finds your IP, they can deduce where you live. This isn’t exact, and they can’t see any other information like your phone number or name. However, skilled hackers can use your general location to learn more about you, and they could use that to get into your home network and hack your devices.
How can someone get your IP address?
The more data cyber criminals have on you, the easier to impersonate or steal from you. Getting your IP address helps a scammer complete the “puzzle” of your identity. It’s like a corner piece: small but integral.
Here’s how someone might be able to access this information:
Site visits: Website administrators can see which IP addresses have visited their sites.
Social media platforms: Social media platforms collect IP data on their users.
Peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing: If you share files on a network, other users may be able to view your IP address.
Hacking: If an unauthorized third party gains access to your device, they can see your IP.
Other malicious activity: Cyber criminals can run fake Wi-Fi hotspots so that you leak data, like your IP address, when you connect. These defrauders might also send phishing messages or ads containing links or attachments that, when you click, grab your information.
What can someone do with your IP address?
Not everyone who can see your IP address intends to do harm with it. A website, Wi-Fi network, or social media administrator likely has no intention of misusing this data, and it’s normal for these people or enterprises to have your IP.
But if a cyber criminal does gain access to your IP address, they can commit nefarious acts with it. Here are a few ways a bad actor might use this information:
1. Learn your location
While IPs provide general geographical information, a cyber criminal can use this data point combined with others — like your geotagged posts on social media — to zero in on your home address. Your home address might be the missing link in forming an identity profile that criminal uses to impersonate you.
2. Frame or impersonate you for malicious acts
Cyber criminals have IP addresses, too, which means that the authorities can use someone’s IP to track them down. But if a criminal uses your IP address to commit fraud — like making malicious banking transfers from your account while on “your home network” — then the authorities will think it’s you. A criminal might also sell your IP to another, who can use it to mask their identity when committing illegal acts online.
3. Ask for ransoms
Hackers can target your IP address in a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack, which floods your system with bot activity and ultimately crashes it. A malicious actor may use your IP to threaten you with a DDoS attack, which can take you or your business offline if you don’t pay a ransom to stop it.
Is it legal to track an IP address?
IP addresses can be traced legally. Not everyone with access to this information intends to commit a crime, and anyone can find an IP address relatively easily. The crimes that people commit with your IP are illegal, not the act of tracking it.
A business owner has access to the IP addresses that visit the company’s website and might use that information to understand where potential clients are geographically. This is not a crime. An employer might view employees’ IP addresses to track productivity or make sure someone’s where they say they are. This isn’t a crime, either, but the company may have to get consent to track IPs depending on local law.
How to protect your IP address
Improve your virtual privacy and avoid falling victim to fraud, ransoms, and other digital crimes protecting your IP address. Here’s how:
Update your firewall and router’s firmware: Once a cyber criminal has your IP address, they may seek a vulnerability on your connected devices to hack you or plant malware. When you update your firewall projection and the firmware on your router, you make sure it runs the latest and best security defenses.
Use VPNs: A virtual private network (VPN) is a tool that masks your actual data, including your IP address, when online. VPNs aren’t failproof, but they’re a step toward protecting your personal information.
Update your privacy settings: Check the privacy settings on tools you frequently use, like your web browser, email service, or chat platforms. You may be able to limit who sees your IP address.
Use a dynamic IP: Ask your internet service provider (ISP) for a dynamic IP, which changes every few hours. If a cyber criminal gains access to your IP, you’ll already have a new one by the time they can start a nefarious scheme with the one they stole.
Change your passwords: Keep your passwords and accounts safe by changing them often. Even a criminal with a complete picture of your identity will have trouble hacking into your accounts if your passwords are always different. Change passwords every few months and use biometric authentication to keep hackers out.
Surf safer with IronVest
Knowing how criminals might abuse your IP helps you take better precautions. But masking or keeping a close watch on who sees your IP won’t totally protect you.
IronVest is an extra layer of armor against crime. With IronVest, your accounts are safeguarded by biometrically authenticated passwords, and you enjoy masked email addresses and phone numbers so that hackers never can complete a profile of your real identity. Get IronVest today and browse without worry.
FAQs
Q: Where can I find my IP address?
A: If you’re curious what your IP address is, you can look it up in your device's Wi-Fi properties. The exact location of this information differs depending on whether you have a Windows or Mac operating system or want to look up your IP on your phone, so consult device-specific instructions for finding this information.
Q: How do I know if my IP address has been hacked?
A: Telltale signs that your IP address has been hacked include getting redirected to websites you didn’t look up, seeing odd pop-up ads or browser add-ons you didn’t install, and slow internet or device performance. That said, these signs aren’t definite markers of IP hacking, either. They could point to another issue with your device or connection.
Q: Can I change my IP address?
A: You can mask your IP address using a VPN service or proxy server — which is similar to a VPN, but a server, not a private network. You can also get a dynamic IP, which changes automatically every few hours for a more private IP address.