How to uncover the identity of an unknown Email Address: OSINT🔍
When encountering an unknown Email address it may seem like a dauting task to reveal the identity/owner of said email but in reality it can be a simple task to complete. As they are many simple tricks/techniques. That will help unmasked the owner of your mysterious email account. So let take a look at a few simple techniques/tricks. Lets Begin!!!
Syllabus:
- Just Google It
- Reverse email lookup Tools/services
Just Google It
First thing you should do when you encounter and unknown email is to simply google said email address. Just like passwords a lot of people reuse the same email address for pretty much everything across the internet. For things like Work, school, banking, surveys, games, random services, etc etc. And eventually when there major leaks in some company’s database which seems to happen a lot now a days. Their email is also present in said database leak as well. Or you may find that they publicly posted it on some site on the internet.
And a simple google search can give you a lot of information like a name, occupation, a address possibly, and even insight into their hobbies and interests. Also It can serve as a pivot point for you to gain even more information on the owner of the email address.
Now let me show you a real world example(censored obviously)
I found this email address a in random email list dump I found which was dated for “2016". Now the owner of this email address was unknown to me until I simply google searched the email address. And I found that this email linked to this website(Kreavi). An Indonesian website which seeks to …
“connect Indonesian creative talents to people and businesses”- Kreavi
Now just from that we can make a educated guess that the person behind the email is Indonesian. But we don’t have to because when I visited the link that came up in the google search we can see. A full name, education history, phone number, their email, Facebook, personal website, and even their CV and more.
Now as you see I got all of this just from a simple google search. No advance technique just doing what we all do everyday Googling. Often time doing the basics can do wonders. And can give you answers in mere seconds. I encourage you to google your very own email address and see what pops. I’ll bet you will be very surprised.
Reverse lookup Tools/services
A reverse email lookup is a people search tool that provides information about the owner of an email address. In other words, it’s a tool for looking up email addresses and learning about their owners. As well as other information about them. Most of the time these search tools/services bring back very favorable results. Especially if the email address is used often across the internet. These results often include more than just a name. Like their address, birthdate, Cell Phone Number, landline, and other information which could very useful to uncover a identity. So let look at a few that I found myself using in the past.
Spokeo
One service/tool I would like to showcase is Spokeo its a paid people search tool/website that aggregates data from many online and offline sources. And comes back with result such as the owners name, address history, social profiles, address history and more. But its a paid service so if that's not your thing let looking into some free tools/services.
ThatsThem
Thatsthem is a free reverse Email Lookup Tool/service. Which will allow you to conduct a reverse email search with a click of a button. Try it out
WHOXY:
WHOXY is a unique reverse email lookup tool. It connects email addresses to registered to domains/website. With a simple input you can search for domains that are registered under your unknown email address. And possibly come up with a name from a personal website or business that they own. Which in turn can give you a possible identity.
Haveibeenpwned??
haveibeenpwned is a reverse lookup tool/service that allows users like yourself to check whether your personal data has been involved with any data breaches. And by just inputting an email address you are able to see if the unknown email address was involved in any data breaches. And you can use that information as a pivot point to explore and investigate more. To hopefully find the man or gal behind the email. Lets input the email address we previously used before and lets see what pops ups.
Oh Wow, Looks like it was involved in 3 data breaches
In conclusion, I can think of one, So hopefully you had fun with all of the new knowledge gained with this article/informational piece. Be ethical, be smart, be safe see you on the next one!!!
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Disclaimer: I am not liable for any wrongful or illegal activity against any organization or person resulting from techniques described in this article. This article is for educational purposes only.
