# How do I know what country gmail is from?



## curioussuz (Sep 15, 2008)

Is there any way to know what country I am getting a gmail from? I am concerned that someone is posing as a friend from mexico...but is sending gmails to me from the U.S. Is there any way I can find out if the gmail I am getting is being sent from inside or outside of the U.S.?


----------



## Byteman (Jan 24, 2002)

Ask the sender who you suspect, a question that only your real friend would know the correct answer to.

Ask them several- if you don't get a reply, you'll know why.

Or, *call your real friend on the phone* and ask them to email you something at a certain time- a picture, whatever... you can compare the deatils (IP address info email was sent from, etc) to others supposedly from same person.

If that isn't doable, send them a snail mail explaining the situation, their reply will give you a definite answer.


----------



## curioussuz (Sep 15, 2008)

The situation is that I have a friend here...Maybe a friend, who I think has gotten into my emails...saw some from this friend in Mexico...then set up an account pretending he is him.

I am trying to ask questions and get information to figure it out without letting him know I am on to him. I am trying to get my friend in mexico to respond from his original email account.

What he is doing is SO crazy that it is hard to believe he would really pretend to be someone else. I want to have PROOF POSITIVE that the gmails are not coming from my friend in mexico. I need to know for sure that he is doing this...because if he is...it is TOO crazy and I need to be worried about what else he is doing.

Is there any other way to find out if the emails are coming from Mexico or from within the US??


----------



## ShadowProwler420 (Jun 21, 2007)

Open up the email you are questionable about, and click on the down arrow to the right of the Reply button on the email. Near the bottom of the list that drops down should be an option to 'Show Original'. Select that and search in the window/tab that opens up for the first "X-Originating-IP:" (minus the quotes, of course). Take that IP address and plug it into http://www.tracemyip.org/ (by default it grabs the IP address of the machine you are on; just click the 'Track New IP' button below the search string and enter the IP address from the email).

Although this site (like most other similar sites out there) will give you general information about the IP address, it will at least tell you what country the address is registered in.


----------



## curioussuz (Sep 15, 2008)

Hi!

Thanks so much! It is now more important than ever to find out if the email came from the U.S. or Mexico. I got the person to admit it wasn't the listed emailer (I was talking to the real person...when the impersonator was emailing)

Now they are saying they are a friend of the person in mexico...when I am sure it is someone close to me in the U.S.

I clicked on the arrow to the right of the reply button and the only thing that come up are reply and reply to all. No other options. Is there another way?

Please let me know step by step as I am a REAL novice at this stuff. I appreciate SO much your help. I am beginning to feel unsafe because of this person's deception and I need to prove it.

Thanks again!


----------



## ShadowProwler420 (Jun 21, 2007)

curioussuz said:


> I clicked on the arrow to the right of the reply button and the only thing that come up are reply and reply to all. No other options.


Hmmm, interesting. 

Are you truly using Gmail (i.e logging in to http://mail.google.com and accessing your e-mail that way)? Or are you using some other email client, such as Microsoft Outlook/Outlook Express or Incredimail, and simply mistaking "gmail" for "email"? The reason I am asking is because you _should_ have a list of 8 or 9 different options to choose from instead of only the two variations of 'reply'.

If you *are* using Gmail (the web-based email client), take a look at the attached image. The button I was referring to in my last post is at the top of the email (the button has a blue square around it in the image). If you don't have the full list of options shown there (in which I have put a red square around the 'Show Original' choice I mentioned in my previous post), then click on the 'show details' link to the left of the list (attached image has a green square around it). Clicking that link will open up the email header which should contain lines for 'To', 'From', 'Date', 'Subject', and 'Mailed-By'. Enter the information on the Mailed-By line into http://whois.domaintools.com/. Near the bottom of the results will be a Whois Record section which will give you the specifics of the server the email originated from.

If you are *not* using Gmail, what client (program) *do* you use?


----------



## calvin-c (May 17, 2006)

As I read the question, the OP never said (s)he was using GMail-only that he was receiving mail sent via GMail. So the sender is, presumably, using GMail but the recipient may be using anything.


----------

