What Can Someone Do With Your IP Address?

Once someone knows your IP address, they can determine your approximate location, track your online activity, impersonate you or conduct targeted DDoS attacks. Most cybercriminals will use your IP address to learn more personal information about you through phishing attacks, which can be used to identify and impersonate your internet provider. An IP address alone will not allow cybercriminals to hack into your device; however, when a cybercriminal knows your IP address, it becomes much easier for you to become a target of their cyber attacks.

Continue reading to learn more about IP addresses, what a cybercriminal can do with an IP address and how to prevent them from using yours for malicious purposes.

What is an IP address?

An Internet Protocol address, more commonly known as an IP address, is a unique set of numbers assigned to your device. Your IP address is used to identify you when you use the internet, locate you when you wait for a website to load and communicate with others on a network. Without an IP address, your device would be unable to send and receive data on a network, making it impossible to access the internet and communicate with people online. Your IP address is valuable to cybercriminals since it reveals your geographic location and network, and it can also allow them to access your device and steal your private information. There are a few ways a cybercriminal can find your IP address to begin with, including if you click an unsolicited link, click a fake ad, visit an illegitimate website, post on an online forum, use a hacked public WiFi network or fall for a phishing scam.

What someone can do with your IP address

A cybercriminal can do a variety of things with your IP address, including track your location, monitor your online activity, learn more about your personal information and even impersonate you to participate in illegal activities.

They can track your geographical location

Once someone learns your IP address, they will be able to find out which state, city or even ZIP code you are in, but they won’t be able to track your exact location. Once a cybercriminal learns your approximate location, they can do more research online to find your actual address and more information about you through social media, people search sites and your digital footprint. Someone with malicious intentions might use the information they find about you to dox you, which is when a cybercriminal publishes your Personally Identifiable Information (PII) on the internet to jeopardize your privacy. For example, if a cybercriminal learns the general area you live in and you reside in a small town, it may be easier for them to find your home address and then post it online for anyone to find. This is why it’s important not to overshare on social media, especially tagging your geographic location; a cybercriminal can verify your identity by comparing the information they learn from your IP address with what you share online.

They can track your online activity

Someone in possession of your IP address can use it to view your online activities. Even your employer might use your IP address to keep track of which websites you access while you’re at work to make sure you abide by company policies and stay productive. For example, if you work in an office building and connect your computer to your company’s WiFi network, your employer could see and track everything you do online while you’re at work if they wanted to. This is also why it’s important to set up a secure password for your home WiFi network; a cybercriminal could hack into your network and track your online activity while you’re at home if they know your IP address.

They can discover your personal information

With your IP address, cybercriminals will do additional research to find more of your PII, such as your full name and home address. Some other examples of PII include your credit card information, medical records, driver’s license number, birthdate and Social Security number (SSN). Cybercriminals can find this sensitive information by using your IP address to track your Internet Service Provider (ISP). After learning who provides your internet service, a cybercriminal may contact them through phishing emails, tricking them into revealing information about your identity and other forms of PII. Even though your IP address alone is not associated with any PII, a cybercriminal can use it to convince your ISP to share information about you, which can then be used to commit fraud or identity theft.

They can impersonate you for malicious purposes

Once a cybercriminal knows your IP address and finds forms of your PII through research and phishing attacks, they can impersonate you to commit fraud, identity theft or other nefarious acts. Imagine someone learns your IP address and finds your social media account on Facebook. If your account is public, a cybercriminal can create a fake social media profile and use all your posts and images to impersonate you. They could even send friend requests to all your followers, and your friends may believe that this fake account is actually yours. Once they’ve done this, a cybercriminal could scam your friends by messaging them and asking for money, or they could infect their devices with malware by sending unsolicited, dangerous links.

Although this can be harmful enough, a cybercriminal may even use your IP address to engage in illegal activities. For example, a cybercriminal might commit a swatting attack, where it will appear as if you reported a serious emergency to law enforcement, and they will deploy the SWAT team to your address. Other unlawful acts that a cybercriminal can frame you for using your IP address include buying illegal drugs on the dark web or downloading inappropriate content online.

They can commit a Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attack

If a cybercriminal has your IP address, they can disrupt your server’s traffic through a Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attack. When your server is overwhelmed by an abundance of sudden traffic, it will slow down or crash entirely. A cybercriminal can launch this type of cyber attack with just your IP address by flooding your device with fraudulent traffic. They will send many requests, often using bots, to overwhelm your server and target your device specifically if they have your IP address. This can cause your device to be unable to connect to the internet or even shut down entirely due to the influx of unstoppable traffic.

They can hack into your device

If someone knows your IP address, they can hack into your device using a tool called a port scanner, which identifies which of your network ports are open. After a cybercriminal scans for open ports, they can determine any security weaknesses on your device and use those to gain access. They can do this by infecting your device with malware and stealing your private information. Since the internet uses your IP address and ports to connect, your IP address can give a cybercriminal access to thousands of ports that, if open, can allow them to take your device’s data.

They can sell your IP address on the dark web

Some cybercriminals may not even want to use your IP address for themselves but rather sell it on the dark web. Your IP address and PII can be sold on the dark web, where other cybercriminals may buy them for malicious purposes, such as committing fraud or identity theft. Even if all a cybercriminal has is your IP address, selling it on the dark web can lead to your other personal information being revealed and compromised if they know how to conduct extensive online research on your identity. Knowing that your IP address could lead to other sensitive information, such as your SSN, being stolen makes your IP address alone more valuable on the dark web.

They can send you personalized ads

Advertisers can track your device’s information through embedded tracking programs, including cookies and tracking pixels. For example, if you visit a website and click on an appealing ad, the advertiser who created that ad will record your IP address. They will continue sending you ads related to what piqued your interest because they know there is a higher chance of you clicking again in the future. In several weeks, you may receive an ad for local services related to whatever you originally clicked on because the advertiser used your IP address’s geographic location to customize the ad.

How to prevent someone from using your IP address

Since someone could use your IP address with malicious intentions, you should follow the tips below to prevent anyone from using it.

Start using a VPN

A Virtual Private Network (VPN) is essential for preventing someone from using your IP address because it encrypts your internet connection and makes your online activity private. While using a VPN, your IP address and private information will stay private. Websites you visit while connected to a VPN will be unable to learn your IP address, preventing anyone from knowing your geographic location and tracking your online actions.

Update your firewall and router

A cybercriminal can hack into your WiFi router remotely and intercept your web traffic if your router and firewall are outdated. Any outdated hardware or software will leave you more vulnerable to security risks, so it is important to regularly update your firewall and router with the latest software updates. If you don’t update your firewall or router, a cybercriminal will take advantage of any security vulnerabilities and can expose your IP address. Even your home WiFi can be hacked remotely, so you need to secure your WiFi router with a strong password. By setting up your home WiFi router with a password containing at least 16 characters and a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers and symbols, your WiFi router will be more secure and make it much more challenging for cybercriminals to learn your IP address.

Do not click on unsolicited links or attachments

Be wary of any suspicious emails containing unsolicited links or attachments because these could be attempted phishing attacks. It is best not to click on any links or attachments in an unsolicited email, as this could easily trick you into sharing private information with a cybercriminal. When you click on an unsolicited link or attachment, your IP address is sent to the cybercriminal who sent the message, and they could install malware on your device. If you click on an unsolicited link that contains malware, it will install itself onto your device and share your private data with the cybercriminal. You can check if a link is safe if you’re using your computer by hovering over a link to preview its URL and determine if it matches the company it claims to be from. Another way to check a link’s legitimacy is by copying and pasting it into a URL checker, like Google Transparency Report. Make sure that you only share personal information with people you trust to minimize the chances of falling for phishing scams.

Adjust your privacy settings

Your IP address can be protected from possible cyber threats by adjusting your privacy settings on your messaging apps, such as WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger. Check that your privacy settings allow only people you know to view your online status and other profile information. Since cybercriminals can gain access to your IP through messaging apps, making your profile private will reduce the amount of information they can learn about you and use to steal your identity or hack into your account. Review your privacy settings often and update them to reflect how private you want to be when using various online apps.

Protect your IP address from cybercriminals

After learning how much your IP address can help cybercriminals collect more private information about you, it’s important to do what you can to keep your IP address out of the wrong hands. By using a VPN, updating your firewall settings and securing your WiFi router with a strong password, you can protect your IP address from cybercriminals. An easy way to create and store a strong password for your home WiFi router is by using Keeper Password Manager, which features a built-in password generator.

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