How can police get IP address of deactivated Facebook account?

[timsmith]

So, I created a fake Facebook account and sent a message to a friend that was questionable. The friend didn't know it was me. I regretted what I did and soon after blocked my friend from the fake account, deleted the messages, deactivated the account and it is now marked to be deleted in 14 days.

My friend made a screenshot of the message and has made a police statement.

I understand that the police can request IP addresses of Facebook accounts and thus could track me down.

But, they have to be able to identify to Facebook which account they need the info on. As the account is deactivated, they would not be able to see it to identify it to Facebook.

I think all they have is the screenshot which shows the Facebook name, but I have checked and there are 35 live accounts with the same name and presumably a lot of deleted ones.

So, given that the police cannot see deactivated accounts, how can they request the details from Facebook?

Am I missing something?

 

[USAFRet]

So I created a fake Facebook account and sent a message to a friend that was questionable. The friend didn't know it was me.
I regretted what I did and soon after blocked my friend from the fake account, deleted the messages, deactivated the account and it is now marked to be deleted in 14 days.

My friend made a screenshot of the message and has made a police statement.

I understand that the police can request IP addresses of Facebook accounts and thus could track me down.
But they have to be able to identify to Facebook which account they need the info on. As the account is deactivated, they would not be able to see it to identify it to Facebook.
I think all they have is the screenshot which shows the Facebook name, but I have checked and there are 35 live accounts with the same name and presumably a lot of deleted ones.

So, given that the police cannot see deactivated accounts, how can they request the details from Facebook?

Am I missing something?

You think Facebook actually deletes that? :lol:
No.

They know the username.
They know the date/time.
They just have to look in the server logs, and see what IP address a message from "timsmih" came from.
Then, knowing the IP address, they just have to ask the relevant ISP who had that specific IP address on that day and time.
That leads to a specific billing address....you.

 

[timsmith]

But the account is deactivated. The police need to log in to Facebook and view the account in order to find the specific Id in order to make the request to FB. But how can they do that if the account is not visible? They could say to Facebook, give us the details for account timsmith, but as there are 35 accounts with that name and presumably lots of deleted ones, how can they identify to Facebook the exact one they want?

 

[das_stig]

If this was me, own up, apologise and hope your "friend" takes it no further.

If Police do become involve, just admit everything, say how stupid it was to do it and you regret it.

They'll probably just give you a ticking off, unless you made some seriously dodgy comments.

 

[zyh1987]

Most if not all company keeps audit trails, whats not visible to you and others, they are not only monitored but also backed up.

Just be careful what you say or post on online. I have done something similar in The past, didn’t take long for the police to find me.

 

[zyh1987]

Like other suggested, if its just a joke, explain to the police what happened, apologize to the friend, delete the comments and prepare to take any aftermath. For something more serious, go get a lawyer first.

 

[USAFRet]

But the account is deactivated. The police need to log in to Facebook and view the account in order to find the specific Id in order to make the request to FB. But how can they do that if the account is not visible? They could say to Facebook, give us the details for account timsmith, but as there are 35 accounts with that name and presumably lots of deleted ones, how can they identify to Facebook the exact one they want?

No, the police can ask Facebook directly.

They don't have to attempt to log into that account themselves. They have a screencap of the username, date/time, and the particular comment/conversation that happened.

That's all they need.

"Duplicate" usernames or not, Facebook knows the IP address it came from.

Yours.

Fess up, apologize, and don't do that again.

 

[bignastyid]

A few calls a warrant or 2 and the cops will be knocking on or knocking down your door.

 

[zyh1987]

especially after the recent shootings here and there, it's not that hard to get warrants at all. so yea, life lesson dude.