What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
California
Sorry if this is in the wrong section.
So anyways, I was playing a prank on one of my friends (online, not in real life), and I went to his thread on an online auction site for gaming accounts under a fake name and tried to impersonate a "middleman" to see what type of things I could do before breaking it to him and returning everything.
However, he/she went to the site administrators for confirmation, and filed a complaint on IC3.gov for internet fraud before I could get anywhere.
As far as I understand, making a fake email address is not a valid form of identity theft, as I lack all types of information that would put me under that type category, such as I never introduced a credit card or any sort of identifying information that I could have supposedly "stolen" from the real person.
So now, the person I was attempting to impersonate for fun (have no idea who he is), and 2 websites supposedly have my "IP address" information, and it is really starting to freak me out that some sort of fine is going to land in the mailbox.
I am in fact a minor, and I seriously don't need the FBI or some sort of law enforcement investigating me for a failed prank.
I have a dynamic IP address, so changing the IP address of my household is an option, but I was wondering how seriously people take these cases. Will the people from the sites or the government trace the IP address down to my neighborhood and mail fines or whatnot?
There was no monetary gain or loss, no other sort of gain or loss, just getting a fake name banned from the site and making me super paranoid. I am not legally able to be charged for identity theft, and making a new email address cannot possibly be a form of that.
So, to sum everything up:
-Can they trace my household and send fines just from the IP address supposedly recorded by the sites?
-Is this serious enough for me to be in legal trouble?
-Is changing my IP address necessary?
-Am I subject to law enforcement monitoring from this incident?
I'm just some kid who needs to know whether I ruined my future or not.
Thanks everyone
California
Sorry if this is in the wrong section.
So anyways, I was playing a prank on one of my friends (online, not in real life), and I went to his thread on an online auction site for gaming accounts under a fake name and tried to impersonate a "middleman" to see what type of things I could do before breaking it to him and returning everything.
However, he/she went to the site administrators for confirmation, and filed a complaint on IC3.gov for internet fraud before I could get anywhere.
As far as I understand, making a fake email address is not a valid form of identity theft, as I lack all types of information that would put me under that type category, such as I never introduced a credit card or any sort of identifying information that I could have supposedly "stolen" from the real person.
So now, the person I was attempting to impersonate for fun (have no idea who he is), and 2 websites supposedly have my "IP address" information, and it is really starting to freak me out that some sort of fine is going to land in the mailbox.
I am in fact a minor, and I seriously don't need the FBI or some sort of law enforcement investigating me for a failed prank.
I have a dynamic IP address, so changing the IP address of my household is an option, but I was wondering how seriously people take these cases. Will the people from the sites or the government trace the IP address down to my neighborhood and mail fines or whatnot?
There was no monetary gain or loss, no other sort of gain or loss, just getting a fake name banned from the site and making me super paranoid. I am not legally able to be charged for identity theft, and making a new email address cannot possibly be a form of that.
So, to sum everything up:
-Can they trace my household and send fines just from the IP address supposedly recorded by the sites?
-Is this serious enough for me to be in legal trouble?
-Is changing my IP address necessary?
-Am I subject to law enforcement monitoring from this incident?
I'm just some kid who needs to know whether I ruined my future or not.
Thanks everyone