Yes, I could trace you by e-mail address.
I've had the misfortune of being scammed by a few thousand dollars. So, I did a bit of investigating with the Internet.
He had moved since the initial transaction, and claimed financial hardships, divorce, and business failures caused his unfortunate inability to make good on the money he still owed for the business transaction. Further, he had changed all his information (except his name) to make pursuing him difficult.
So, with the help of the Internet, I located:
1) His new address
2) Pictures of his new residence and surrounding area (thank you Google Earth).
3) all the previous entities that had sued him recorded in public records of the state and local courts
4) pictures of his wife and step-kids on their recent vacation (despite being supposedly in the middle of a divorce and having been "screwed royally" by said "X-Wife"). They looked quite happy on this vacation that took place after being divorced and supposedly not on speaking terms.
5) documented evidence that he was still with his wife and that they were still quite happy.
6) pictures of the inside of his house
7) a rough list of his assets
8) Employer information, and list of partners
9) pictures of him in his cubical at his office
10) Do I really need to go on? I could have been him with all the information I collected just from knowing his e-mail address, name, and IP address from e-mails.
By the time I was done compiling information, I had enough information on him that I could just about become him. And, with all the documentation I had, he had no wiggle-room to hide from any legal proceedings. I could prove all his lies, and prove where the truth actually was.
Now, just imagine what someone could do if they meant you harm.
The thing is, that I can use the e-mail address and IP address attached to that e-mail to determine if the two match. If they don't, then I can look at the information separately, and combine it with other pieces of information to determine the most likely truth.
If it's an e-mail address that you've had for a while, then I can really gather information because that address will be tied to other things on the Internet. This forum for example. And, anywhere else where you've used that address, or where someone has discussed someone with that address.
I can combine what I gather to determine whether that is your real name, or if there is another name that is associated with the information I've collected.
I've actually avoided several deals and discovered potential frauds by simply checking an e-mail address on the Internet.
When I purchased my wife's computer second-hand, I had only an e-mail address from the seller. Nothing more other than his assurances that he was honest.
With just his e-mail address (that's all I had to start), I found out what his interests were. I learned about his activities. Learned what organizations he was involved with. Discovered that had written several published articles calling on politicians to crack down on child predators.
Basically, I had a complete political profile of him. I even had pictures of his home-office / work-space. And, knew where he lived, and other such information.
After I had enough information on him, I went ahead and purchased the computer. The transaction went smoothly.
I don't usually create a full profile of everyone I purchase from. But, I do watch closely for irregularities in stories. There were two messages he had sent me that had very minor discrepancies in how they related to the same information. They were minor, but concerning. I questioned him about the irregularities, and he provided a reasonable answer. But, I wanted to make sure of who I was dealing with for my own comfort.
I sold a computer to a lady and everything went smoothly. And, about a year later, I was contacted because of some irregularities in the payment (long story). I couldn't get a reply from her using any of the information I already had from her. And, I was being sent to collections because of debt she owed (it was a mess and would take pages to explain). The collection agency wouldn't provide me with any information because it was against the rules. It took me quite an effort just to find out who was trying to collect the money.
In the end, I tracked her down. With nothing more than a name and e-mail address (old information was no-longer useful), I learned her profession (a very prestigious occupation). I knew which events she was involved with, what associations she was a part of, and which boards she sat on. In the end, I was released of liability, and the people pursuing me dropped all charges and went back to where they should have been going in the first place (her).
All the above examples are instances where I obtained all that information over the Internet.
Now, you should see what I can do with a telephone. And, if you're local, I can really pull some information.
The thing is, that for me, I only use such tracking techniques to save my own butt. But, you should be aware that everything on the Internet can be cross-referenced and compared to produce a full picture of the person in question. There's enough information out there to identify you exactly with very little information to start with.
Now, I do know how to send an untraceable e-mail (one which cannot be traced because it is routed through various servers in such a way that all originating information is lost). But, of course that would make it difficult to carry-on a conversation with someone. So, that wouldn't really serve your purposes. Untraceable e-mails are most useful for scaring someone, harassing them, or making information public without being identified.
Likewise, you can route your Internet IP address and re-route it a few times to make it harder to pin-point you on the Internet. But, again, in a situation where you are directly talking to someone, that would be of little use either.
About the closest thing you could do to carry-on a conversation with the type of person you are describing without being traced, would be to:
1) re-route your IP address through at-least 4 or 5 different servers to mask your real address.
2) with IP address sufficiently masked, set-up a free account somewhere for e-mail or chat. One example might be to set-up an account on a forum where he hangs-out, and then use private messages to talk to him. Always make sure your IP address is sufficiently masked before going to the site and logging-in. Otherwise, the IP address will give you away.
3) Make sure only false information is associated with that account. But, keep in-mind that under terms of most agreements, this will amount to perjury, and is legally prosecutable if they can find you (and if they care).
4) Make sure you clear all your cookies, and other information retainers on your computer both before and after each online session. And, remember to not participate in other things that might identify you while your IP is masked.
In short, it's probably not worth your time and effort to mess with the guy. I'd leave it alone. If he knows anything about computers, he'll be able to find you.
I don't think he'd likely care enough to try and find you unless you really upset him. But, it's probably not worth it if you are concerned that he may try to find you.
It's really just best to leave those kind of people alone. Let the law enforcement know anything you already know about them. But, if you are going to actually pursue them, do it through the law enforcement agencies.
Nothing you do on the Internet is untraceable unless you go through enough hoops to cover yourself.
