Okay, I need some serious advice...

[Ecumenist]

I hired a family friend, (who I have known for over 15 years), who supposedly knew what it took to build a website. I had planned to use a template but he tooted his horn about how much better it would be to build it from scratch. I had two sites I had planned. The first one that the "Artiste" talked about building was FUBAR and although I insisted on using a template for the second, the fucker started to question me about everything I wanted him to do. I was paying this son of a bitch cash because he gets disability and I did this so that it didn't mess up that.

I finally had to fire the bastard on the 15th of December after I found myself being questioned about why I incorporated in another state. I viewed the second site which was just about completed early morning, around 2 am on the 16th. I sent him a formal letter later that morning, wishing his ass well around 9 am. The only two people who had the passwords were this fucker and me. I asked him to return everything, passwords etc, for the new COMPETENT designer.

She was given the passwords and usernames later on that evening, (which is very important to note). She started work, which I when I found out how incompetent he was. I will have to have the first site COMPLETELY rebuilt FROM SCRATCH.... the second site was okay so far as I knew. Fast forward to today. I finally got my SSL certificate and asked my new web designer when I would go live. She told me I already was. when I went to look at it, EVERYTHING but the actual shopping cart, ie, store with the items was gone. She didn't realise that it was missing and I didn't either UNTIL today. She did a search and told me that it looked like it had been deleted.

I went to look at the stats for December and the one IP address that appeared most on the site for that month, which would have been him, made one last visit on December 16th 2009 @ 1:42 pm! That's approximately 4 hours after I sent him the letter and asked him for all the passwords. Looking back, I should have changed my passwords immediately but as stupid as this might sound, I didn't think I had to and it never crossed my mind in the whirl of the holiday preparations. My husband works in IT area of a very well known HUGE telecom. He did a preliminary search on that particular IP and found that it resolves to a DSL CO in the area that serves his neighborhood.

What should I do, beyond the obvious and is there any way to trace that IP to his actual physical address?

[LeftyFingerPop]

1. I would hire a private investigator that specializes in computer forensics...

and have him trace the IP addy back to this guy.

I'm assuming he is no longer a family friend, so once you have the proof that he deliberately hosed up your web site, you have two options at that point:

1) Insist that the guy make it right.

2) File a lawsuit against him.

[LeftyFingerPop]

2. P.S. You may want to see a lawyer because I am guessing that...

you may need a court order or some legal pressure to force the Internet Service Provider to give up the specific name that belongs to the ISP address.

The point here is that you suffered some damages, and you need to be made whole.

[Ecumenist]

3. Yes, indeed...I have filed a police report and an engaging

a cyber investigation company.

[mdmc]

4. You can ask him for your money back for the work you employed him to do

cc: the local SSA.

[Lil Missy]

5. I hope you can nail the bastard. I'd also report the cash you paid him to his disability provider.