Purpose of recording the IP of new signups?

I've seen many hosting sites that record the IP of the visitor during the signup process. It'll say on the screen "Your IP address has been recorded" as if it is an effective tracking device (in the event of fraud, I suppose).

But what good is that IP address, really? I remember in the past I've asked about how to track someone down based on the visitor's IP, and I was told it can't be done. It just narrows down to an IP block.

Can you in fact trace an IP back to a specific user? If so, I would really want to know how...

Vito

 

 

 

 

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