http://www.perlmonks.org?node_id=1006285


in reply to Script to Notify of Public IP Change

"unsure of whether or not their ISP provided them with a static or dynamic IP address"

Have you tried asking them? Or having the Police ask them on your behalf, as they are the customer? I'd consider using Dynamic_DNS, rather than reply on finding out changes via a cron job.

"Sometimes, it seems to fetch a "blank" when trying to resolve the IP"

Add some checking in your code, ensure $ip is a valid IP address, handle any errors accordingly.