Online Detectives Help Deadmau5 Track Down an Old Friend to Repay a 20-Year-Old Debt
After reaching out to his Instagram followers for help, the Canadian electronic musician was able to find an old online friend who sent him a wire transfer in the mid 2000s.
When deadmau5 calls, the internet detectives answer.
On May 8, the electronic music producer and DJ took to Instagram to ask his fanbase to help him reconnect with an old friend. He explained that he recently recalled that an online friend had sent him a wire transfer for $50 sometime around 2004 to 2006, and now he wanted to pay her back with interest.
"If you're her and you happen to see this, or know who I'm even talking about, drop me a message [request] and, who knows? I know you're not my personal investigation team, but man, this one has me absolutely f---ing stumped and I've been thinking about this person and that gesture a LOT recently and it's doing my head in," he explained in a note posted to Instagram.
Although he forgot her name, he remembered that she was from Louisiana and that he met her either on MySpace or an online forum dedicated to the band Orgy.
In a comment under the same post, he added that he remembered cashing the specific amount from a wire transfer in Niagara Falls. "[It's] the only money order I've ever received," he revealed.
The following day, after connecting with online webmaster and cybersecurity investigator Vinny Troia, deadmau5 was able to find some clues. He learned her display name, Kalika, and that she was from Russia but living in Baton Rouge, Louisiana at the time of the transfer.
Then on May 10, he confirmed that he successfully found her.
"We caught up and had a nice chat," he shared. "She's not really online anymore which was why this was a chore, but she's doing great! So now we're in touch again and I've repaid her kindness and all is right in the world. Thanks to everyone who pointed us all in the right directions!"
Deadmau5 continues to use his Instagram account to share his experimentation with automation in music production, on software like Ableton. It's a hobby that he picked up over the last year, as he spoke about during the inaugural Billboard Summit at NXNE in 2025.
He's no stranger to pointing out the dark side of technology either, having recently called out another DJ for using his likeness to promote their latest single in an AI-generated video.
“I’m sure we’re all going to be seeing much more of this,” the artist said. “AI is f–king great, generative AI not so much; but we need to stop idiots from abusing it."
