Social media can be an information mine for both individuals as well as businesses. Social media investigations are a valuable modern tool for skipping traces, vetting and reference checks, and civil law investigations.
Osint for Efficacious Social Media Investigation
1. Google and Bing Are Your Friends
Don't underestimate the power and potential of your preferred search engine. A lot of information about almost everyone is on the internet, and many do not know about. You might be surprised by the results you find by simply searching your subject name.
Reverse image search is an additional simple method to search engines. Sometimes, a search for images will reveal social media accounts, online dating profiles, employers, personal blogs as well as a myriad of other resources. Be sure to apply an eye for detail to assess the results. There are scammers and phishers who steal photos to create false profiles.
2. Look Your Subject Up on Social Media
Social media provides clues about the subject's location as well as their lifestyle and other the interests of. According to Pew Research, 48% of users on social media find privacy settings confusing or difficult to understand. As a result, many leave some or all of their information public. A public social media profile is one of the first places to go by any investigation.
Even if a subject is protected by privacy settings, the information can still be published on popular channels like Facebook and Instagram. Facebook's graph search may uncover surprising gems since many users allow the public to see photos they have been tagged in. Insurance investigators, divorce attorneys, potential employers, and debt collection agencies have discovered valuable information and evidence of the character and lifestyle of a person just by looking at candid, casual photos shared on Facebook, Snapchat, or Instagram.
Investigators are also adept enough to scrutinize accounts that aren't quite necessarily personal, such as Pinterest. Even though users are less likely to disclose private information, these platforms may indicate their location and interest.
3. Take a look at the journals of your subject's friends
Many people allow friends of theirs to see even private details. Friends who have profiles that are public may often post comments on photos, locations check-ins or status updates that are sent by friends who have private profiles.
A recent study uncovered that more than 50% of all social networking users accept friend requests from strangers. Most social networks do not allow the creation of false profiles.
4. Keep Screenshots of Screenshots To Protect The Evidence
Since social media posts are temporary, the person you are contacting may delete offensive or incriminating content. They are frequently deleted by the subject and it is therefore essential to keep track of the posts. Keep track of the important details about the posts you discover and find a way to archive and preserve any valuable information.
5. Utilize tools for social listening
Social listening tools aid companies in the marketing and customer service aspects. Some of these same social listening tools come with applications for investigation. It would be prohibitively time-consuming to keep searching Google, Bing, and every social network for any new news on your subject. You can automate some of these tasks with social listening tools.