How to Use Social Networks for Private Investigations
Social networks allow members to upload personal profiles which can be customized with photos, blogs, videos, etc. Private investigators that would like to learn more about a person but doesn't want to alert that person to the presence of a private investigator may use social networks to gather intelligence on someone covertly.
Social networks also allow the private investigators to get close to the subject of an investigation through the use of virtual disguises. Creating virtual profiles is so easy that a private investigator taking a few moments out of his or her day to establish a new identity on the web in order to get closer to the subject of an investigation is rather easy. Using a virtual disguise in order to conduct an investigation will be more helpful in certain cases than others. Virtual disguises on social networking platforms can be used to determine a person's level of integrity, can be used to find people, and can be used to determine what level of involvement somebody had in a matter. For less complicated cases, a virtual disguise may not even be necessary for the private investigator. If a member of a social network has set their profile to be viewed by any and all who want to see it then gathering the desired information will be easier for the private investigator than having to provide a false cover.
Private investigators who want to do some digging should try to gather as much alias information from clients and subjects as possible. It is very likely that a person who wants to keep their private life private will create their own dummy social networking profile to use for less than honorable purposes. One way to track down these dummy profiles is to pay attention to profile pictures (using the same picture on two different profiles), pay attention to nicknames (used to create alternate profiles) and to pay attention to important dates (using the same birthday for different profiles).
When examining a profile or social network for clues remember not just to limit searches to the subject of the investigation. This is especially true in missing person cases. Friends and family who are listed as friends on the subject's profile may be able to offer clues as to the subject's whereabouts and other habits. A private investigator may decide to use different cyber disguises between talking to subjects of the investigation and talking to friends of the subject. This will prevent friends of the subject from mentioning that the same stranger talking to the subject has also been talking to his or her friends.
The best thing about using cyber disguises besides how easy they are to set up is that they can be dumped quickly should the need arise. If one disguise doesn't work the private investigator can create him or herself another profile and start again. It would be wise to limit the number of times that this happens because the subject may become suspicious of so many people he or she doesn't know asking for information. Sources:
Published by T. Jay Kane
T. Jay Kane is the owner/operator of www.FreelanceWritingSvcs.com, a full service writing agency in the Pacific Northwest. The work presented here is offered as a digital portfolio of T. Jay Kane's professi... View profile
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