Social Networking in Private Investigations

Social networking sites have changed the way people interact. In this day and age, it is no longer necessary to leave the comfort of one's keyboard to interact with friends, colleagues, or the rest of the world. The concept is simple: users sign up for a free profile which they personalize, add pictures to, add text too, and boom, that profile becomes available for the world to see. Much like the idea of the friends list within instant messaging software, each profile comes stocked with a section devoted to those whom the user has added as friends. For private investigation professionals, opportunity exists to exploit such social networking sites.

In most cases, the only way that a person can view the customized profile of another person is if the seeker is a member of the social networking site and / or if the owner of the profile has granted permission for the seeker to see the profile. Granting permission is usually done via a one button click through an email alert that reads something to the effect of "So and So wants to be your friend. Approve?" If the profile owner allows for So and So to be accepted as a friend, then So and So now has access to the contents of the profile. Along with that comes the option to contact the profile owner via network specific instant messaging software or bulletin boards on the customized profile. Some sites do allow for unregistered users to view and contact certain profile owners, if those profile owners have chosen to make their profiles available to the public (this option is usually given to the profile owner when he or she first signs up with the network.)

In terms of private investigations, these types of social networking sites are invaluable tools. From these sites, multitudes of intelligence can be gathered on specific subjects. This information is particularly helpful when the location of a subject is of primary concern in an investigation. The investigator just has to use a bit of creativity in analyzing the information. For example, social networking sites often offer a section for the user to post what kind of music they like, sometimes even allowing users the capability to play actual songs on their page. This information can come in handy by narrowing down the possibilities of late night hang outs. If a young man lists himself as a diehard country fan, a good private investigator would most likely not have much luck setting up surveillance at the local punk rock concert.

Pictures in profiles can also tell a lot about a person's possible location. Pay attention to the background, look for any unique signs, lighting, or buildings that may give the location of the picture away. Be careful though, it is possible that the picture is outdated, so look into the tag lines (or the titles) of the pictures. If they read something like "New York, last summer", then there is nothing to guarantee that your subject is still in New York this summer. If a picture reads "My latest B-Day Bash" and the person lists their date of birth as having been last weekend, then you are closer on the trail. Unless the person took a B-day vacation (few do), then there is a good chance that the subject is still within some reasonable radius to the location of the bash.

Profile pictures can also show the different ways people can change their appearance from running everyday errands to enjoying local night life. If a profile has existed for a number of years, the included photos can establish an appearance timeline, which can be helpful if a case or leads have gone cold. Try to print off as many quality photos of your subject as you can, as they will come in handy if and when pictures need to be shown around. This same concept applies to vehicles, which can be easier to spot and tail from a distance, assuming you are stealthy about it. Photos of associates are also helpful. If informants have never seen your subject, but are positive that they know the location of an associate of your subject, tracking the associate can lead to success in tracking the subject, especially if multiple photos of the same associate exist on the subject's profile. Remember, people are creatures of habit and relationships, and if they know that they are being sought after, they will more likely than not seek out the company of a person they can trust.

These are only some of the uses of social networking sites which private investigation professionals can use in their work. Log on to the internet and try to find as many social networking sites as you can. Sign up for a few and create your own profiles. The beauty of these sites is that the only real form of identity verification you need is an email address, which can be set up in under five minutes. These social networking sites let you be anyone you want to be. It's like a digital version of the classic pretext (or undercover background story, for the non-P.I.s out there).