Background searches
After identifying a potential target, the online investigator should start their reconnaissance of the subject. The investigator will need to be familiar with what resources are available online and offline. Some of the information that you may uncover may consist of the following:
- Personal identifiers
- Physical location
- Social media activity
- Professional memberships/activity
- Participation in online groups
You may not have all the information to identify the subject’s online persona and connect the online persona with the physical persona. For example, if the subject has a common last name, it will be challenging to differentiate one John Smith from another John Smith. However, identifying the target’s email address may allow you to distinguish between the potential millions of hits for the common name “John Smith.”
Even with an email address, you may not get any responses to your query...
