Discord is Not All Fun and Games
Discord brings together all sorts of communities drawing the attention of investigators and intelligence analysts
Telegram: Criminals’ Favorite App
How bad guys decided to ditch the Dark Web and come to the light of messaging apps
You’ve got a refund! And other IRS scams
Our favorite time of the year has come and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is breathing down our necks. It’s also a perfect time for fraudsters to steal our sweet tax refunds. Here are a few examples of IRS scams that are most common in 2024.
Is It Legal to Secretly Record People?
Is it legal to secretly record people? General consideration for investigators who want to record over the phone or in-person conversations
Very “Friendly” Fraud: Chargebacks and Promo Abuse
How real customers become fraudsters and what to do about it
How Do You Find a Dead Person?
Basics of genealogy research to find any grave, burial, or cemetery
Have You Donated to a Fake Charity?
You might have given money to a donation scam without knowing it. How to recognize charity fraud
How To Make File Search on Google Exciting
How to easily find and unexpectedly private documents in any search engine
Some of Your Online Friends are Sock Puppets
Fake accounts that both bad actors and legitimate investigators use to gather information and how to recognize them
It’s Time to Make Your Venmo Private
Payment apps like Zelle, Venmo, Cash App and PayPal are a great source of open-source information for investigators
A Beginner's Guide to the Dark Web for Investigators
A short instruction on how to find information on the Dark Web for OSINT purposes
Investigating on the Russian Internet
A list of tools to start looking for anyone in the Russian language
Basics of Cryptocurrency Investigations
Free online tools for cryptocurrency investigators that will help to follow the money
Find a Person by Their Website Link
Best OSINT tools for website and domain investigations
The Top Browser Extensions for Open-Source Investigations
Browser upgrades that will help to speed up any OSINT work and will bring efficiency to a new level
How To Find Anyone with Just a Phone Number
Free and paid online tools allow to find massive amount of data on anyone with just a name and a phone number. Check out the list including my take on paid background check websites (it's really bad out there)
What You Didn’t Know About Mastodon Investigations
Mastodon is an actively growing open-source microblogging platform that can be used to uncover a lot of data. The service is used by many people who left Twitter but also by people who want a platform free of moderation or any control
Google Voice Scam: When Scammers Check If You a Scammer
Online marketplaces have become a breeding ground for scammers looking to exploit unsuspecting sellers. A verification code sent by a scammer can lead to a loss of a phone number in Google Voice Scam
Yahoo Boys, the “Princes” of Cybercrime
Yahoo Boys are hungry and unstoppable, they commit the majority of internet scams with devastating results for their victims
ChatGPT Use Cases for Investigations
Investigators can and should automate manual tasks using artificial intelligence. Bad actors have already been doing it.