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Unmasking Anonymous Online Accounts: How Attorneys Can Expose Hidden Identities

For attorneys, anonymous online accounts can present serious challenges. Whether it’s a burner social media profile spreading defamatory claims, a blog smearing a client, or a shadowy post tied to ongoing litigation, the central question is always the same: Who is really behind it? That’s where unmasking anonymous accounts comes into play, and it’s an area where private investigators specializing in OSINT (open-source intelligence) can add real value.

To be clear, we’re not talking about anything illicit here. There’s no cloak-and-dagger hacking stuff that’ll land you in hot water. Unmasking an anonymous account requires patience, a solid methodology, and the uncanny ability to connect the dots across the vast—often wild—open web.

How to Start Tracking an Anonymous Account by Using OSINT

To begin the investigative process, it’s essential to gather all visible information. Key data points include usernames, email addresses, writing styles, images, and posting patterns, as these elements can offer valuable insights. Many individuals often use the same username across different platforms, meaning a handle found on X (formerly known as Twitter) may also be present on Reddit and in various forums or professional profiles. Additionally, while a profile photo might seem generic, utilizing a reverse image search can uncover other locations where the image is used and possibly reveal embedded metadata.

Following Digital Clues: How Anonymous Accounts Leave a Trail

The fun part begins with following the digital footprint. Anonymous individuals often leave small traces behind. These traces might include an email address linked to an abandoned social media profile, a domain registration that hasn’t been fully anonymized, or even a LinkedIn profile that follows a similar naming convention. It may also involve tracing the digital interactions of friends, followers, likes, and comments, gradually piecing together a mosaic that reveals the person behind the screen.

Although each piece of information may seem insignificant on its own, when combined, they start to form a clearer picture of a real person. This process encapsulates the essence of OSINT investigations: uncovering scattered clues and organizing them into a cohesive understanding.

Combining OSINT with Public Records for Legal Proof

What really makes these investigations powerful for attorneys is when OSINT is combined with other public record research. Corporate filings, court dockets, property records, and regulatory documents often link digital breadcrumbs to verifiable personal information. For example, a pseudonym mentioned in litigation records or a business registration that lists a previously hidden email address can make all the difference. Or court filings showing a suspiciously similar incident might uncover new leads. This is where unmasking anonymous accounts shifts from internet sleuthing into evidence that can be used strategically in legal proceedings.

In other cases, a group of suspects may surface, and further investigation into their backgrounds might uncover corroborating details that more clearly identify the true account holder. This might involve an account handle that appears suspiciously similar, a record of disseminating false claims, or previous participation in related legal actions.

Why Human Error Is the Weak Link in Online Anonymity

It’s rarely the tech that cracks an anonymous account. It’s the human behind it.

No matter how careful someone thinks they are, human error is the Achilles’ heel. They reuse a username they once used in a college forum. They post a photo without stripping the metadata. Or they leave a trail in the weirdest places—like a Venmo account with public transactions or a Spotify playlist linked to a real name.

It only takes one slip—or one “cracked window”—and the whole hidden identity can come crashing down.

Real Case Study: The Labor Dispute Leak

A Midwest company was under siege.

Anonymous social media accounts were popping up one after another, with each one taking shots at the business and its leadership. Posts accused the company of corruption, mismanagement, and worse. Employees were rattled. Customers were starting to whisper. And the general counsel knew that if the accusations kept up, it could bleed into the courtroom, the press, or both.

The general counsel’s gut told him it wasn’t random. These weren’t trolls from the outside. This had fingerprints indicating it was an inside job.

At the time, the company was knee-deep in a bitter labor dispute. Tensions were running high. Lawsuits were already in motion. And the general counsel had a list of suspects that was comprised of a smattering of disgruntled employees—about ten in total, each with their own grievances.

That gave us a place to start.

When we began digging, though, the trail was thin. Most of the accounts were locked down, and there were no obvious mistakes or sloppy overlaps. We found just one tiny thread: a partial email address exposed in a past data breach. On its own, it wasn’t much.

But when we lined it up against the suspects, one thing stood out: The partial email, with the exact same unique string of digits, was connected to one of the potential suspects. A coincidence? Not likely.

That was the weak link.

With subpoenas in play, the pressure shifted. The accounts went silent almost overnight. No more anonymous smears. No more burner attacks. Just … nothing.

The message was clear.

The Limitations of Unmasking Anonymous Accounts

It’s important to understand that unmasking anonymous accounts, while often effective, is not a guaranteed process. Some individuals are exceptionally skilled at leveraging practices to ensure digital hygiene. They may use encrypted communications, spoofed IP addresses, privacy-first browsers, burner devices, or offshore hosting services that make tracking extremely difficult. Others may avoid leaving metadata, never reuse usernames, and operate with clockwork-level discipline across platforms.

Even with advanced OSINT tools and experienced investigators, there are cases where the digital trail simply runs cold. Also, legal and ethical constraints limit how far investigations can go in terms of hacking, coercion, and crossing privacy boundaries.

That said, anonymity is inherently fragile. The vast majority of people, even experienced bad actors, make mistakes. They overlook a forgotten account, reuse a unique phrase, or upload an image with embedded data. And in the world of OSINT, it only takes one weak link for an entire hidden identity to unravel.

Patience, persistence, and precision remain the investigator’s most powerful assets. While not foolproof, these methods often succeed where gut instinct and guesswork fail.

Final Takeaway: Anonymity Online Doesn’t Mean They Can’t Be Found

After struggling with online defamation or anonymous harassment, many attorneys find themselves stuck, armed with suspicion but no proof. The internet’s anonymity can make it feel like the truth is out of reach, leaving clients vulnerable and legal options limited.

Now you’ve seen how OSINT and public record analysis can change that supposed anonymity. When it comes to everything from username tracking to digital footprint tracing and metadata analysis, private investigators can bring clarity to otherwise murky digital threats. You’ve also learned how these tools turn loose threads into admissible evidence.

Moving forward, if you’re facing an anonymous attack or suspect digital manipulation tied to a legal matter, don’t wait. Leverage professional OSINT investigation to help you transform suspicion into strategy and protect your clients with facts, not just theories

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Why Former Employees Are Key Witnesses in High-Stakes Litigation

Picture this: You’re knee-deep in a high-stakes case. The filings are stacked, the depositions have been rehearsed, and the official story is neat. Too neat. Something’s missing.

Now imagine talking to someone who was actually in the room when the decisions got made. They saw the late-night emails, heard the whispered side conversations, and observed the “let’s not put that in writing” moments. And here’s the kicker: They don’t work there anymore.

That distance is power. Former employees aren’t protecting a paycheck or managing office politics. They’re freer, often more candid, and more willing to tell you what really happened before the sanitized version landed in court.

And yet they’re the witnesses attorneys most often overlook.

Why Former Employees Talk When Others Stay Silent

When someone no longer has a job to protect or a manager watching over their shoulder, they’re more candid. That doesn’t mean they’ll spill everything, but it does mean they’re more likely to speak plainly about questionable decisions, compliance gray zones, or just how messy things got before the lawyers showed up.

Even if they don’t have the smoking gun, they often help in subtler ways:

  • Validating suspicions
  • Pointing out overlooked records (e.g., a forgotten report or an internal memo)
  • Identifying who really made the call (and who just nodded and went along with it)

Sometimes, they just give you context. But in many cases, context is as valuable as hard evidence.

How to Track Down Ex-Employees Who Hold the Missing Pieces

Of course, tracking down former employees isn’t always simple. People move. They change industries. Some want nothing to do with anything related to their old job.

That’s why these investigations require more than just Google searches. You need digital sleuthing to find things like resume trails, license databases, and social media breadcrumbs. And when you do find them, how you approach matters. This isn’t a deposition; it’s a conversation. Doors open when you show discretion.

Sorting Truth from Bias: When Ex-Employees Help—and When They Don’t

Some former employees are too far removed to be useful. Others may carry biases or grudges. That’s fine. Every perspective still adds something to the broader picture, as long as it’s vetted and weighed properly. You never know who holds the piece that makes the rest of the puzzle complete.

I’ve seen it more times than I can count: One conversation changes the entire case. It clarifies a timeline. Exposes a blind spot. Sharpens the narrative. Suddenly, a case that felt murky gets a lot clearer.

The Witness Everyone Missed: Why Overlooked Employees Can Crack a Case

I once had a case that was stuck until we tracked down the former executive assistant no one thought to call. We almost missed her because her title sounded too boring to matter. She hadn’t had a flashy title, but she knew everything. And she talked. That one conversation reshaped the entire strategy.

The point is this: Former employees often hold more power than you think. One call, one coffee, or one offhand memory can be the difference between a longshot and a winnable case.

So don’t overlook them. Because the truth is they’ve already seen everything. The only question is whether someone’s bothered to ask.

Why Former Employees Hold the Missing Piece

In case after case, I’ve seen former employees change the entire trajectory of litigation. Sometimes it’s an overlooked assistant who knows everything. Sometimes it’s a single email they remember that no one else thought to check.

Too many attorneys are still walking into court without tapping this resource. They’re chasing documents, deposing executives, and missing the people who have already lived through the decisions that matter most—people who are finally free to talk.

The future of smart litigation strategy is simple: Stop overlooking the obvious. Former employees aren’t just background players. They’re often the ones holding the missing piece of the puzzle. The only question is whether you’ll get vital information from them before it’s too late.

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Hidden Rewards of Tackling Impossible Deadlines as a Private Investigator

At first glance, agreeing to work with nearly impossible deadlines and challenging objectives seems like a recipe for stress and potential failure.

For many, it might even seem crazy.

But for investigators, it’s often just another day on the job—and there are surprising positives to these situations.

Private investigators are often brought in as a last resort, not the first line of defense. This means we’re no strangers to unreasonable requests, tight timelines, and seemingly unattainable outcomes. Take, for instance, the calls we get with urgent deadlines like “I need this done yesterday” or expectations that feel borderline absurd.

Most people would say walking into a job with such odds isn’t good business practice.

After all, who wants to risk failure?

But here’s the thing: These challenges also bring unique opportunities.

Standing Out by Taking on the Tough Jobs

When faced with impossible tasks, you can only do what’s realistic. Transparency about what’s achievable is key. You can still make a lasting impression by managing expectations honestly and delivering your best effort. Clients begin to see you as someone willing to tackle challenges others avoid, an invaluable position.

Being their go-to resource for tough jobs means you stay at the top of mind, build trust, and earn repeat business (hopefully with less time-sensitive projects in the future).

A Boost to Your Bottom Line

Desperation often shifts the conversation away from budgets or rates. I’m not suggesting exploiting the situation, but time-sensitive, high-stakes work usually justifies premium fees. These jobs often require immediate, intensive effort, and the resources they demand can be profitable for your business.

When You Get to Be the Hero

Sometimes, you’re lucky enough to achieve the desired result, which feels incredible when it happens. Just recently, we faced one of those daunting tasks. With limited time and an already full plate, we were asked to find a 60-year-old grand jury case—that didn’t result in an indictment—related to a recently accused sexual abuser.

If you know anything about grand jury cases, you know how elusive they can be—especially when no charges were filed. These cases often vanish into thin air, with no public record available.

But in just two days, we found it.

The result? We uncovered critical information that might have otherwise remained buried and were able to play the role of heroes for the day.

Even When You’re Not the Hero

The truth is, you won’t always get the “win.” But even when you don’t deliver the impossible, your effort and willingness to give it a shot still speak volumes. Clients remember the people who step up when the stakes are high, and the reputation you build can drive future opportunities and long-term growth.

Taking on the “impossible” may not be ideal or easy—but when approached with the right mindset, it can be an opportunity to shine, build trust, and even strengthen your bottom line.

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Contacting Former Employees for Litigation – A Private Investigators View

Former employees are tempting sources of information in litigation for opposing counsel, given that they may be eager to divulge information, can offer some compelling information and occasionally can be disgruntled.

Generally, former employees are fair game in litigation and can prove to be a vital source of information that proves infinitely more compelling than any document. At the very least, a former employee can help connect the dots or corroborate what you already have on paper.

But there is also quite a bit of nuance involved in contacting former employees for litigation, including the legalities, finding former employees, approaching former employees and finding former employees who can be helpful to the case at hand.

So let’s dig in.

Are Former Employees Fair Game in Litigation?

When it comes to the legality of contacting former employees for litigation, the short answer is generally yes, former employees are fair game. Current employees, on the other hand, are generally off-limits.

Simply put, and without getting into the legal subtleties, the courts have made it clear that contacting former employees without notifying the company is acceptable, while current employees generally fall under the category of “no contact,” which prohibits contact with a person who is known to be represented by counsel.

There is quite a bit of nuance here that we won’t fully get into. But, for example, if you know that a former employee is represented by counsel or you are trying to induce a former employee to breach privileged or confidential information, contact is prohibited.

We are no legal experts, and we don’t pretend to be, so be sure to get legal counsel on this topic before taking our advice, as it may differ, depending on the jurisdiction.

Additional Resources

How To Identify Former Employees to Contact

Wouldn’t it be easy if there were a centralized list of employees who worked at a company, along with information regarding their titles, dates of employment, responsibilities and managers?

It would certainly make our job easier, but it just doesn’t exist.

While names of some former employees may come out in discovery, there are a number of methods of identifying former employees of a company. For example, there are dozens of resume databases available on a subscription basis; the professional business social networking site LinkedIn is also a possible resource. While resume databases tend to be better for more blue-collar workers, LinkedIn can be a gold mine if you are looking for people who have worked in positions that have more of a white-collar designation. And if you go the LinkedIn route, I strongly recommend looking into LinkedIn’s premium subscription services; they will save you a lot of time and headaches.

Other methods of finding former employees include reviewing historical captures of the company’s website; reviewing other social media websites (e.g., Facebook) for references to former employment; historical news media research; checking regulatory agencies, professional licenses, litigation filings, and corporate filings; and some deep internet research.

Dig Deeper: How To Find Former Employees — An Investigators Guide

Identifying the names of the former employees is one thing, but finding contact information for them is another. You can utilize consumer-grade investigative databases like TruthFinder, Spokeo and BeenVerified, but we have found these databases to be less than stellar when compared to professional investigative databases. Plus, these consumer-grade investigative databases don’t offer the same advanced-level research capabilities, such as radius searching, age range or employer, as the professional databases do.

We’ve also done some digging into which of the professional investigative databases are the most useful.

What Types of Former Employees Would Be Helpful?

As is often believed by those who watch too much crime drama, there always seems to be that one witness or former employee who spills the beans about everything. While we investigators can dream about the perfect witness who was in the right place at the right time and is ready/willing to talk, that’s rarely the case.

The types of former employees that might be helpful depend, of course, on what type of information you are trying to uncover. As a rule, I generally recommend starting with a range of employees who may have been in a position to have the relevant information you are seeking.

It may be helpful to interview former truckers who could speak about being overworked and undertrained, dispatchers who can talk about understaffing, or trainers who can talk about lack of support from managers.

Former employees can provide insight into the malfeasance, abuse or misconduct by the company’s officers or directors.

Former ride attendants at a theme park can speak to a history of accidents and lack of managers’ concern, but also of managers who may have reported (or disregarded) the concerns.

Former employees can also provide details on collusion between financial institutions, unreported sexual abuse allegations, allegations of corporate malfeasance or

wrongful conduct by superiors.

The truth is that I’ve seen as many janitors and executive assistants provide critical information as I have seen the “perfect” former employee who was in the right place at the right time on the right day provide it. So I recommend a bit of fluidity regarding the types of people you are going to interview, especially at the beginning.

What Is the Best Way to Interview These Former Employees?

I’ve talked quite a bit in other blog posts about telephone interviews versus in-person interviews. There are legitimate arguments for both methods. But in most cases, I would tell a client to conduct telephone interviews first, and if any interviewees are particularly helpful/meaningful, to follow up with an in-person interview to get a signed statement. The exception would be sensitive or high-profile interviews of a short list of witnesses.

Having said that, 100 percent of the time it is preferable to conduct an interview in person. In a perfect world, you would call up the former employee, set up an appointment for a specific place and time, meet the person in a neutral area, and conduct an interview with two investigators — one asking questions, the other taking notes.

But that reality doesn’t really exist in my world.

For one, these employees are under zero obligation to speak, so generally, I don’t want to give the person too much time to think about what they are going to say, so I don’t call them ahead of time to give them a heads-up. I realize that sounds sort of suspicious, but the reality is that if given the choice, most people won’t want to get involved. So, personally, catching a person off guard, so to speak, is better than giving him or her time to think about talking to me.

Also, an in-person interaction can be a logistical and budgetary nightmare when you’re trying to reach employees who are based in different parts of the state or country. Imagine flying across the country and showing up at someone’s home or business unannounced to conduct an interview only to find out that he or she is out of town.   

If there are a few key witnesses who you need to speak to who you are not sure will be cooperative, an unannounced, low-key personal visit might be the best approach.

If there are dozens of former employees based around the state or country, telephone interviews might be best.

Or it may be best to use some sort of hybrid approach, doing some telephone interviews and some in-person interviews.

What Are the Risks of Contacting Former Employees?

Interviewing former employees can be a bit of a crapshoot.

For one, these former employees are under no obligation to speak, so—depending on the sensitivity of the questions, allegiance to their former employee or general reluctance—it’s quite possible that you will get a lot of the proverbial doors slammed in your face.

Frankly, I don’t blame them. Imagine a random person showing up on your doorstep asking you questions about your former employer.

Just recently, I wrapped up an extraordinarily sensitive case where nearly every person I contacted hung up the phone before I could even finish introducing myself. It was frustrating, exhausting and disappointing, but the client was well aware of the challenges and was grateful for and empathetic about our efforts.

Depending on how loyal the person is to their former employer, he or she may go back to their former employer and warn them about somebody snooping around, despite the fact that the contact was perfectly legitimate. I have seen some aggressive attorneys use aggressive tactics to stop any contact.

And there is always the possibility of problems if you reach a current employee.

What Happens If a Current Employee Is Accidentally Contacted?

Despite your best efforts to contact only former employees, there is no centralized determinant of a person’s employment status. As an investigator, we do our best to reach out only to former employees, but on occasion, we will contact someone who is a current employee of a company.

How would one know that they are a current employee?

Because determining a person’s employment status is one of the first questions we ask. “Just to confirm, I understand that you are no longer employed at XYZ Company.”

If we had accidentally reached someone who was a current employee?

We would apologize, thank them for their time and terminate all communications.

How To Approach the Interviews

Under normal circumstances, I subscribe to the idea of interviewing from the outside in. In other words, start with the people who might be on the fringes and work your way closer to the center.

This is much like peeling an onion, first gathering as much information from the surface to get to the core issues and facts, and ultimately working your way to the center of the issue.

Also, from an interviewer’s perspective, knowing the intimate details of the case before you speak to the most relevant players helps build confidence along the way.

There are different reasons why this may not be the best way to approach the case. For tactical reasons, you may want to get to the root of the issue more quickly, but as a rule of thumb, interviewing from the outside in is preferable.

How To Get People to Talk

There is an art and a science to getting people to talk. Sometimes, it’s nothing more than getting the right person on the phone or reaching them at the right moment. But other times, you need to help convince the person to talk.

I can’t force anyone to speak to me, so in building a rapport, I have to strike a balance between persistence, transparency, honesty and pushiness.

There literally are entire courses dedicated to teaching interviewing techniques, but here are a few quick tips:

👉 Build a rapport, but get to the point.

👉 Be accommodating, but don’t give them an “out.”

👉 Have empathy; a stranger asking probing questions can be intimidating.

👉 Be transparent and honest to develop a level of comfort.

👉 Be persistent; leave a message or two or three or stop by their residence and business. But don’t take it too far.

Can You Record Interviews?

Depending on the circumstance, interviews can be recorded, but generally, we don’t record interviews.

There are various state and federal statutes that apply to whether it is legal to record a phone call or conversation. In short, most states are one-party states, in which one person who is a party to the conversation must know about the recording; other states require the consent of all parties.

So for an in-person interview, you can check the local statutes to determine whether you are in a one-party or a two-party state. But the majority of interviews we do are on the telephone, so unless I ask the person which state they are in (which is an awkward question), I don’t know whether they are in a one-party or a two-party state, especially in this period of work from home and work from anywhere.

It’s just not worth the awkwardness or risk of potentially getting a critical interview discarded because of a technicality.

I can, of course, just ask them whether I can record the conversation, but that can put the person on the other side on the edge.

Instead, I take detailed notes of the interview and draft a memo immediately following the interview, which provides a non-verbatim account of the interview. If it’s an in-person interview, we would normally do the interviews with a two-person team, with one taking notes and the other asking the questions.

Final Thought

Former employees can be an incredibly powerful source for opposing counsel in litigation. But there are some nuances in terms of finding the right former employees, approaching these employees and getting the most out of these interviews.

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Private Investigators: Fact Finders or Opinion Givers?

If the Internet age has taught us anything, especially in the last year, it’s that people are not afraid to share their opinions. Whether it be politics, social issues, or politics (see what I did there?), Internet message boards and social media offer platforms where anyone and everyone can make their opinions known.

As a private investigator, opining can be a slippery slope. More often than not, our job is simply to identify and present facts. We leave the judgments regarding guilt, innocence, character, emotion, well-being or state-of-mind to the client.

We are not judges, jurors, psychologists or mind readers.

We are fact finders.

In our line of work, we are often tasked with composing background reports on a variety of people for a variety of reasons. The report may be part of a lawsuit, for an investor, or for a business deal. The first rule of writing these reports is that we NEVER offer our opinion. Our job is to gather information, analyze it, and report the facts in a clear and concise manner that informs our clients and allows them to make informed decisions. The only opinion that matters is the client’s, not ours.

So, while we can tell the client that we identified dozens of photos of what appear to portray drug use with youngish women, calling the person a drug-dealing pimp is not something we would ever do.

Similarly, suggesting that someone is a loving person, “reformed,” or presuming that someone had turned around their life intimates that we are mind readers or psychologists. The truth is, we still get surprised at which facts our clients find relevant to their bottom line and which they find irrelevant.

We were recently provided a portion of a fellow investigator’s report in which the social media section was basically a reflection of how the investigator felt about the person. It contained multiple uses of the word “I” and their personal opinion on the person’s social media presence. The investigator also used descriptive terms about how they felt, like “heartbroken,” and that the person they were investigating was a “shining example for men like him.”

[Side note: Social media is the most dangerous place to start judging people, since people tend to portray their lives on social media as they WISH they were and not always as they are.]

We are not judges, jurors, psychologists or mind readers. We are fact finders.

When investigators offer their opinion, they are essentially controlling the narrative and steering the client’s opinion in a certain direction. Not only that, the investigator may provide an opinion that they are not qualified to make so that the stated opinion is worthless.

In doing background investigations, for example, our job is to identify any potential red flags or issues in a person’s past in order to assist the client in making what is essentially a very important business or personal decision. It is of zero importance if we think that the person being investigated seems like a really nice guy because he donated to a charity for his birthday or if we think that he got a raw deal in life because he seems to love his family.

Of course, if clients want our opinion, we would provide some color and context. But we leave the decision-making up to them.

Let me be clear about something—when you spend hours digging into someone’s life inside and out, you will undoubtedly form an opinion of the person, that’s just human nature. And your gut feeling may help guide you down whatever rabbit hole you end up going down. However, when you are hired by a client to create a report, your personal opinion must remain in your head and never reach the page.

This is not just true in background investigations. If an investigator is doing surveillance for insurance purposes, it doesn’t matter much if they think the person they are surveilling is not injured, it only matters what the facts and evidence say.

Similarly, an investigator may think that they are being lied to by a witness during an interview, but unless they have some facts and evidence to back that up, it’s nearly useless.

As always, we will stick to collecting and reporting the facts.

We’ll leave opinions to armchair quarterbacks and keyboard warriors.

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What Is Pretexting, and Is It Legal?

I have had an ongoing debate about pretexting with a fellow private investigator over the past several years.

This colleague loathes the word “pretexting,” in part because of the definition of the term.

Pretexting is defined by the Federal Trade Commission as “the practice of getting personal information under false pretenses.” Sounds pretty ominous, right? Expanding on the definition, “personal information” is described as bank and credit card account numbers, information in a credit report, bank account and investment portfolio information, and Social Security numbers.

In much simpler terms, pretexting means representing yourself as one person in order to obtain private information about another person.

There are a few types of pretexting that are completely off-limits and punishable by law:

The Telephone Records and Privacy Protection Act of 2006 made it a federal offense to utilize pretexting to buy, sell, or obtain phone records.

Pretexting for financial records was specifically outlawed in 1999 under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, which made it illegal to solicit others to obtain financial information via pretext.

In addition, while there is no pretexting provision in the law, HIPAA privacy laws protect an individual’s medical records unless consent is provided by the patient.

Although not exactly considered pretexting in the classic sense, there are also a few other forms of pretexting, better described as “impersonation,” that are also punishable by law:

Representing yourself as a police officer or law enforcement officer in any capacity or giving the impression that you are a police officer or law enforcement officer is illegal.

Falsely pretending to be an officer or employer acting under the authority of the United States or any U.S. department or agency is illegal.

Some examples of completely illegal activity are contacting a doctor’s office and falsely pretending to be a patient in order to obtain medical records, inquiring at a telephone company to obtain phone records of another individual, and asking a bank or credit card company for the statements of another individual.

But if you consider the definition once again as “the practice of getting personal information under false pretenses,” pretexting includes a number of practices that private investigators utilize on an almost daily basis. While most people apply the definition of pretexting to some sort of scam, private investigators typically use pretexts to do their jobs.

For example, surveillance investigators may contact an individual’s residence to determine whether the person is home. The surveillance investigator may call the residence and ask for the target person, pretending to be a friend, colleague, or business associate.

They may also call saying they have a delivery for John Smith and want to know when Mr. Smith will be home to sign for the package. An investigator who is looking for someone may call a cell phone to confirm that the number is in fact that of the person sought. In each case, the investigator, when asked, “Who is this?,” is certainly not going to say, “private investigator Danny Jones.” More likely than not, the investigator will use a fabricated name.

So, in these examples, is this pretexting? Technically, yes, because the investigator is using false pretenses to elicit information.

Is it illegal?

In my view, and in the view of many investigators, obtaining “sensitive information” under some form of pretext is troubling and concerning. I’m not a legal expert, but I think you will be hard-pressed to find anyone who has ever been charged for conducting an innocuous investigation such as the ones described immediately above.

There is a gray line here, however. There are lots of techniques used by investigators that are completely unethical but may not be technically illegal; for example, if I called pretending to be a former employee of a company and obtained salary information of the former employee, or if I impersonated a hotel guest to get a copy of a bill or posed as an airline passenger to confirm a flight.

Ethically, I wouldn’t touch those with a 10-foot pole; legally speaking, I am not sure if this crosses the line.

Also, I don’t know an investigator out there who doesn’t have a fake social media profile. That certainly violates terms of service of the social media firm, but the reason investigators typically use a fake profile is to avoid getting caught snooping around. You would cross the line if you were “friending” a target to get nonpublic information or engaging with them to get access to information you wouldn’t otherwise be able to get.

A few years ago, the investigative firm Ergo used a fake-journalist ruse to dig up dirt on an adversary of Uber. Ergo was ripped to shreds by a federal judge overseeing the case, who highlighted a litany of irresponsible and “arguably criminal” acts; however, it doesn’t appear that the company was criminally charged.

Reckless? Careless? Unethical? For sure, but not illegal.

So is pretexting illegal? In certain cases, the answer is absolutely yes. But between that illegal area and the not-so-illegal area, there is a cavernous gray area.

So, where do you draw the line in pretexting?

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5 Lessons from Corporate Investigations Gone Bad

This has been a bad couple of weeks for private investigators.

First, there was the story of Credit Suisse, which hired private investigators to follow a former top executive whom the bank thought was trying to poach employees and clients. But the former executive got into a confrontation with the investigator hired to tail him. The investigator is facing a criminal probe, and the consultant who helped Credit Suisse hire the investigators to trail the executive committed suicide just this week. Now Credit Suisse is reeling from the controversy, saying that the surveillance on the former executive was “wrong,” which ultimately led to the resignation of the COO, who authorized the surveillance.

ext, there was the story of Neil Gerrard, a partner from the white-collar law firm Dechert, who was suing an investigative firm for spying on him after they placed a camouflaged camera on his property to try to gain access to a private Caribbean island where he was vacationing. Operatives were questioned by police after claiming that they were the nephews of the Gerrards. Police found a “large amount of electronic equipment, including a camera adjusted for night vision use” on one operative, who was denied entry to the island; and at least two operatives have been interviewed by British Police.

The investigative firm doing the work, Diligence of London, was allegedly doing work for ENRC, which Gerrard formerly represented. ENRC is being investigated by the UK Serious Fraud Office amid allegations of fraud, bribery and corruption, and is currently involved in litigation against Dechert and Gerrard, accusing them of breach of contract and overcharging for Dechert’s services.

Then yesterday, the Wall Street Journal posted a story about Greg Lindberg, who is facing criminal charges in what has been described as potentially “one of the biggest U.S. life-insurance insolvencies in recent decades.” Lindberg reportedly hired dozens of surveillance operatives to spy on “actual and prospective romantic partners, assembling dossiers on the way.” According to the Wall Street Journal, “Mr. Lindberg paid for dozens of surveillance operatives to tail the women up to 24 hours a day, taking surreptitious photos and sometimes putting GPS trackers on their vehicles.”

The firm that was doing the work? Apex International, a North Carolina firm that happened to be owned by Lindberg. (Funny how you can’t even find a website for the company.) It is interesting to note that GPS trackers are illegal in Apex’s home state of North Carolina without the permission of the owner of the vehicle.

Lindberg also spied on one woman by having someone secretly enroll in the school she attended, and tracked another woman by having one of his agents rent an apartment across the hall from where she lived to keep tabs on her. Investigators were told that the woman had “agreed to the surveillance,” but suspected that it was not true when one investigator said, “I realized what I was doing was horrible” when “I was putting fear in a woman in a certain situation.”

What can investigators and businesses learn from this?

Think Before You Hire an Investigator

Most of the casework that we do never gets to court, but every time we need to make an ethical or moral decision that may cross the proverbial gray line, I ask myself, “What would a jury of reasonable people think?” If there is even a hint of unscrupulous behavior, I won’t do it. It’s not worth risking my reputation, license or standing in the investigative community, no matter how much money it will make us.

If you are conducting corporate “espionage,” you should be asking, “How is this going to look when I read about it in the Wall Street Journal?”

If you think that placing a surveillance camera on someone’s private property to monitor the comings of goings might not look so good, don’t do it.

If you think that the CEO of a billion-dollar company using company funds to create dossiers on his prospective romantic partners might not result in favorable media coverage, don’t do it.

Or if you think surveillance of a former executive that could result in a confrontation might lead to weeks of bad public relations, don’t do it.

It might seem like overkill, but it might also save you from some serious embarrassment, like ending up on the front page of the Wall Street Journal.

The More Sensitive, the More Caution

If we get near that proverbial gray area, we typically won’t do the work. But if there is a really touchy case, which is either a sensitive topic (e.g., sexual harassment), politically motivated or dealing with powerful people, we advise you to proceed with extreme caution.

That means following the letter of the law to a T; using the most experienced, trustworthy investigators that you can find; and taking riskier steps only when you have exhausted every other possibility.

If you want to do surveillance on a former executive because you think he might be violating the terms of your agreement, go for it. But don’t skimp by hiring only a few operatives, who might get caught. And at the first sign of any issue, the surveillance should be broken off completely.

If you are going to do surveillance on a partner of a white-collar law firm, it’s probably not a good idea to trespass on private property.

On a personal note, I was personally surveilled by another investigative firm recently. These guys were all over the local Facebook page of my local community, surveilling the wrong house until they found me. And when they finally did find me, they had only one guy trying to follow me.

Spoiler alert! That didn’t end very well for them.

A Little KYC (Know Your Customer) Goes a Long Way

Businesses need to know who they are getting involved with.

Investigo GmbH, who carried out the surveillance for Credit Suisse, has Google reviews ranging from “Very unfriendly staff” and “Only fixated on money” to “Bad experience, not to be recommended, rude and stubborn,” resulting in 1.4 out of five stars.

All that took was a five-second Google search to learn.

Likewise, as an investigator, you need to know who you are working for, their motives, and whether or not they are going to push you into some unscrupulous behavior.

Would I track down an address for an attorney to serve a lawsuit? Absolutely.

But tracking down the lover of my client’s ex-husband in order to “deliver some boxes she left behind”? Nope.

Who You Hire Is a Reflection of You

The three cases I described above have one thing in common: an element of surveillance or on-the-ground work.

It’s clear that, at least in a few of these cases, the investigators were either breaking the law (e.g., going onto private property, attaching GPS trackers to unsuspecting vehicles) or at the very least skirting it in a really gray ethical area. 

It’s clear that there will be a lot of questioning of the judgment of those who hired the investigators.

Rightfully so.

Another Notch in the Belt for Open Source Intelligence

Over the past few years, there has been an explosion of information available to investigators through open source intelligence (OSINT) and public records. With the right training and access, there are millions of points of data available at an investigator’s fingertips, sources ranging from social media, historical domains and deep web research to historic newspapers, litigation filings and credit header information. There is an entire cottage industry of people who only do covert research, which, if done properly, is nearly impossible to detect.

At the end of the day it is hard to dispute the value of making in-person inquiries with friends, families, neighbors and colleagues, former business partners, or local law enforcement. Or doing surveillance.

But those inquiries have risks, namely that it may get back to the target of the investigation. There are, of course, times when only surveillance, interviews and on-the-ground work can get the answers you are looking for.

But you have to ask yourself if it’s worth the risk if someone finds out?

I guess you will have to ask Credit Suisse, Greg Lindberg and ENRC.

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Need to Hire a Private Investigator? 6 Questions to Ask Yourself

Not every person, corporation or law firm needs to hire a private investigator on a regular basis.  Realistically and thankfully, a private investigator is not someone that everyone has on speed dial.

But if a situation requires one, before you hire a private investigator, take into consideration these questions:

What is your objective?

Are you trying to find someone, collect on a judgment, determine if it’s worth suing someone or perhaps investigate a complex matter? With some cases, the specific objective may be obvious, but often clients are not sure what they really want. Having an ultimate goal or objective before you hire a private investigator can help control costs and focus the investigator in the right direction.

Do you need subject matter expertise?

Investigators often have a specialty. These include surveillance, matrimonial cases, insurance disability matters, internal fraud investigations, adoption, computer forensics, forensic accounting, litigation support, due diligence investigation and background checks.  Hiring the wrong investigator for the wrong job may doom your case from the start. Before you hire a private investigator make sure the investigator you hire has a proven track record in the area you present to them.

What do you already know?

It’s important to collect every relevant piece of written or electronic information in your possession to provide to the investigator. Also, be sure to tell them everything you know—even if it’s not written down. This insures that the investigator has the best tools to be effective and efficient so that they can hit the ground running.

How will the information be used?

Are you trying to get information for your own use or do you anticipate litigation relevant to the information?  In the first instance, it may be appropriate to deal directly with the investigator, but if there is litigation in the works, your investigator should be retained by an attorney to protect work product privilege.

What are your expectations?

We all love a good Sherlock Holmes novel or an old episode of Colombo, but it’s called fiction for a reason. Understanding what the investigator can legally, properly and ethically do will save you from unrealistic expectations and trouble down the road.

What are the risks if inquiries become known?

What if the investigator is caught digging around? If the inquiries the investigator is making are exposed, what’s the backlash?  Think this through. This is key to developing a leak proof investigative strategy to avoid embarrassment or worse.  An investigative approach depends on the sensitivity of the case—make sure you and the investigator are on the same page about technique. Is it necessary to take every precaution and be sensitive or can the investigator go in with guns blazing?

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