Social Media Investigations: What to do when a Subject Isn’t on Social Media

Social Media Investigations at ASG InvestigationsWhat are social media investigations many would ask?  This is an in-depth analysis with the diligence put forth by experts on identifying social media platforms and scraping the internet for information, including general web references on the subject in question.  More importantly, this can benefit clients from different industries, including the need of a social media investigation for a court case, custody battle, or as simple as a background investigation.  Social media investigations are also beneficial to an injury claim, whether this is employer or insurance related.  Obtaining information through these investigations on a specific individual can be challenging at times, as the subject in question may very well not be affiliated with any accounts/profiles, as this includes Facebook, Twitter and other platforms utilized by people.  Our diverse group of investigators are experts in these circumstances and have several different approaches when facing this problem.  In general, when conducting a social media investigation, everyone that is affiliated with the subject in question will also be canvassed in terms of their social media accounts.  Here are some ways that we overcome these challenges:

  1. Relatives/Associates: During social media investigations, it is most important to identify who is affiliated with the subject in question. This is important because if the subject is not associated with any profiles/accounts, we are still able to locate and identify them through a significant-other or even a relative.  In most cases, when dealing with individuals of older age, who are more than likely not involved with any social media, we look further into the children or siblings of the individual.  These approaches taken during a social media investigation definitely shed light on the subject in question, not only do we know now what this individual looks like, but more importantly, what do their activities consist of?
  2. Employer/Workplace: Another aspect that is deeply looked into is the employer of the subject in question, where many employers in today’s world have Facebook account and others forms of social media, as this is a way to advertise. This becomes useful to us as private investigator since this is an avenue we can take and locate images or information on the subject in question.  An example here would be an individual who is a teacher, if they are not associated with any social media platforms, they can more than likely be located through the Facebook or Twitter account of the school.
  3. General Web References: In certain cases, where there is not much information garnered through a social media investigation, despite the searches conducted on individuals who the subject relates to. As this is a possibility, it is still not the end of the investigation, as experts we move on to the web, where scraping the general web and garnering web references is still valuable.  Though this may not provide any current activities or an individual’s day to day lifestyle, it can still give you a sense of their character or what this individual may be like.

Want to know more about social media investigations? Our experts can assist you in these services, as we are equipped with a highly skilled and diverse group of investigators.  Contact us for more information, as we please to service anyone with these needs!

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