Going into an investigation interview with no knowledge of the interview subject is like going into a job interview with no knowledge about the company. You’re unlikely to get the information you need (or the job you want). Before meeting an interview subject an investigator should do some online research on the interview subject. Background information can help the investigator establish rapport, identify areas of vulnerability and determine questioning strategies.

1. © 2016 Hetherington Group
Cynthia Hetherington
Cynthia is one of the most respected authorities on
the topics of online investigations and online
security.
•Librarian
•Analyst
•Security Practitioner
•Investigator
•Author of:
 Business Background Investigations
 The Manual to Online Public Records
 Web of Deceit
 Data2Know.com: Internet & Online Intelligence Newsletter

2. © 2016 Hetherington Group
Investigating Online:
Conducting Pre-Interview Research
Cynthia Hetherington
www.hetheringtongroup.com
CH@hetheringtongroup.com
Cynthiahetherington
HetheringtonGroup
@HetheringtonGrp

3. © 2016 Hetherington Group
Overview
 Introduction
 Learning Objectives
 Tools
o Public Records
 Free and fee based sources
o Social Media Tools
 Biznar
 Pipl

4. © 2016 Hetherington Group
Cynthia is a…
• ACFE Faculty
• ASIS Economic Crime
• OSMOSISCon host
• Author & publisher
• Analyst
• Security Practitioner
• Investigator
• Tech
• Librarian

5. © 2016 Hetherington Group
Learning Objectives
• Gain an introduction to public record searching,
and its valuable use to backgrounds and due
diligence
• Participants will learn new search engine
resources and how to properly conduct online
background checks.
• Alert services, both free and fee based will be
introduced.

6. © 2016 Hetherington Group
Start with the Beginning: Relationship
What do you have to offer?
•Companionship
•Security
•Sex
•Money
•Access
•An excuse for a night out!
 Did you Tinder, OkCupid
or just Facebook each
other?
 Are you in love?
 Bored with the
love at home?
 Rebounding?

7. © 2016 Hetherington Group
Start with the Beginning: Work
What do you have to offer?
•Companionship
•Security
•Sex
•Money
•Access
•An excuse for a night out!
 Did you LinkedIn,
Craigslist or just Facebook
each other?
 Are you offering
something great?
 Bored with your
current job?
 Being used to gain
advantage.

8. © 2016 Hetherington Group
Background Checks We all Do
• Google them.
• A majority of your leads will be developed by the
information that gets fed back to you in the first 30
seconds.
• Using Google, and other search engines, correctly
will be more effective in conducting that search.
• Use the leads, record your findings and then add
the professional tools.

9. © 2016 Hetherington Group
Google Search Results
Linkedin
Facebook
Twitter

10. © 2016 Hetherington Group
Google.com Proximity Searching
• New York within 15 words of Yankees
• new york * yankees
• “Carlos Gonzalez” within 15 words of “Orange
Police”
• “Carlos Gonzalez”* “Camden Police”
• Carlos Juan Gonzalez or Carlos J Gonzalez
• “Carlos * Gonzalez”
• Missing word “I * the ABC Company”

11. © 2016 Hetherington Group
Public Records & Open Sources
 Public records were once found in city clerk’s
offices, court houses and government offices.
 Now via the Internet the majority of US public
records are available for free, including those
belonging to your subject and yourself.
 Open sources are considered in addition to public
records, such as news and media, social media
posts, anything located via a search engine

12. © 2016 Hetherington Group
Your Public Records
 Litigation history
 Media history
 Business & personal affiliations
 SEC filings
 Corporate records
 Regulatory history
 Vendor & supplier relationships
 Academic records
 Financial records
 Property records
 Board appointments
 Liens, judgments, and UCCs
 Subsidiaries and franchises
 Physical assets
 Political & charitable causes
 Intellectual property

13. © 2016 Hetherington Group
Online Databases
 Much information is available
online, yet there are some
limitations
 Some information may need to
be retrieved in hard copy and
delivered
 There are annual, monthly, or
“pay-as-you-go” services

14. © 2016 Hetherington Group
Public Records – Online Limitations
 Must be licensed to gain
access
 Types of records vary widely
from state to state and county
to county
 Searches are limited by
geography
 Online records may be brief
abstracts of original records

15. © 2016 Hetherington Group
Public Records – What to Know!
 Prefer .gov over .com when possible.
 Verify the currency of the database.
 Check how far back the records and data go
back.
 Non-US countries tend to have stronger
privacy laws and weaker database systems.
 There really is no comparison to US public record
systems

16. © 2016 Hetherington Group
Online Domestic Fee Sources
 TransUnion TLO
 Experian
 KnowX.com
 Microbilt
 Acxiom
 USSearch
 Tracersinfo
 CLEAR
 Accurint
 LexisNexis
 IRBSearch
 LocatePlus

17. © 2016 Hetherington Group
TLO.com

18. © 2016 Hetherington Group
CLEAR.thomsonreuters.com

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LexisNexis: Accurint & IRBsearch
& KnowX.com too!

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Tracersinfo.com

21. © 2016 Hetherington Group
Other Websites of Interest
 BRBPublications.com
 Searchsystems.net
 Degreeverify.com
 disexpress.umi.com
 blackbookonline.info
 Arachnys.com
 KnowX.com
 192.com – UK
 infobel.com - World
 Local Courts
 State Courts
 BRBPublications.com
 Federal Courts
 Pacer.uscourts.gov
 Special Courts
 Intellectual Property
 USPTO.gov
 Wipo.int

22. © 2016 Hetherington Group
Free Domestic & Foreign Resources
 Check out the Web site of your target
 Be sure to look at the archive.org and Zoominfo.com
 The regional library will have localized
information and news
 Look at any associations your target belongs to
 News, News, News! It’s International and
comprehensive

23. © 2016 Hetherington Group
Alert Services: Free or Fee
FREE
Google.com/alerts - Varied
Echosec.net – Social media
(may be fee based)
Socialmention – S.M.
Biznar – Varied
Searchtempest – Auction
FEE
Factiva - News
Nexis - News
ProQuest - News
GeoFeedia – Social media
Clear SMA – Social media
Vocus – Social media

24. © 2016 Hetherington Group
Yippy.com

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Yippy and Highbeam

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Zoominfo.com

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Zoominfo

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Non Profits and Charities
 Guidestar.org
 Search Guidestar's database of more than 1 million U.S.
nonprofit organizations.
 charitynavigator.org
 charitynavigator.org is another site. Not as detailed, but good for
a back-up.
 They are focused on the U.S.; however, I have found Canadian
and South American nonprofits in these sources!
Hetherington Group

29. © 2016 Hetherington Group
Guidestar.org results

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Archive.org

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Socialmention *

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Biznar *

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Addictomatic

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Pipl

35. © 2016 Hetherington Group
Namechk.com & Peekyou.com

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Questions?

37. © 2016 Hetherington Group
Thank You!
Cynthia
Hetherington
www.hetheringtongroup.com
CH@hetheringtongroup.com
Cynthiahetherington
HetheringtonGroup
@HetheringtonGrp
Join us next month @ Morris
County Police Academy
http://www.hetheringtongroup.com/livetraining.shtml