Tag: social media investigations

Fraud Update: Online Sales and Marketplaces

Many criminals continue to turn to the internet to unload stolen goods. Some sites require more information than a thief is willing to part with, which then leads them to other sites that have less security. Because of the anonymity some sites offer, it is important to search for the type of goods being offered on the site. User name searches are not always fruitful. Searching for items may back you in, if you will, to the criminal’s information.

Equally important is the rise of employee fraud. We wrote about this earlier this year. In Employee Fraud in the Digital Age, we discussed a case study. We once worked on a scan for an Investigator whose subject was suspected of selling a very unique set of stolen auto parts. The employee had created an eBay account and made the mistake of using a familiar user name. After the user name was revealed in our Deep Web Scan, we turned our attention to the online websites that sell goods to consumers. We were able to piece this information to that of our client’s subject. A huge catalog of stolen auto parts were on display.

Online Sales

According to Web Retailer, “47% of ecommerce sales were made through online marketplaces in 2020, amounting to nearly two trillion dollars. They also list 155 marketplaces that have more than one million visits per month, internationally.

How did this explosion in online selling happen? Over time it evolved, of course, but within the last couple of years, more and more people rely on it due to the Pandemic. Each online platform works differently, making it very difficult to find the scammers. Let’s take a look at a few of the top marketplaces to start.

Facebook Marketplace

Facebook noticed that its users were buying and selling things in groups across the platform. In 2016, it created a dedicated hub where people could post items for sale in order to reach interested buyers. They created what is now known as Facebook Marketplace, and they grew it to 1 Billion users.

The volume alone dictates that it will be a breading ground for fraud and scammers. Facebook is well aware of the issues they have and have publicly stated that they use software as well as outsourced people to review listings flagged by the software and to answer user complaints.

Most recently, you can find fake COVID vaccine cards for sale. However, for the most part you can find just about anything here.

Amazon Online Sales

It is a little more difficult to sell on Amazon. You can either sell your products to Amazon or on Amazon.

As a consumer, it is important to pay attention to who is selling an item. For example I recently purchased a specific style of shoes. I didn’t think much about it and when it was delivered it was an obvious counterfeit. It even had a very strong chemical smell. It was obvious I was a victim of a seller of counterfeit goods.

The Washington Post recently had a great article titled, “How to tell real products from scams when shopping online.” They actually listed out some good OSINT research tips, such as doing a reverse image search on the item you are looking at. It is also smart to research the company name.

eBay Online Sales

When it comes to online sales fraud, you most likely think eBay. eBay has been around since 1995 and it is no stranger to these issues. While there are many other marketplaces, It is still a gigantic places to sell all kinds of used and new products. When conducting research on a person or company allegedly selling stolen goods online, it is still the best place to start.

A couple of OSINT tips when searching eBay:

  1. Search the site for every known user name. You may even want to mix it up a bit by mixing user name letters and numbers. For example, consider the following fictitious user names; @windycity146, @tom.day, @daytom – I would search each of these but then combine to create new ones that the user may be using on eBay. Such as @tom146, @day146, etc..
  2. Search the site by utilizing the “Advanced” button, which will display new options for searches. Toggle to “show results” and then “items near me”. From here you can plug in a zip code up to 10 miles or more. This is an excellent way to search if you do not know the user name of your suspect.

You Shouldn’t Post That Here

By now we have all been schooled on what we shouldn’t post publicly in social media and why. In fact, you can read all over the internet why it is not a good idea to post your COVID vaccination card. It is also not a good idea to post about vacation plans.

When it comes to insurance fraud, a claimant’s social media posts plays an important role in any investigation. When someone is trying to claim an injury when there isn’t one, they need to lock down. You would think that the fraudster would be careful when they post publicly in social media. This is not always the case. In fact, recently we performed a deep web scan on a person suspected of insurance fraud. This was a workman’s comp case. A friend of the person actually cautioned him about a post he had recently added. She came right out and told him to be careful what he was posting. He answered her post by saying, “I not. I know how this works.” The original post was deleted, so we never knew what he posted to make her say that. It was suspicious however, that he left this exchange up on his profile page. In other words, he knew he might be watched in social media.

“Checking social media accounts has become one of the first things an insurance company or adjuster will do when you file a claim,” says Frank Darras an attorney from California who specializes in law suits against insurance companies.

Source:Auto Insurance Quote

What to Look For in Social Media

When we conduct a deep web scan, we start with the data points that we know to be true on an individual. Name, address, date of birth, employer, address and email addresses. They are all critical pieces of information because each one may hold an attachment to something online about our person of interest. It is also important in authentication. We need to be certain we have the right person.

Some tips we have learned along the way that may be of help to you include the following:

  • Check for multiple profiles. You just found your person of interest’s Facebook profile and you think you are done there. Not always so. Many people have secondary profiles. They may have set them up, forgot about them or they use each one for different things. Believe it or not, you may discover them by looking through their friends list. This is especially true in Facebook.
  • Tell a Story: Across all social media platforms, it is important to check the dates of posts. When you put them altogether, they can tell a story of a person’s activity. Just by combing through this information, you may find an inconsistency in their story or claim. Perhaps they are claiming to have taken a fall at work. Yet, a social media post may show them complaining about back pain days prior. Connecting the dots doesn’t mean they are automatically guilty, but can mean that a deeper investigation is needed, just to be sure.
  • Proof of legally attained social media posts: That is where meta data comes into play. If you find something in a person’s social media profile, you are going to want to extract that post and gather the intelligence behind it. Remember, screenshots can easily be altered.

Video is the Golden Child

Instagram, TikTok, YouTube are all examples of social media known for their videos. People post videos of all kinds of things there. Searching these platforms can be very lucrative because of it. Just remember, if you do find something important there, you will want to not only obtain the meta data, but extract the actual video to keep as evidence that is admissible in court.

Keep in mind that we can extract videos and photos as well as capture the meta data from the post. Timing is everything however, and what is here today can be gone tomorrow.

Analyzing Social Media Posts

Analyzing social media posts is most likely something you don’t really do on a regular basis. Unless the case calls for it, there is not always a need for it. However, when there is, so much can be uncovered!

Don’t F**k With Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer

If you are a Netflix subscriber you may have seen this documentary. It is one of the best OSINT films out there. The documentary uncovers the months it took a group of online sleuths to reveal a real life killer. During the documentary it is revealed how helpful social media posts were in finding clues to the whereabouts of this criminal. It is graphic, so be forewarned. However, the diligence of these average people is noteworthy. It takes time to really dig and even when your subject leaves clues, it can be difficlut.

One scene in particular focuses on the street lights in a city. The subject posted a photo of himself in social media on a city street. One person recognized the style of the street lights and pinpointed them correctly as being in Ontario, Canada. She was correct, however it took so long to persuade the local police to believe her story, the suspect was already on to a new location.

It is also a great example of how important it is to really look at social media posts.

Social Media Post Threats

When scrutinizing social media posts, carefully look beyond the person in the post. Is there a computer screen or tablet that you can zero in on? What about a clock in the background? Cross reference this with the date and time of the post.

Photos of a person’s home can be important as well. Recently, we conducted a deep web scan on a person who was suspected of selling drugs from her home. We searched for a post that she may have forgotten about online that showed her with the drugs. While we did not uncover anything like that, because she had deleted it all, we did uncover something else.

She was showcasing herself in a very specific Reddit group that served as a an advertisement of sorts linking to an online porn site. In this case, she did not show her face on any of the posts. She did however, take all the photos in her bedroom. We were able to link her bedroom from her public Facebook posts to the bedroom from her Reddit posts. Since this was a child custody case, this was an important find.

Reverse Image and Exif Information

Where possible, reverse image searching and checking exif data can help provide additional information when investigating uploaded images. We explained in more detail what Exif data is in a recent post titled, “Where Was This Social Media Photo Taken?”

Reverse image can be done with a Google Image search or Bing Image search. Some paid versions are Tin Eye and Social Catfish.

The Dark Side of OSINT

After the horrific attack on U.S. Congress this month, many law enforcement people turned to photos on social media and the deep web to locate people of interest and to investigate further.

An article, “The Dark Side of Open Source Intelligence” warns to be careful when using this method.

“While the use of open source intelligence has been praised by law enforcement and investigative journalists for its crime-solving efficiency, public data can be dangerous when used in haste on social media. The speed that makes OSINT so effective as an investigative tool can also make its use more susceptible to blunders and bias. From terrorist attacks to protests and mass shootings, open source intelligence has led to inaccurate vigilante-style justice and the doxxing of innocent individuals.“

Like everything else online, some is real and some is not. Cross referencing for data accuracy is critically important.