Litigation Support – White Collar Fraud Investigation – Corporate Fraud Investigation

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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Best Tools Private Investigators Use to Find Hard-to-Find People

Have you ever tried to find someone, an ex-employee, a key witness, or someone who has gone dark, only to hit a wall, even after hiring a private investigator?

Why do most “locate reports” come up short when the person you’re trying to find actually doesn’t want to be found? And why is it so hard to get real answers when you need them most?

Last week, I shared some interesting case studies to find people, but in this article, I’ll share why most people-search services and investigative firms fail, even when they have access to professional databases. I’ll also show you the tools, methods, and decision-making frameworks we’ve used to locate individuals others could not, even after multiple firms had tried and failed to find these hard-to-find people.

 You’ll learn:

  • Why most locate reports are just data dumps (and what that really means for your case)
  • The tools we rely on when someone’s gone dark
  • Real-world tactics that go far beyond software or subscriptions

Because in the world of serious investigations, it’s not about magic tools—it’s about experience, strategy, and knowing where to look when the usual methods fall flat.

When Typical Locate Reports Fail

If you’re trying to track down someone like Jane—a stay-at-home mom who’s lived at the same address with her husband and kids for the last 15 years—then a standard locate report might actually work. Running her name through professional databases like IDI or TLO, or even a commercial subscription service like Intelius, TruthFinder, or Spokeo, could turn up the right address. These tools tend to do well when the person hasn’t moved much, has kept consistent records, and hasn’t tried to hide.

And then there are the cases where we’re given almost nothing to start with. A first name, maybe a city, a former employer, or sometimes just a vague connection. Like “He used to work construction in Phoenix,” or “She might’ve gone to school in North Carolina.” No last name, no date of birth, no address history. That’s when the real work begins. These aren’t just data searches; they’re puzzles. In those situations, it’s about pattern recognition, creative pivots, and looking where others never think to look. You can’t just run a report; you must build the story from scraps.

We get called in when the usual tools fall flat. When someone has changed names, moved without leaving a forwarding address, or deliberately scrubbed their digital footprint. That’s when the copy-and-paste locate reports from cheaper services not only fall short, they give a false sense of confidence. They tell you what might be true, not what’s provable. And in legal or high-stakes situations, “maybe” doesn’t cut it.

Common Mistakes Investigators Make, and How to Avoid Them

In the majority of failed investigations we’re called in to clean up, one thing stands out: the previous investigator relied on a single source of information and came up empty.

Law firms often send us the locate report from their last PI, and what we see is almost always the same: a cut-and-paste export from a professional database like TLO, IDI, or Delvepoint. That’s it. No verification, no context, no narrative. Just raw data that assumes the last known address is current and that every record is accurate.

Here’s the hard truth: dumping data into a PDF isn’t an investigation; it’s wishful thinking dressed up as a deliverable.

If you want real results, you have to think beyond the screen.

Common Mistakes That Cause Investigations to Fail

Below are some of the most common mistakes we see other investigators make, and why they fail:

Overreliance on a Single Database

Too many investigators pull data from one source, like TLO, and assume the most recent address or phone number listed is valid. But no single database has everything. Each pulls from different public records, credit headers, utility info, and scraping sources, all of which have gaps.

Why it fails: If the person has changed names, moved recently, or taken steps to avoid detection, that single-source data may already be outdated, or intentionally misleading.

No Cross-Verification of Key Data Points

Even if you find an address in a database, that doesn’t mean the person lives there. Good investigators cross-verify that information with other records: DMV data, voter rolls, property deeds, court filings, and more.

Why it fails: Without a second or third source confirming the same address, you’re building your case on a maybe, and in legal or high-stakes matters, “maybe” isn’t good enough.

Lack of Context or Narrative

Dumping data ≠ solving the problem. Raw data can’t tell a story. It doesn’t explain why someone moved, or how different addresses might connect through a relative, job, or phone record. Or if the address is just one of many database errors. 

Why it fails: Dumping a dozen addresses into a report without explaining their timeline or relevance leaves clients confused and misled. Worse, it can send legal teams in the wrong direction.

Failing to Pivot When the Trail Goes Cold

When the database comes up short, some investigators stop. They assume that’s the end of the road, or the client is unwilling to pay for it. But real investigations are about creative pivots like using vehicle sightings, licensing records, breach data, or social media breadcrumbs to find a new lead.

Why it fails: People who don’t want to be found leave misleading trails on purpose. You can’t out-database someone who’s hiding. You need real-world logic and lateral thinking.

Assuming the Client Won’t Notice

Some firms cut corners, assuming the client won’t know the difference between a thorough search and a recycled report. This might be a news flash to some people, but law firms have access to TLO, just like investigative firms. That might work once, but not twice. Law firms, in particular, can spot a lazy locate when they see one, and if they’re sending that report to us, it means they already know it didn’t deliver.

Why it fails: Credibility matters. And once your client sees that all you did was regurgitate a database export, they won’t call again.

What Actually Works

There’s no magic tool or one-size-fits-all method. Real results come from layering multiple data sources, confirming what’s real, and using logic, pattern recognition, and persistence to build a narrative that makes sense.

It’s not about copying data. It’s about connecting dots.

How Real Investigations Begin: What You Need Before You Start

When I say I’ve been able to “find people,” I usually mean one of two things: I’ve got them on the phone, or I have an address, verified through multiple sources, in hand. While email addresses can be useful, in most of my work, they’re too easy to ignore to rely on.

To actually locate someone, you need more than just a name. One piece of information rarely does the job. But give me two or three reasonably solid identifiers, like where they lived, worked, or went to school, and things start to click. With three good data points, I can usually track someone down. With only one, it’s often a guessing game, unless the person has a unique name.

Too often, I see other investigators run a name through one or two databases like IDI, TLO, Delvepoint, or Tracers, grab the most recent address, and move on. That kind of surface-level work doesn’t cut it.

I believe in confirming everything. If I get an address, I want a second or third source to back it up. That might be voter rolls, DMV records, property deeds, or anything else official that strengthens the case. When you’re serious about results, you don’t settle for maybe, you prove it.

Is It Always Possible to Find Someone? Not Exactly.

I like to say everyone can be found with enough time, money, and persistence. But those things aren’t unlimited. Not every case allows for hours of stakeouts or deep dives into digital trails. The real skill lies in knowing the available tools and choosing the smartest, most efficient path forward.

That said, the idea that everyone is findable just isn’t true. Sometimes the details are too vague. Sometimes the request itself feels off. I’ve had more than a few people ask me to find someone they sat next to on a flight last Tuesday, or someone they “forgot” to get a number from after a two-minute conversation.

One person once asked me to find “a guy named Tony” whom they’d met at a music festival in 2017. No last name, no city, not even a photo—just a memory of him wearing a red flannel shirt and liking old cars. That’s not an investigation. That’s a long shot at best, and throws up some red flags at worst.

What It Really Takes to Track Someone Down

Most of my work focuses on U.S.-based cases, primarily involving white collar matters. I’m not chasing international scammers or fugitives from the Most Wanted list. My cases are more grounded, but no less complex.

Often, I’m hired to locate someone who needs to be served in a legal matter. It could be someone covering their tracks or simply hard to pin down due to limited details, a common name, or a transient lifestyle.

In other cases, it’s about finding potential witnesses in civil or criminal matters, like Mike, an Uber driver in Chicago, identified only by a blurry profile picture. Sometimes it involves tracking down former employees who may have crucial knowledge, like Jeffrey Jones from Walmart in Bentonville.

And every so often, the challenge is locating someone with a common name and almost no supporting details, the kind of search where experience, persistence, and a bit of intuition make all the difference.

The Best Tools Private Investigators Use to Find Someone

People always want the list. “What tools do you use?” Here’s the truth: it’s less about having access and more about knowing how to use what you’ve got.

Some of the tools below are not so secret, but they might not be used often to track down people. We’ve worked hundreds of complex people-finding cases, including those that other firms gave up on.

Here are some field-tested tools and techniques we regularly use:

Professional People-Finding Databases (IDI, Delvepoint, etc.)

Never rely on just one. Each source has gaps. Professional investigative databases such as IDI, TLO, Delvepoint, Tracers, and IRB Search will help get a fuller picture. (I’ve had mixed success with commercially available “investigative” database websites like TruthFinder, Spokeo, BeenVerified, and Intelius, so with those, I would proceed cautiously.) One might give you a phone number, another a linked address. You wouldn’t believe how many “unfindable” people pop up once you combine enough datasets together.

License Plate Reader and Vehicle Sightings Databases

LPR databases, like those from DRN or accessible for investigators through TLO, Delvepoint or IRB Search, can be game-changers. They track where a vehicle has been spotted on city streets, in parking lots, or in driveways, using a network of vehicle-capturing cameras that roam the streets. In tough cases, when nothing else is working, a single plate hit can confirm where someone actually is. People may ditch their phone or move without a trace, but most don’t give up their car. Following the vehicle often leads to the person.

Social Media OSINT Tools and Username Tracking

Some of the most powerful clues hide behind usernames, email addresses, and phone numbers. Tools like OSINT.Industries help link social media accounts to usernames, email addresses, and telephone numbers, and Skopenow can identify accounts. WhatsMyName is useful for finding usernames across platforms, and ShadowDragon is great for linking social media accounts and conducting sophisticated, deep analysis and tracing.

Litigation Research Tools (County Courts, Pacer, Judy Records, LexisNexis, etc.)

Local county courts are a great place to start. Even the most minute detail in a traffic infraction might reveal something crucial. For deeper research, check Pacer, Recap, or Judy Records. For more comprehensive litigation coverage, you can use paid databases like LexisNexis, BloombergLaw, or Westlaw.

DMV Records and Driver Data

With permissible purposes (see the DPPA), DMV driving records and vehicle data are powerful tools for locating people. Investigative databases such as IDI, TLO, Delvepoint, Tracers, and IRB Search have some data, but it’s better to go directly to the source. Logan Registration and Denspri are excellent options for accessing individuals’ state records.

Breach Data and Credential Leaks (e.g., Dehashed, Darkside)

In a world where apps get hacked constantly, old email addresses become breadcrumbs. We’ve cracked cases using login data from parking apps, pet sites, and other random corners of the web most people forget ever existed. There are reasonably priced commercially available tools like Dehashed and Snusbase, or more sophisticated tools like Darkside from District 4 Labs.

Facial Recognition Software (e.g., FaceCheck.ID and PimEyes)

Usage of facial recognition tools may be subject to legal regulations and ethical considerations, but a few to check out include FaceCheck.ID and PimEyes.

FOIL Requests

Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) requests can be a powerful way to access records that aren’t readily available online. They’re especially helpful for military service or regulatory complaints. The catch? They often take time, and in many cases, time is the one thing we don’t have.

Professional Licensing Records

Many professions require a state-issued license—everything from doctors and nurses to electricians and nail technicians. These records often include valuable details like middle names, education history, employment status, and sometimes even home addresses. When used correctly, licensing data can be the missing link in a search.

Property Records and Deed Searches

Property records, when combined with voting data or DMV hits, can identify exactly where someone is, even if they’re trying not to be found. The local county recorder’s office is a good starting point; more in-depth research can be done on platforms like LexisNexis or Westlaw, which have a vast collection of nationwide property records, where you might find that vacation property in a neighboring state.

Google Dorking and Advanced Search Tactics

Google remains a vital tool for connecting ideas, but most people only understand it in its simplest form. Knowing how to do proper Google dorking can be a key skill. I also like to use the site MillionShort, which effectively filters out sites with too much SEO that always rank at the top, by, for example, allowing you to disregard the top 100,000 most popular sites. It’s like digging for gold in the depths of the Internet.

Employment Information

This can be a tricky area to nail down. The major investigative databases, such as IDI, TLO, Delvepoint, Tracers, and IRB Search, often fall short when it comes to current employment data. But that doesn’t mean you’re out of options. Tools like ZoomInfo and other subscription-based platforms can offer employment history, titles, and contact details. Resume databases such as Monster and Indeed sometimes surface gold, especially if someone forgot an old resume that they posted years ago. And don’t overlook LinkedIn. A Sales Navigator subscription can be incredibly helpful for tracing work history and finding professional connections. Piecing this info together from multiple sources is often the key to confirming where someone works or worked recently.

Real-World Logic: Habits, Patterns, and Gut Instinct

Sometimes it’s not about the tools; it’s about the thing between your ears. Patterns matter. Habits don’t lie. Maintenance workers live close to their job sites. Ex-partners still pick up mail. Homeless individuals still check the same drop spots. Experience teaches you what to try when the software falls short.

What Situations Require More Than Google or a Database Subscription?

Let me be blunt for a second. If you’re relying on Spokeo, Intelius, or a cheap “people search” site to find someone who doesn’t want to be found, you’re wasting your time. These platforms pull from the same shallow public records and are often filled with outdated or incomplete data.

Google isn’t much better when the person you’re looking for has gone quiet, changed addresses, or actively taken steps to disappear. When you’re dealing with serious matters, a $29/month subscription isn’t going to cut it.

Even with a single-source professional database, you may also be wasting your time.

These cases demand layered investigation, access to professional-only databases, and field-tested strategies that uncover what software alone can’t. Real results don’t come from search bars, they come from experience, creativity, and knowing how to go far beyond the screen.

Why We’re Not the Right Fit for Every Case

More often than not, we succeed, not because we have access to some secret master list, but because we know how to think differently. We don’t rely on one tool or one database. We treat each case like a puzzle, and we know where to look for the missing pieces.

But we’re not the right fit for everyone. If you’re just curious about an old classmate, missed your chance to get someone’s number, or are looking for Jane—the stay-at-home mom who’s lived in the same house for 15 years—Google or a basic subscription site might be enough. In cases like that, you don’t need us.

We come in when the search actually matters: when it’s tied to a legal case, a financial stake, or a personal loss, and you’ve already tried the usual routes. That’s when our approach makes a difference.

A client once came to us after months of trying to serve court papers to a man who had vanished. They’d tried three different firms. Nothing worked. We found him in four days, because we didn’t stop at databases. We followed the trail until it made sense.

If your situation feels like that, and you’re ready for someone to actually solve the puzzle, we’re here. Just know that we can’t promise magic.

Final Thoughts: Finding People Takes More Than a Database

In the past, you may have tried to locate someone using online search tools or hired a firm that delivered little more than a database printout, only to end up with more questions than answers. And if the stakes were high, that kind of uncertainty probably wasn’t just frustrating but costly as well.

Now you’ve seen the difference that layered tools, strategy, and real investigative experience can make. Whether it’s identifying the right John Smith in a city of hundreds or tracking down someone who’s gone completely off the grid, the right process makes all the difference. Moving forward, if you’re facing a legal, personal, or financial matter where getting it right actually matters, and you’re tired of surface-level work, we’re here to help. We don’t deal in guesses. We deal in results.

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Private Investigator Case Studies: How We Found the Unfindable

What happens when someone really doesn’t want to be found and every tool you’ve tried has come up empty? How do private investigators locate people who’ve changed names, disappeared without a trace, or left behind nothing but a PO Box?

In this article, you’ll get an inside look at 10 real-life investigations where our team tracked down people others had written off as untraceable.

From military records and facial recognition to license plate readers and a bright red shipping tube, these stories show what it really takes to find someone when databases, software, and shortcuts fail.

👇 The 10 Real-Life Cases We Cover

  1. Richard Jones—Found via military records
  2. The Red Tube at the PO Box—Creative field tactics
  3. Facial Recognition Helped Find a Name-Changer—Facial recognition and name change
  4. License Plate Data Revealed a Hidden Address—License plate reader database
  5. The Only Clue Left Was Death—DMV and obituary tracking
  6. Finding a Homeless Heir in the Bronx—Street-level detective work
  7. Connecting Digital Breadcrumbs Across Platforms—Username OSINT mapping
  8. The Breach Data That Cracked the Case—Dark web breach data
  9. Finding Frank Rodriguez with a Simple Assumption—Real-world pattern recognition
  10. The Bentley and the Court Filing—Court filings and car obsession

Case 1: Richard Jones—Found Through Military Records

We got a call one day from a woman chasing a ghost. His name? Richard Jones, her long-lost love from the 1980s. They had met while he was stationed in Virginia with the military. She remembered the car he drove, a 1970s Chevelle, and the way he made her feel. What she didn’t remember? Anything that could actually help us find him.

Richard Jones is one of the most common names on Earth. It was like trying to find a needle in a stack of needles. But we were intrigued and more than a little stubborn.

We started with the obvious; search for every Richard Jones in Virginia from the ’80s. There were over 50. That’s when it hit us: this wasn’t going to be a name match. It had to be a memory match. A gut-check. A long shot built on human instinct.

So we started calling.

Every. Single. One.

We’d open with something that wouldn’t freak them out: “Hey, this is kind of random… but were you ever in the military in Virginia in the 1980s?”

Polite. Direct. But it turned out to be useless.

None of the Richards we reached were her Richard.

We submitted military verification requests for all 50 names as a last-ditch effort. It was a Hail Mary and it took months. Eight months in, we’d gotten 49 nos. Then the final envelope arrived.

It was a hit. One Richard Jones had served in Virginia in the 1980s.

We checked our notes. We had already called him. He said it wasn’t him.

So we called again.

This time, we laid it out: “There’s a woman trying to find someone she loved. We think it’s you.”

Silence on the other end. Then a quiet laugh.

“Oh,” he said. “I didn’t realize that’s what this was about. Yeah. That’s me.”

Why didn’t he say so the first time?

“I just didn’t know what it was all about.”

That was it. Decades later, across dusty records and dead ends, love had finally found its way back.

Lesson: Sometimes it’s not about the tools or the tech. It’s about tenacity and the willingness to follow the trail even when it looks cold.

Case 2: The Red Tube at the PO Box

The client had a $500,000 problem and just a few weeks to solve it.

They had a judgment against a former business partner who had mostly vanished. The only lead? A PO Box in Texas. No residential address. No phone. No property records. The usual databases showed nothing. DMV? No luck. Voter rolls? Another dead end.

They needed to serve him personally, and time was running out.

So we got inventive.

We sent a large, bright red shipping tube to the PO Box, big enough to attract attention. Then, we waited at the post office.

Sure enough, his wife showed up to pick it up. Carrying a giant red tube, she was impossible to overlook.

We followed her directly to their house and served him right then and there.

She didn’t see it coming.

And neither did he.

Lesson: When traditional tools fail, creativity takes the wheel. Sometimes all it takes is a red tube and a little patience.

Case 3: Facial Recognition Helped Find a Name-Changer

A law firm came to us with a serious problem. Their entire case hinged on one man: Cameron Smith.

He wasn’t just a witness. He was the person who had received and documented every single complaint about mold in a mismanaged building. Without him, their case was shaky at best.

They had his name and the company he used to work for. That was it. We couldn’t find anything to tie a Cameron Smith to the management company.

So we started digging through the management company’s social media accounts, post by post. After hours of scrolling, we found a photo: a going-away party for someone named “Cameron Smythe.” Same guy, different spelling.

But it was still not enough to locate him.

Then we tried a facial recognition database.

That’s when everything changed.

The tool flagged a photo from a Costa Rican wedding photographer. Cameron and Joseph, newly married. Turns out, Cameron had changed his last name to his husband’s.

With that extra clue, we found him quickly.

Lesson: Sometimes, the truth hides in a name change. And a single photo can reopen a case that was dead in the water.

Case 4: License Plate Data Revealed a Hidden Address

By the time the law firm handed us the case, they were out of options.

Stacy was a key witness in a sex abuse case, and she’d gone dark. Process servers had already tried four different addresses, all dead ends.

I ran her name through six different databases, hoping broader tools would do the trick. Still nothing.

But I had one thing left: her license plate.

Here’s something I’ve learned over the years. People might ditch their phone, move cities, change names. But most of them hang on to two things: their phone number… and their car.

So I ran the plate through a license plate reader system. These tools scan streets, garages, parking lots.

Her car had been spotted twice in the past few weeks at a brand-new housing development.

That was the lead we needed.

We showed up. We served her. Game over.

Lesson: Cars don’t lie. When people try to disappear, follow the vehicle.

Case 5: The Only Clue Left Was Death

Until 2014, private investigators could access the Social Security Death Index. That ended because of identity theft concerns. These days, most investigative databases don’t flag the dead very well. Sometimes you’ll stumble across an obituary or a stray Facebook post, but often it’s like the person just vanished.

That means we have to get creative.

One Arizona attorney reached out after months of trying to serve a man in a personal injury lawsuit. Every address came up empty. Family social media? Nothing. So we pulled his driver history, a move that sometimes reveals a hidden address.

Instead, it revealed something else.

The Arizona DMV record listed him as deceased. In all my years pulling DMV records, I had never seen that before. But it explained everything.

In another case, we were asked to track down a young security executive. The trail looked promising until we hit silence. Two disconnected numbers. No returned calls. On one last attempt, we finally reached his brother.

The news was simple, and final.

He had passed.

Lesson: Sometimes the hardest truth to uncover isn’t where someone is hiding. It’s that they’re not here anymore.

Case 6: Finding a Homeless Heir in the Bronx

An attorney called me years ago with a question that sounded simple on paper.

“Can you find a man named Victor?”

Victor was the only child of a woman who had just passed away. He hadn’t spoken to her in years, but he was about to inherit a life-changing amount of money.

There was just one problem.

Victor had been homeless in New York City for over a decade.

At first—I’ll be honest—I wasn’t thrilled. The idea of roaming the streets, asking strangers about a guy who hadn’t left a digital footprint in 12 years? It felt like chasing smoke.

But I’ve never been one to back down from a long shot. So I did what I do best: I started digging.

Court records. Jail logs. DMV hits. Old addresses. Dead phone numbers. Anything that could give me a thread to pull. I even called a few homeless shelters around the Bronx.

And then, one tiny lead surfaced. A dusty old address in the Bronx. No confirmation. Just a hunch.

I went anyway.

I knocked. Nothing. Knocked again, harder. I heard shuffling.

Then the door cracked open, and a tired-looking man with tangled hair and a face worn by years of street life peered out.

I told him why I was there.

“I’m looking for Victor.”

He blinked.

“That’s me.”

He couldn’t believe someone had actually found him.

Victor explained that he came to that house once a month to shower and pick up his disability check. A woman living there, a friend he’d met on the street, let him use her place just enough to stay on the system’s radar. The rest of the time, he lived wherever he could.

Lesson: You don’t always find people from behind a keyboard. Sometimes you find them by showing up.

Case 7: Connecting Digital Breadcrumbs Across Platforms

An attorney reached out with a pretty straightforward request. They needed to track down the address of a Facebook user posting defamatory comments about their client. It should’ve been simple.

Except it wasn’t.

The user went by “Strongarm Willy,” and the account was locked down tight. No public posts. No friends list. Just a blurry profile picture and a single clue most people overlook—his user handle: @willythedream.

That little detail was key.

Because people are creatures of habit. They reuse usernames like digital fingerprints. So I dug in with tools like WhatsMyName, OSINT.Industries, and ShadowDragon and started painting a picture. One username turned into a map of accounts across platforms. But none of them had his real name.

That’s when I shifted tactics.

The weak link is almost always a family member.

I started mapping his social circle. Instagram, Twitter, Venmo. And one name kept showing up across them all, Jenny Williams.

Her accounts were wide open, a goldmine.

Scrolling through her photos, I saw something familiar. Jenny’s husband looked pretty close to the blurry photo on Strongarm Willy’s Facebook picture. Digging further, I confirmed her husband’s name was Willy Williams. Better yet, I found his email address, which matched accounts tied to that same @willythedream handle.

Game over.

Lesson: Sometimes the truth isn’t hidden, it’s just scattered. You just need to know where to look and, more importantly, how to connect the dots.

Case 8: The Breach Data That Cracked the Case

James was practically a ghost.

Every database showed him in three different states at once. He had multiple PO Boxes, conflicting addresses, and zero property ownership to tie him down. No phone. No obvious digital trail. He wasn’t wealthy and wasn’t off the grid for noble reasons; he was intentionally keeping his location blurred.

I had a hunch about one of the addresses in Colorado, but a hunch wasn’t good enough. I needed more proof so I didn’t send the client on a wild goose chase.

That’s when I turned to an overlooked but increasingly valuable source: breach data. Specifically, credential leaks from known data breaches. Most people don’t realize how much personal information surfaces when apps and services get hacked.

I ran one of James’s old email addresses through a dark web breach checker. Bingo.

It had been compromised in the ParkMobile data breach, which exposed all kinds of details, including license plates tied to his account. ParkMobile is an app used to pay for street parking.

It was the break I needed.

We took one of the plates and ran it through DMV records. It came back registered to a generic LLC. But the address linked to that LLC? It matched the one I had suspected all along.

Lesson: Sometimes, the breadcrumbs aren’t in public records or databases. They’re buried in places people forget they ever left them, like a parking app from three years earlier.

Case 9: Finding Frank Rodriguez with a Simple Assumption

Every now and then, we get a case that reminds us it’s not about fancy tools; it’s about knowing how the real world works.

The client was on a tight budget and needed to find Frank Rodriguez. The name is not exactly rare, especially in Houston. There were hundreds of hits, most leading nowhere.

Frank was listed as a maintenance manager at a specific building. That was the only detail we had.

But here’s something I’ve learned over the years: most maintenance guys live on-site or at least nearby. It’s part convenience, part job requirement.

So I plugged the address of the building he worked at into a few of the databases.

And there he was.

No data wizardry. No special software. Just one small assumption based on real-world patterns.

Lesson: Sometimes what looks like dumb luck is just experience dressed in plain clothes.

Case 10: The Bentley and the Court Filing

Richard Green had it made. He was a rising Florida attorney, flashy lifestyle and big wins. Then came the gambling. The debt. The temptation. And finally, the fall.

He started siphoning money from his clients’ settlements. Millions of dollars, gone. When the walls closed in, Richard vanished. He bounced from couch to couch, drifting from state to state. No fixed address. No online footprint. Nothing.

For a while, nobody could find him.

But Richard had two fatal flaws.

First, he loved his car; a black Bentley Continental GT convertible. Second, he had a thing for lawsuits. He’d sue anyone who looked at him sideways.

We scoured databases. Nothing pointed to his current location. So we followed the only thread that made sense: his court filings. Turns out, even when you’re running, you still leave paper behind.

Buried in a stack of pro se lawsuits, we found one he’d filed against a convenience store. It said he slipped on a step. The fall wasn’t interesting. The address he listed in the complaint was.

It led us straight to him and his Bentley.

Lesson: If you’re litigious and love a luxury car, odds are you’ll eventually give yourself away.

Final Thoughts: When It’s Time to Call in a Professional

You’ve now seen what really goes into locating someone others have written off as unfindable. It’s rarely about a magic tool. It’s almost always about persistence, creativity, and knowing where to look when the trail runs cold.

If you’re in a situation where finding someone truly matters and surface-level searches, cheap reports, or even previous investigators have failed, you’re not alone.

These kinds of cases require more than effort—they need experience. If you’re ready to solve the puzzle once and for all, reach out to us for a consultation. We can’t promise it’ll be easy, but we do promise we’ll treat your case like it matters, because to you it does.

When the stakes are high, the details matter, and guessing isn’t an option, that’s where we come in.

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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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The One Real Reason (+ Four More) Why This Private Investigator Won’t Do Bank Searches

I’ve written many times about public misconceptions of our industry, including that some folks think all private investigators do surveillance, mostly on cheating spouses. They imagine us in the bushes with binoculars, spying on people.

The other thing we supposedly do all the time is find bank accounts all over the world and dutifully report this information to our clients, no questions asked.

I don’t do surveillance work. I did, quite some time ago, but it’s just not my thing.

For very different reasons, I never have—and never will—perform any kind of bank searches. I’ve written, spoken, and posted about shady operators out there who are willing to get this information. And I’ve stated repeatedly that I won’t do bank searches of any kind.

That hasn’t stopped people from asking me to, though. Every few weeks, I get an inquiry—sometimes from attorneys, fellow private investigators, or some Jane off the street who just needs Joe’s account information because he owes her money.

Legally, of course, there are ways to obtain banking information, including through permission from the account holder or through a legal authority, like a court order, subpoena, or search warrant. There is also the off chance that banking information may appear in some publicly available filing, such as a court filing, UCC filing, or the like, but it’s a rare case. Even so, the pieces of information that are accessible through permissions or public filings are generally not what people are looking for when they ask about bank searches. They are looking for the “wink, wink” bank searches where you just show them where all the money is.

I constantly see inquiries on private investigator message boards about how to get bank records and information about investment accounts. Recently, I came across a price list for an investigator offering personal or business bank account searches—for about $1,000 each.

Of course, I see the appeal in offering this service, but I just won’t do it. My answer to anyone who inquires usually goes something like this:

No.

There is no legal way to obtain banking information without permission from the account holder or legal authority.

None.

I don’t do bank searches. I know quite a few firms out there do it, but I don’t.

And I won’t do it.

Ever.

Let us start with the most obvious reason.

The Laws

Banks can only disclose information with proper legal authority.

The laws are pretty straightforward: There is no legal way to get bank records without proper legal authority.

The Right to Financial Privacy Act prohibits financial institutions from disclosing bank records or account information about individual customers to governmental agencies without: 1) the customer’s consent, 2) a court order, 3) a subpoena, 4) a search warrant, or 5) some type of other formal demand, with limited exceptions.

The Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999, commonly called the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, made it illegal to obtain bank information under false pretenses.

Why, do you ask, was this enacted? Because “investigators” were calling banks, pretending to be the person with the account, and obtaining financial information.

Within these laws, there are some limited exceptions. For example, GLBA allows bank searches for “State-licensed private investigators acting under court authorization to collect child support from a person adjudged delinquent.” But 99.99999% of people looking for bank records aren’t collecting child support. They are looking for some other reason.

Frankly, it’s easier and safer to just say no to all bank searches instead of playing a game of Twister to stay within the very limited permissions and exceptions. Or to describe that one time, when I was looking for a needle in a stack of needles and found a copy of bank statements in a legal filing. There just aren’t enough of the legal kind to make it worth my while. Why risk it?

There you go. That seems pretty cut-and-dried to me.

Frankly, this article should end here.

But if you want to hear more about why I keep saying no, here you go:

Ethics

My privacy standards are non-negotiable.

Close your eyes for a moment and imagine a world where anyone can find out how much money you have in your accounts.

That. Is. Frightening.

And it’s a scammer’s dream scenario.

It also horrifies me that some investigators put GPS trackers on vehicles instead of following them the old-fashioned way. That gets me pretty fired up, too. (Generally, GPS trackers can be legally placed on a vehicle you own, but not on anyone else’s.)

Nevertheless, a Nevada private investigator, for some reason, thought it was a good idea to put a tracker on the Reno mayor’s vehicle. He claimed it was “nothing personal,” but he’s still getting sued.

When a thing like this happens (and it happens pretty frequently), all I can think about is this: What if some creep put a GPS tracker on my teenage daughter’s car? I don’t care what the stated reason might be. In my eyes, it’s an outrageous invasion of privacy.

It’s stalking.

Period.

I get that some people may think traditional surveillance methods are also an outrageous invasion of privacy. Personally, I think there’s a big distinction here. In traditional surveillance, you’re observing someone from public spaces and finding out what they’re up to by following them—from a safe distance, using your own guts, skills, and simple tech like a camera with a long lens. But when you plant a spyware device on a car, there’s no skill and no distance; that device can follow people onto private property—24/7—and you can observe their movements the lazy way, by watching a screen in the comfort of your own creepy “batcave.”

The law defines the limits of legal surveillance by what places people can reasonably expect privacy—such as inside their homes or behind a high fence. If you’ve got to fly a drone or climb over a fence to go onto private property, you can’t legally get the shot. To my mind (and according to the laws in many states), GPS trackers violate that expectation of privacy in a similar vein.

And so do bank searches.

My privacy standards are non-negotiable.

Don’t you expect your banking information to be kept private?

But what if you, the investigator, have some really good reasons to use the GPS tracker … or access the bank account information? You’re the good guys. This is a tool you need, in order to defeat the bad guys on the other side.

When I ask prospective clients why they want me to fetch them some financial data, I get responses like: “We’re trying to find out where this creep is hiding his money, which he’s refusing to pay to his ex-wife and kids.”

I call those kinds of ethics “situational,” where the end supposedly justifies the unethical or illegal means.

I don’t subscribe to that. I have a set of legal, ethical, and moral standards, and I stick to them.

Doesn’t matter the situation.

Transparency

I don’t trust “secret sources.”

Every single person whom I have ever had the pleasure of speaking with about bank searches, and every single piece of written material I have ever seen about bank searches, have a few things in common: “We can’t reveal our source(s),” “it’s proprietary data,” and “it’s GLBA and FCRA compliant.”

They usually throw “trade secret” somewhere in there.

You might be saying to yourself, “Brian, give me a break. They’re not going to tell you how they do it!”

Maybe not. But if you can’t tell me how it’s done, and I can’t explain it to my client, I won’t touch it.

Period.

I won’t stick my head in the sand and just pretend it’s above board if I don’t know for sure.

You can. I won’t.

I can just imagine myself in front of a jury, trying to explain how I came across the bank account information that’s been submitted as evidence at trial: “I don’t know where it came from. I paid some guy to get it for me.”

How do you think that would go over in court?

But if you can’t tell me how it’s done, and I can’t explain it to my client, I won’t touch it.

It’s like paying someone for the contents of someone’s email inbox. The only way to get that data is through hacking, phishing, or some other illegal means.

Here’s the thing: Secret sources have a massive reliability problem. Is this “secret source” doing something illegal to obtain the information? Is the data fabricated? And if I have to testify about this, how’s that going to look to the judge and/or the jury?

The biggest problem is that what most PIs call “trade secrets” tend to be a thin cover for illegal activity. Just ask Anthony Pellicano. He was known as the private investigator to the stars, who could get information that nobody else could find, via means that were a Pellicano trade secret. “I don’t care how you get information,” one Pellicano attorney-client said. And then it was discovered that he was wiretapping phones, threatening witnesses, and paying off police officers for confidential information.

Pellicano served jail time.

And so did some of his clients.

Suddenly, people cared how he got the information. They cared from behind bars.

Unreliability

I wouldn’t bank on the results of these searches.

The results of these bank searches are extraordinarily inconsistent. These firms know it and set expectations low: Nearly every firm I’ve seen pitching these services has claimed that they are not 100% reliable.

This arouses a deep suspicion in me …

I admit that my suspicion is mainly anecdotal, based on stories told to me by investigators I know who have used the most notable firms in this space. In one case it was a personal matter—they were trying to find accounts for a family member. In the other case, the investigators used it for work relating to divorce and other legal matters.

For both investigators, the bank searches came up empty.

Like, zero.

No bank accounts in the entire United States.

In the case of the family member, it turns out there were two known accounts, NOT hidden behind six shell companies, that the bank account investigator simply didn’t find.

Seems like it should have been a pretty easy case—on the scale of breaking into your kid’s piggy bank versus breaching Fort Knox.

I’ve gotten my hands on how one firm does it: They use what they’re calling “proprietary software” that’s based on “algorithms” and data from “third-party providers,” which analyze the transactions and verify data. This firm claims that everyone who has written a check or transferred funds would be in the SWIFT payment system.

So if this is some legit technique, authenticated through the SWIFT system, what accounts for the big, whopping misfires my colleagues have told me about?

I am not willing to put my reputation on the line for some fly-by-night firm …

How is this “proprietary software” so unreliable?

I’m thinking of those claw machine games at seedy carnivals: The toys in the box are right there, enticing you, easily within reach. Nobody truly understands how the claw works, but you deploy it all the same. Occasionally, it fetches a treasure. Sometimes it snags some trash.

But usually, the damn thing comes up empty. 

Reputation

I’m not willing to put my professional standing at stake for an unreliable (and probably unethical) service.

Sometimes the unreliability problem leads to a false negative—a failure to locate existing accounts, say. Other times, a bank search error can actively endanger a case—and my professional reputation.

Let’s just say I happen to hire a bank search firm and pass on those results to my client.

I have no control over what the bank search firm does; I am just trying to help my client. Right?

Except that when I get the results back, it turns out that the firm I hired provided me with bank account information that didn’t actually exist.

That’s embarrassing, but it’s not your fault, of course, because it was the firm that you hired that messed up, not you. So you are not liable.

Or are you?

Does this seem far-fetched? Because this exact thing has happened on at least two occasions that I’m aware of.

In 2009, a Virginia investigator hired a California investigator to obtain information about foreign bank accounts. Despite the investigator finding two purported bank accounts in Puerto Rico, when the client ultimately tried to collect from those two bank accounts, the banks revealed that the accounts did not exist; the investigators fabricated the account information solely to turn a profit. Both the Virginia and California investigator were sued.

I don’t trust “secret sources.”

In or around 2020, a Tennessee investigator was hired to search bank accounts for a husband and wife. The Tennessee investigator hired a Texas investigator who, in turn, found over a million dollars in several overseas bank accounts in Luxembourg, Switzerland, South Africa, and other countries. The problem was this: The accounts did not exist, and litigation ensued against both the Tennessee firm and the Texas firm for providing false information.

That’s more than just embarrassing; it ties your agency to a fraud case and may get you embroiled in litigation. And this is never, ever a good marketing plan for an investigative firm.

Oh, and despite laws against doing so, there have been other private investigators charged with pretexting a bank, trying to ascertain bank information under false pretenses.

Imagine prospective high-profile clients Googling you. What do you want them to find?

In this business, reputation is everything. And I am not willing to put my reputation on the line for some fly-by-night firm …

The One Real Reason

In short, there’s really only one real reason you shouldn’t be doing bank searches: They are not legal, except in the tiny fraction of cases when they are. Sure, there may be some ethical grey areas where you might be able to ascertain some unreliable bank information, but why risk everything for those? And just in case you still need some convincing, I gave you four more reasons.

If those don’t tip the scales, I don’t know what will.

I don’t need to cheat.

But you know what? Just for good measure, I’ll throw in a bonus reason here at the end:

I don’t NEED to do bank searches.

I do very well working my cases the old-fashioned way, using my guts, skills, and simple tech—usually, a laptop and an arsenal of non-secret OSINT  tools that are legal, ethical, and transparent. To me, shady shortcuts like GPS trackers and “secret source” bank searches are cheating.

I don’t need to cheat.

I’m better than that.

And, I’ll wager, so are you.

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3 Investigative Takeaways from an Amazing True Crime Podcast

Thanks to a recommendation from Hal Humphreys at PI Education, I got a chance to listen to the Bone Valley podcast a few weeks ago while I was driving through Arizona.

It’s nine episodes (nine-plus hours) of pure entertainment that fit perfectly into my weeklong saunter from Phoenix to Sedona to the Grand Canyon and back to Phoenix. Although the atmospheric river dumping on the West Coast put a bit of a damper on things, it was still a great trip.

As for the podcast, the only time I get to listen to one is on these long trips. My commute to work is less than a mile, and sitting around my house listening to a podcast just doesn’t suit me. And working while listening never seems to work for my brain.

The podcast is hosted by Gilbert King, a Pulitzer-winning author, who was tipped off by a Florida sitting judge about Leo Schofield, a man convicted of murdering his wife in 1987. Schofield, who was 21 years old at the time of the murder, has been serving a life sentence even though another man has confessed to the murder. It’s a chilling story about a murder and a miscarriage of justice.

It’s probably the best true crime podcast I have ever listened to.

I know a lot of my colleagues in the business might have some more interesting takes on the criminal defense angle here, but as someone who doesn’t focus on that kind of work, here are a few of my takeaways from the Bone Valley podcast.

Good investigations take time and resources

King and his assistant spent nearly four years on the research and inquiries needed to wrap up their investigation. Think about the number of man hours and amount of resources and money needed to get to the bottom of this. For argument’s sake, let’s just say that King and his assistant each spent 1,500 hours a year on this for four years (12,000 hours total). Even if you don’t include any of their expenses, at a modest hourly rate, you are talking about over $1 million to get to the bottom of one case.

I understand that someone’s life is at stake here, and turning over a criminal conviction is no walk in the park, but it’s a healthy reminder that investigations take time and resources. Investigations are messy and don’t often neatly wrap up in one hour, despite what Jessica Fletcher and Frank Columbo would have us believe.

People don’t like to be wrong

This may seem pretty obvious, but nobody likes to be wrong. And admitting to being wrong is even more complicated. There seems to be a lack of admitting to anything wrong in police work regarding wrongful conviction cases. You often find police officers who go to their graves believing they were right about their work, despite any new evidence, science or confession that may contradict them.

I empathize with the officers. Nobody likes admitting to being wrong.

But getting it right — and not just “being” right — should always be the goal here.

Despite the effect it might have on one’s ego.

There are good facts and bad facts

In criminal defense, there is a saying that there are good facts and bad facts. For example, if you were accused of murdering someone, the fact that your cell phone location was in the same area as the body is a bad fact, but someone else’s DNA (and not yours) being at the scene is a good fact.

King does an excellent job of presenting all of the good and bad facts in defense of Leo—the bad facts being that he was abusive to his wife, a bizarre premonition had by Leo’s father and some interesting eyewitness testimony.

The good facts included the unknown fingerprints, the lack of a murder weapon and a timeline that didn’t add up.  

You’ve got to deal with all of the facts, good and bad.

Ignoring the facts doesn’t change them.

So, those are a few of my takeaways. What did you think of Bone Valley?

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The Most Important Tool for the Modern-Day Private Investigator

Spoiler alert: It’s our brain.

Last year, we were contacted by an attorney who needed to serve some legal papers to someone who had just gone into a nursing home. The law firm had attempted to reach the person at their residence, but the wife told the process server that the man had recently gone into a nursing home, and she refused to provide a forwarding address.

The attorney only had a few days to serve the man and desperately needed to get the legal papers in his hands.

I told the attorney that it was going to be really difficult. Short of following the wife to the nursing home, the address wasn’t going to be found like some low-hanging fruit. And because of privacy restrictions, most nursing homes weren’t going to voluntarily provide the names of their residents. It also didn’t help that we are physically based 1,500 miles away from where the man was reported to be living.

But desperation, lack of time and limited options can bring out the best in us. 

I told the law firm that I would do as much as I could from behind my desk and let them know the following morning what we could come up with.

There was no low-hanging fruit.

The investigative databases were not helpful.

His wife’s social media wasn’t showing anything.

Vehicle sightings reports didn’t come up with anything either.

But we caught a bit of a break when his daughter posted a photo of her father at the nursing home with a small dog. The problem was that there was so little detail in the photo and the scenery was so generic, it would have been difficult to figure out without lots of man hours of trying to triangulate his position. Doable, but not within the client’s budget, and certainly not in our limited time frame.

So we put it down for the day and started fresh in the morning.

Within 20 minutes, we had found him.

The man was living in a rural part of Georgia, so I figured that the family would put him in a nursing home pretty close by. And it turned out there weren’t many nursing homes near the residence of the family. The one nongeneric thing about the photo was that the building had vinyl siding; in the South, and particularly in the area we were looking at, most of the commercial buildings are brick. 

So I did a quick Google search of the five closest nursing homes. The first three were brick, but the fourth had siding similar to that in the photo with the man’s daughter. Taking a look at the Facebook page for the nursing home, I saw hundreds of photos of their residents.

Going through the photos, we caught a glimpse of a man with the same dog, leash and harness as in the photo with his daughter.

He looked a bit different, cleanly shaven, but it was him.

Was it just dumb luck?

Maybe.

But the point here is that we didn’t find the guy through some fancy tool, artificial intelligence or nano-gadget (I might have just made up a word there).

And it wasn’t the magic all-in-one database.

Or any one of the dozens of databases that I pay thousands of dollars a month to access.

We used some simple common sense, a bit of problem-solving, an understanding of human behavior, some tenacity, a dash of magic dust and the most important tool that we have: our brains.

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