What Does a Digital Private Investigator Do?
The more we conduct our daily lives using digital tools like electronic banking and sending important business information over email and messaging, the more private investigators have to adapt. That is why we at Privin Network employ a team of digital forensic experts who have the training and experience to handle all kinds of digital investigations. We want to ensure we can meet the demands of today’s fast-paced consumer world.
Our team will assess your situation and then assign a digital forensic expert who has worked on similar projects before. This could be anything from tracking information across multiple websites to uncovering information stored on an old hard drive. It may help for us to outline more details of what a digital private investigator does for our clients.
What is Digital Forensics?
Believe it or not, this is a science. Whenever you see television shows related to legal proceedings, there is almost always an expert talking about DNA or blood spatter. A digital forensics expert is the same thing, but for the tech world. They identify, acquire, process, analyze, and report on data stored electronically. Most have formal training that is equivalent to or more advanced than local law enforcement.
A digital private investigator uses many of the same techniques, but covers a much broader area. Because many of our clients are in fields or specific situations that require an often more delicate touch, we tend to ask quite a bit from our digital private investigators.
What Kinds of Investigations Do They Do?
The foundation of work a digital private investigator completes is almost always the same. The topic they are covering or the area of the case tends to be what changes the most. Some examples of what our digital forensic experts do include:
Identify Online Footprint & Background
We work with verification services and businesses that need to authenticate the work, education, or personal history of everyone, from employees to potential CEOs. Our digital investigators will scour through the internet to uncover all of the details possible on a target in order to verify they are who they say they are and have an accurate background.
Avoiding Romance Scams
It is a sad reality that scammers will take advantage of people who are feeling lonely. That is why we often are hired to confirm the identity of the person sitting on the other end of your dating application. It may seem unromantic, but we would rather you be protected than risk losing thousands of dollars from someone pretending to have genuine affection for you.
Retrieve Device Information
A great deal of our digital private investigator’s time and resources are spent digging through cell phones, hard drives, SD cards, laptops, and PCs. They utilize special equipment that does not write onto the hard drives of these items, but only reads the information. This way, the chain of evidence is maintained and can be used in legal proceedings. We frequently partner with local labs to confirm information that is attained. We are always amazed at how much data is recoverable, even from drives that may have been submerged underwater. Our clients for this service range from wives hoping to find old photos of their past husbands to research companies seeking the notes of a scientist who accidentally fried their laptop.
Giving Testimony
While it does not happen that often, our digital forensic experts have the qualifications to give expert testimony on a stand. That means if we are hired to track down the origin of a virus sent throughout a business by someone on the inside, we use our tools and skills to verify all the information is valid and then present a report to a court. These have to hold up against the scrutiny of any other expert in the room, and that requires skill and experience.
Custom Work
Probably the most significant demand on our digital private investigators relates to custom work. Almost every case involves some kind of technology-related issue. We do everything from tracking down a deadbeat parent who hasn’t paid child support using social media connections to uncovering a pattern of dangerous behavior for insurance companies by reviewing the online activity of a target. The ability of our team to handle so many different cases is what makes them so vital to our company’s success.
What is the Digital Forensics Process?
Step 1 – First Response
Everything begins when a client reaches out for help. As soon as a security or technology incident occurs, we jump into action to uncover all the information possible. This could involve taking custody of hardware to outlining what information will be collectible from the internet.
Step 2 – Search & Collect
We use state-of-the-art equipment and processes aligned with current legal standards to search through devices and online sites. We scan everything at our disposal and begin collecting evidence that can hold up to legal scrutiny in the court systems.
Step 3 – Storage
All of the data we collect, whether from physical items or digital sources, are brought together and securely stored with a legal chain of evidence. This is critical information that often determines the success or failure of a case, so we want it protected in every way possible.
Step 4 – Analysis
Our digital private investigators will review the information collected and point out relevant patterns or critical details that can lead to anything from verifying a hidden asset to tracking down a fleeing spouse.
Step 5 – Reporting
Once we have completed our process, we will issue a report to the point of contact for your case, who then shows it to you. This way, you have the expert insights from our experienced team to make any decisions related to the next steps you take. Our goal is to give you as much verifiable evidence to act on.
Step 6 – Expert Witness
This step only occurs every once and a while, but we are available to be called as expert witnesses in our process of data collection and to offer the courts the same insights we provided you during reporting.
Where to Get Started?
Hiring a digital private investigator often involves getting to know our team a bit more. That is why we have a consultation system so we can help outline what kinds of services you can expect, and we can learn more about the scope of your case. We want you to be as comfortable as possible with our services and confident that we are the right choice for your investigation needs.
We have worked with legal authorities, law enforcement, and court systems in the past and can present credentials and qualifications where necessary. Think of our digital forensic experts as specialists in their field with the same skills a doctor has for medicine or an NFL player has for football. They have developed these skills over time and have the experience you need to help with your specific situation.
