Open Source Intelligence 101

Facebook is an awesome way to stay in touch with your friends and family members, however, you need to remember to always be careful about the private information your reveal because it might end up in the wrong hands! These days a range of financial scams can be used to try and steal your money, one of them is cybercriminals making fake Facebook profiles and sending friend requests in order to gain your personal information. This is why it is vital to be careful when you are using Facebook as well as any other social media network. Here are 5 important Facebook security tips: 1. Always verify all Facebook contacts. Make sure that you are actually talking to the person you think you’re talking to and not a criminal trying to gain your personal information or money. 2. Protect your financial information. Never tell anyone about your private banking details such as your bank account details, credit card numbers and passwords or any other financial data on Face...

Social media can be a great tool to document our daily lives, and when it comes to solving crimes, law enforcement officials and digital investigators view it as a valuable tool, too. *What is SmInt? Social Media Intelligence is the use of information stored within social media platforms to further the knowledge of a person, group or incident. Often this information is available unbeknownst to the user. While the information is not accessible at the click of a button it can be uncovered with queries and structured data calls.* A survey showed that majority use social media for several reasons: 1. Identifying people 2. Gathering evidence 3. Discovering criminal activity and locations 4. Community outreach 5. Soliciting crime tips 6. Notifying the public 7. Recruitment People put a great amount of personal, detailed information online. Targets even brag and post illicit valuable information in reference to travel, hobbies, places visited, functions, appointments, cir...