Open Source Intelligence 101

Social media users continue to grow every day, with a shocking annual increase of 17%! Massive amounts of data such as photos and posts are shared every day, some of it interesting and some of it pointless, let’s take a look at the 5 golden rules every social media user should always keep in mind… Ignore the trolls. Internet trolls are there to irritate you for fun and you can find them just about anywhere from chats to online forums. What should you do when you spot a troll? Just ignore them! Lots of people like to take the bait and start an intense debate, but someone will always be wrong so don’t waste your time and energy. Don’t post anything illegal. Did you know that you can be fined in New Zealand for trolling and cyberbullying? In other countries posts and reposts on social media networks can have all sorts of serious consequences, so always think before you post something on social media. It may seem like a joke to you at the time, but you should always kee...

With the increase in social interactions being done online, there has been an increase in relationships that are being built over social media networks as well as apps such as Tinder, etc. Did you know that a recent study showed that 1 in 5 relationships began online? If things continue like this then by the year 2040, almost 70% of people in the world will meet their significant other online via a social media network or an app! Because everything is online these days, scammers have taken advantage of this opportunity to con those who are looking for love online. Catfishing is an online scam where someone creates a fake online identity for the purpose of starting a fake relationship and usually scamming people out of their money over a period of time. Are you dating online or thinking about dating online? The person is too good to be true – They are extremely rich, attractive and glamourous. The relationship is moving unnaturally fast – They profess their und...

As humans, we’re basically wired to social media networks such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. And because of our obsession scammers are taking advantage and more and more people are falling for social media scams. Here are the 5 most common social media scams to look out for. 1. Chain Letters. You’ve probably seen this one before. For example, retweet or like this and we’ll donate a million dollars to charity! The truth is both the post and the claim are obviously fake. Either a post like this is done by someone looking for a laugh or simply sharing it from someone else; otherwise, it could be a scammer trying to trick you into clicking a dangerous link. 2. Cash Grabbing. We use social media to stay in touch with friends, right? But how well do you really know half the people on your friend's list? Always think twice if you get a request from someone claiming they need cash for an emergency. Rather call your friend first to double check if it’s really them o...

An online shopping scam will usually include a scammer using a fake website or fake social media account/ store to trick you into buying something from them. The scam will usually also involve using fake adverts to try and lure victims in. A scammer will try and use unbelievable deals and services such as shipping overnight and free delivery to trick victims into not thinking twice and just acting on instinct. The goods that the scammer is offering are usually fake or you just never receive them. They will often ask you not to pay by card, but to use an EFT payment, gift card or cryptocurrency. Not only that, but a scammer will try and trick you into giving out your personal information, such as your bank information, by asking you to fill in a form to finish the order or to sign-up. Online shopping scams continue to increase every year, here’s how to spot and online shopping scam: - You receive an email from an online store, but you cannot find any info about...

Whether you tweet once a day or constantly tweet updates throughout the day, you need to remember that if you’re using Twitter you need to be aware of the security and privacy risks. Here are five important safety tips to remember when you’re using Twitter. -- Never share personal information It is best to keep all your private information such as your phone number, address and email address, out of your Twitter profile! Geotagging is an optional feature that is able to make your exact location public, it is also best to switch off this setting too. -- Update your password Hackers can easily gain access to your account if you have used a weak, easily guessable password. Use a strong password and change it every few weeks for maximum security. Make sure to include uppercase and lower case letters, numbers and special characters in your passwords every time. -- Never click on suspicious links Often hackers will try a phishing attack on you through your ...

With the rise of social media came the rise of private information becoming accessible to just about anyone who knows how to use the internet!  With the right safety precautions you can still enjoy Facebook and other social media networks, but always make sure to use these safety tips. Make sure your password is secure With all your personal information exposed on Facebook, it can be easy for someone to guess your password. A good password should have a mixture of upper and lower case letters, numbers and special characters. Don’t friend people you don’t kno w If you don’t know who they are why would you become friends with them? It may seem innocent, but cybercriminals often use fake profiles to send out spam and even steal your personal info. Protect your location While it may seem fun to share a photo of yourself and then add your location, it has some hidden risks. Potential criminals can easily see whether you are home or not, allowing them to take advantage and break in...

You cannot believe everything you read and see on social media! Because so many of us think only official, 100% news is shared on Facebook and other social media networks, we need to educate ourselves and those around us to ultimately stop the spread of all this fake news. So, here’s how to spot fake news on social media – and avoid it. Amazing headlines Fake news headlines are often written in capital letters with a lot of exclamation marks. If the headline sounds too good to be true, then it most probably is! Investigate the source Make sure the story you are reading is actually true by going to the source and checking the website to learn more. Format Read through the news carefully; lookout for spelling errors, bad layouts and grammar mistakes. URL Fake news websites often try and pretend to be other legit websites, but they change their URLs slightly – read the URL carefully before you visit the site and click on any links. Don’t...

Don’t be fooled, Instagram can be just as dangerous as Facebook! Even though this social media network is a favourite for those who love to share every detail of their lives through photos, making sure your account is secure is an important step to take. Keep these five tips in mind and stay safe on Instagram… -- Don’t add your phone number to your profile In the private information section of your profile, keep in mind that less is always more! Even though your cell phone number is meant to be private, it can still be used to help you be “found” on Instagram, so it is best just to leave it out. -- Avoid tagging your location It may seem fun to snap a picture, upload it and tag your location, but remember that you are sharing this information with complete strangers. It’s not ideal that you post on Facebook that you are going away for a week, so it’s not ideal to tag all your Instagram posts. -- Be careful of linked accounts Linking your Instagram with...

While most of us are used to using Facebook and social media networks, a lot of teens are just starting out and exploring the online work. Unfortunately, there are many bad guys online, especially on social media platforms such as Facebook, who are there to take advantage of new or naïve members. Use these safety and security tips and share them with your teen to ensure everyone has a safer experience. Never register for Facebook if you’re under the age of 13. Some teens want an account when they’re only 11 or 12 – not even a teen yet! However, Facebook specifically forbids anyone younger than 13 from registering. Avoid using your real first and middle name. Facebook does not allow fake names, but you can use your nickname as your first or middle name. This will keep online criminals and potential predators from obtaining more information about you. Set strong privacy settings. Not just anyone should be able to see your profile as well as your content and pho...

Facebook Marketplace is kind of like Craigslist, where it offers a place for people to search for goods to buy from people in their local community as well as sell items in their community.  All you have to do to use Facebook Marketplace is have a Facebook profile and selling something is as easy as taking a photo, setting the price, posting and then selling! Buying the items are just as easy! However, Marketplace comes with a range of annoying scams, including fake items, catfishing and even hacking. Because of the downside to Facebook Marketplace, you need to always be on the lookout for these common Facebook Marketplace scam scenarios… - Someone will be selling authentic items at a very low price, but it turns out they’ve sold you a counterfeit. - There are a range of dating scams (catfishing) that include someone using a fake photo to lure the desperate in. - A family members Facebook may be hacked and a user will receive a plea from them for money. - ...

In this day and age, it is so easy for criminals to use a digital device to carry out a traditional crime. A traditional crime such as blackmail which, back in the day, would usually be done using newspaper cuttings collaged together to create a ransom note is now being done in a completely different way using the power of digital devices as well as the internet. These days, it is so much easier for criminals to just use a computer to carry out a range of crimes such as, blackmail, identity theft, social media scams, ticket scams, dating bots, data theft and so much more. Some examples of other traditional crimes where a digital device can be used include instant messaging, which is often used to commit harassment. Criminals also continue to pose as your bank where they will SMS you and try to scam you into paying fake accounts, etc. Email is also used by cybercriminals on a regular basis to commit fraud by using phishing scams. It seems that the list is endless and ...

With everyone being on multiple social media networks these days, privacy is a very rare thing. Because of this, social media networks are an easy way for scammers and bots to potentially pose a threat to users! However, there are certain actions that YOU are doing that can make things so much worse! To keep yourself safe and secure, use your common sense and always be sure to never, ever post these 4 things on your Facebook network or any other social media account.  - Home address or work address This should be an obvious one, but “Checking in” or adding your location to an image or post can also give away where you are. So, be careful when you’re adding geotags on your  Instagram  posts, because some creep might be trying to find out where you live or work. - Certain photos of children You should always be extra, extra careful when it comes to posting photos of children on social media. Always steer clear of uploading compromising images, like ...

Every year insurance fraud is committed, resulting in millions being lost, however, investigators who use social media to find important evidence are bringing down the numbers. At OSINT, our investigators use social media evidence to provide information against fraudsters. To find out more about our Open-Source Intelligence services please contact 021 110 0422 | email contact@osint.co.za or visit www.osint.co.za Here’s how OSINT investigators gather the evidence from social media networks: 1. Look out for inconsistent information. Is the person in question presenting on a story, but living another? Some people are unaware of what important information they are giving away on social media. For example, someone claims to have broken their arm at work, however their friend posts on their timeline or comments, “See you later at the pool,” or “Can’t wait to go bike riding this weekend!” This makes it obvious that some things are not what they seem. 2. Search for con...

Twitter is one of the original giants among social media networks and because it is so handy and easy to use it is a great way to communicate with your friends or associates. While Twitter is a great social media network, it is also a way for scammers and bots to potentially pose a threat to users, including teens and young kids. When it comes to staying safe on Twitter, parents need to make sure their children are as safe as possible. Read all about how to spot a Twitter scam here! 1. Always be smart with your passwords – Your password should always be at least 12 characters with a mix of letters, numbers and special characters.   It is also important not to use the same password for all your accounts. 2. Configure privacy settings – Everything you post on Twitter will pop up when it is searched for, so it is best to enable “Protect My Tweets” so your posts stay invisible to search queries. 3. Never share personal info – There are many people lurking on...

We basically live and breathe online, but could your digital communications on social media not be as authentic as you think? This is a result of… bots! This automated plague has taken over just about every social media platform you know and love and they aren’t going anywhere any time soon, however, it is possible to fight back! The best way to beat a bot isn’t to have a silly argument with them, it’s to simply see them for what they really are, automated fantasies designed to trick you as well as other users into giving out your details and much more. Here’s how to spot a bot… Did you know that recent research shows that Twitter alone has over 30 million bots! But, of course, there are bots across all social media networks including Facebook and Instagram. Most bots are there to rile users up to support a cause or sign up for something for an unbelievable low price such as medical aid; some have purposes that aren’t really clear. Anyway, you need to be abl...

Basically, everyone is on social media these days, so when you connect you’re basically advertising and sharing your life for the entire world to see. So why are social media investigations and social media intelligence so important? A trained professional can find information that any old regular person will never be able to spot as well as do so in the way that will ensure the evidence is secure, making sure they can prove who made the post, comment, etc. as well as prove when it was posted – even if it has already been deleted! At the OSINT division, we use our skills in the open-source intelligence department as well as a range of methods and techniques to find hidden social media accounts or ones that have private settings. Often when you are searching for someone on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. you will type in a name and a variety of accounts will appear, not including the ones that don’t show up in a public search. Because this happens we use a range of ...

Twitter is a social media network that is a great way to stay in touch with what is happening in the world. You can take a look into celebrity lives, connect with your local business and communicate with friends. However, not everyone that uses Twitter is there to use it in a positive way, many users are on Twitter to try and scam you. So how can you spot a Twitter scam? At the moment Twitter scams seem to be targeting the financial world because almost all users like to stay involved with their bank online. For the common user, these scams can be quite hard to spot. So firstly, a Twitter user may need help logging onto their account or they simply have a general question. A scammer will join in the legitimate conversation and steer it towards them. How do they do this so easily? The answer is that they use a fake profile they have created. These fake profiles can easily trick users because they are so hard to spot! Spend a few minutes studying the profil...

Online ticket scammers usually target various, popular events or destinations to try and take advantage or all the people who are desperately rushing and searching for tickets for buy. Fake tickets for various events include: - Concerts - Conferences - Plays - Sporting events - Live performances - Shows - Flight or train tickets - Other special events In general, all the tickets that these scammers sell are completely fake. Other times the tickets don’t exist, to begin with, so you pay but never receive anything. Since 2015 online ticket scams have been increasing and occurring more often. Scammers have been having a field day because of all the popular shows and events that are happening these days. Here are some tell-tale signs to lookout for: - The prices are much higher than the regular ticket price OR the prices are suspiciously low. - Before you buy tickets from a website, always check the contact details to make sure it’s legitimate. - If t...

Social media has made it possible for people to interact with each other from all over the world – everyone knows what everyone else is doing, where they’re going on vacation, when they got married, etc. However, social media networks have also made it possible for more users to become victims of scams. Over the last few years, social media scams have basically quadrupled with fake accounts popping up everywhere. Don’t become the next victim of a scam – here’s how to spot, prevent and deal with social media scams: - There is an ad or poster offering an amazing deal or job that sounds too good to be true. - A job, prize or loan application asks you to pay upfront beforehand. - A popular company uses a Yahoo or Gmail email account to contact you. - You are urged to act immediately! - They ask you to share your private information. - You get a friend request from a “friend” but they ask you random questions or for money. How to prevent social media scams fro...

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...