A social media database search typically entails looking into the social media posts, photos, conversations, and status updates of a suspected person. It is commonly conducted as part of an investigative procedure of an individual involved in a court case or as an employee background check for corporate hiring.
Social media database searches can be instrumental in risk assessment, finding proof of false claims, and discovering direct or corroborative evidence of unlawful activities.
Whether it is a domestic or corporate case, social media is now one of the most important tools for providing evidence to the courtroom.
Depending on what you are investigating, social media can help you gather the information you require:
Court Cases: A social media investigation is done to learn more about a person’s character, verify an alibi, and find supporting evidence by ensuring the post was original, looking at location tags, and identifying other individuals associated with the case. This can be useful for certain cases, such as crimes against underage people. Investigators can set up searches and alerts for specific search keywords and terms and use them to find out the age of an individual a person is communicating with.
Domestic Infidelity: Social media can be used to find information that supports an investigator’s suspicion of infidelity. Facebook messages, Twitter direct messages, and other forms of social media communication can reveal a person’s intentions and their location data can verify if they were where they claimed to be.
Custody Case: A custody case can also benefit from social media investigation as it can help identify the individuals a parent is associating themselves with and whether they are suitable to have custody of a minor. Social media database investigations of different platforms can show a person’s priorities and intentions.
Drug Use: With social media, investigators can check a person’s online posts and photos and determine if they posted, liked, commented, or shared posts about drug use. They can also set up alerts for certain search terms related to drug misuse. In some cases, a sting operation can also be set up to see if the person is a pusher or affiliated with a drug dealer.
Insurance Claims: Social media database investigations can also help in finding out whether an insurance claim is valid or not. Social media research can help reduce the risk of fraudulent insurance claim payouts for personal injury, workers’ compensation, medical insurance, employment claims, and mergers and acquisitions.
Employee Hiring: Social media investigation is done to assess the risk of hiring a potential employee during the screening process. It can help corporations decide whether the candidate is suited for their company culture, if they have a criminal history or were involved in racial or gender discrimination cases, and prevent other embarrassing or risky situations.
Plaintiff Fact-Checking: The investigation can be very useful to attorneys taking on new clients and ensure that the client is trustworthy and will not miscommunicate substantive information that could lead to embarrassment in court. Attorneys can use social media investigators to figure out whether:
While a layman can conduct social media database investigations, qualified and experienced private investigators have access to powerful tools that can make the search process quicker. They also have a very strong understanding of ethics that govern social media use and know what kind of data is admissible in the court of law.
Without proper knowledge of how to take information out of social media, you can venture into dangerous territory and have your evidence and case thrown out of court.
If you are looking for licensed and certified private investigators, we at Evidence Investigations, Inc. are at your disposal.
We have a highly experienced and skilled team of digital forensics and investigators who can quickly find out the information you are looking for that can benefit your case. For a consultation, call us at +1 800-807-3160 or visit us at https://evidencepi.com/.