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Using Social Media for
Investigative Purposes
Diana Ngo
Associate Director
Blackpeak Group
Hong Kong | Singapore | Tokyo | New York | Shanghai | Beijing | Guangzhou
Using Social Media for Investigative Purposes
• International investigative research and risk advisory firm
• North America• USA
• Greater China• Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau,
Taiwan
• North Asia• Japan, Korea, Mongolia
• India
• Southeast Asia• Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia,
Thailand, Philippines, and others
• Oceania• Australia, New Zealand
About Blackpeak Group
Types of Projects
Due DiligenceBusiness
Intelligence Research
Corporate Investigations
• Associate Director, Blackpeak Group
• Worked and lived around the world – U.S., France, Switzerland South Korea, Mainland China, Hong Kong, Thailand, and Singapore
• Manages complex reputational and investigative-enhanced due diligence projects for Blackpeak
About Diana Ngo
• Available info on Social Media
• Platforms used worldwide
• Search techniques and tools
• Privacy and Ethics
• Case study
WHAT WE’LL COVER TODAY
WHAT YOU CAN LEARN FROM SOCIAL MEDIA INVESTIGATIONS
What can you find on social media?
Family
Inferred income level
Property
Business associates
Real-time locations
Criminal connections
#richkidsofinstagram
What can you use social media for?
Source of wealth research for on-boarding clients
Asset identification research for asset-seizing court orders
Whistleblower investigations for employees having undisclosed interests via family members
Investigating misrepresented personal or business relationships
However, confirm what you find
Picture of skyscraper
Picture of two men shaking hands
Did they really go to that school?
Do they really own that business?
Do they really know that tycoon?
How Reliable is the Information on Social Media?
How Reliable is the Information on Social Media?
Law enforcement can find out much more
Befriend the criminal (or their connections)
Access to accounts, with help from social media companies
Call for witnesses to gather evidence
Law enforcement can find out much more
• Knowing capabilities and demographics of platforms
• Determine credibility of content
• Risk of exposing investigators’ personal information to be part of a social media platform
• Understanding privacy settings of various platforms
Smartly using Social Media as an Investigator
• Available info on Social Media
• Platforms used worldwide
• Search techniques and tools
• Privacy and Ethics
• Case study
WHAT WE’LL COVER TODAY
WHICH PLATFORMS DO YOU NEED TO LOOK OUT FOR?
Growth of Digital Users in the World
6
INTERNET
USERS
ACTIVE SOCIAL
MEDIA USERS
UNIQUE
MOBILE USERS
ACTIVE MOBILE
SOCIAL USERS
SINCE JAN 2016 SINCE JAN 2016 SINCE FEB 2016 SINCE JAN 2016
JAN2017
ANNUAL GROWTHYEAR-ON-YEAR CHANGE IN KEY STATISTICAL INDICATORS
SOURCES: POPULATION: UNITED NATIONS; U.S. CENSUS BUREAU; INTERNET: INTERNETWORLDSTATS; ITU; INTERNETLIVESTATS; CIA WORLD FACTBOOK; FACEBOOK; NATIONAL REGULATORY
AUTHORITIES; SOCIAL MEDIA AND MOBILE SOCIAL MEDIA: FACEBOOK; TENCENT; VKONTAKTE; LIVEINTERNET.RU; KAKAO; NAVER; NIKI AGHAEI; CAFEBAZAAR.IR; SIMILARWEB; DING;
EXTRAPOLATION OF TNS DATA; MOBILE: GSMA INTELLIGENCE; EXTRAPOLATION OF EMARKETER AND ERICSSON DATA. COMPARISONS TO WE ARE SOCIAL’S “DIGITAL IN 2016” REPORT.
+10% +21% +5% +30%
+354 MILLION +482 MILLION +222 MILLION +581 MILLION
Source: We Are Social: www.wearesocial.sg and Hootsuite: www.hootsuite.com
No 1 No 2 No 3 No 4 No 5
USA
UK
Brazil
UAE
Japan
PRC
Indonesia
Top 5 Social Media Platforms by Jurisdiction in Jan. 2017
Source: We Are Social: www.wearesocial.sg and Hootsuite: www.hootsuite.com
• Available info on Social Media
• Platforms used worldwide
• Search techniques and tools
• Privacy and Ethics
• Case study
WHAT WE’LL COVER TODAY
SOCIAL MEDIA SEARCH TECHNIQUES
• WeChat and Weibo
• Social Messaging Apps
SOCIAL MEDIA COVERAGE
WeChat and Weibo
• Released in January 2011
• 1.1 billion registered accounts
• 76% of this use WeChat
• 70% of this use WeChateveryday!
• Gender demographic roughly 50/50
• 600 million registered accounts
• 52% of these are active users
• Gender demographic roughly 50/50
WeChat and Weibo
• Released in Jan 2011
• 1.1 billion registered accounts
• 76% of this use WeChat
• 70% of this use WeChateveryday!
• Gender demographic roughly 50/50
• 600 million registered accounts
• 52% of these are active users
• Gender demographic roughly 50/50
WeChat and Weibo
• Finding sources
• Communicating with sources
• Monitoring WeChat groups
• Key word searches for public accounts
• Monitor tweets
• See followers and following accounts
• Key word searches
WeChat and Weibo
• Finding sources
• Communicating with sources
• Monitoring WeChat groups
• Key word searches for public accounts
• Monitor tweets
• See followers and following accounts
• Key word searches
WeChatWhat can we see from an account as non-friend/friend?
Non-friend Friend
What can we see from an account as non-friend/friend?
Non-friend Friend
Who registered it?
Post history
Equivalent to Twitter in China
Available info:• User info: career and education sometimes made public• Location• Time of posting• Photo• Followers/Following
Privacy settings:• Accounts are all public• But users could created different groups and choose to
post only to users in certain group(s)
Able to “secretly follow (悄悄关注)” up to ten accounts
• WeChat and Weibo
• Social Messaging Apps
SOCIAL MEDIA COVERAGE
15
21
2831
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
2012 2013 2014 2015
Instagram Users(% of Internet Users)
Demographics of Instagram(% of internet users)
31% 24%
55
28
1140
10
20
30
40
50
60
18-29 30-49 50-64 64+
Age Breakdown(% of online users who use Instagram)
22
59
70
30
17
21
46
23
9
Engagement
Daily Weekly Less Often
Photo Sharing
User Information
Check-InLocation Information
Time
If it is a new post, Instagram gives you the hours.
If its an old post, Instagram gives you the date.
Carousel Posts were introduced in 2016
Instagram has a “Stories” function similar to Snapchat
Public Private
How to tell who is following your subject or your subject is a follower of someone else
Instagram’s Privacy Settings
• WeChat and Weibo
• Social Messaging Apps
SOCIAL MEDIA COVERAGE
Facebook Users(Among active Internet users in U.S.)
70%
77% 66%
Usage among gender
Demographics of Facebook(% of Internet users)
22
59
70
30
17
21
46
23
9
Engagement
Daily Weekly Less Often
Understanding Facebook’s Privacy Settings
• FB’s default privacy setting is PUBLIC
• FB has the most complicated privacy system out of the other social media platforms
• Access can be granted to other platforms (e.g., Twitter or Instagram)
Describe what you are seeing in this headline
Personal Info:
- Age
- Marital Status
- Education
Networks:
- Friends
- Family
Personal History:
- Timeline
- Pictures
Social:
- Groups
- Events
Others:
Wealth
Activities/Hobbies
Types of Information Available
Access to another platform
Individual privacy Settings
Access to “Friends”
Search Techniques
• By Name• By Google site search• By Known Associates their friend’s list• By Targeted search:
• “People who like UCLA”• Can filter by gender, employer, school,
location, etc. • Available, but in a different way…
• Search by Facebook ID
Search by Google Site Search Function
Search by Mutual Friends
Targeted Search: Available but different
Targeted Search: Available but different
Targeted Search: Available but different
Use Facebook’s Filters
Search by Facebook ID
What can you do if you find someone’s Facebook ID (in this case, mine)?
Search by Facebook ID
Posts that that your subject has been “tagged”
https://www.facebook.com/search/FB ID NUMBER/stories-tagged/intersect
Search by Facebook ID
Photos that that your subject has been “tagged”
https://www.facebook.com/search/FB ID NUMBER/photos-of/intersect
Search by Facebook ID
Photos that your subject has “Liked”
https://www.facebook.com/search/FB ID NUMBER/photos-liked/intersect
Search by Facebook ID
Photos that your subject has commented on
https://www.facebook.com/search/FB ID NUMBER/photos-commented/intersect
Search by Facebook ID
Past events that your subject has attended
https://www.facebook.com/search/FB ID NUMBER/events-joined/in-past/date/events/intersect/
Search by Facebook ID
How can you find someone’s Facebook ID?
Search by Facebook ID
Input Facebook URL Here
Two websites to find FB ID:• http://findmyfbid.com/• http://findfacebookid.com/
Search by Facebook ID
Finding the FB ID manually
Step 1: Right Click
Step 2: Click on “View PageSource”
Search by Facebook ID
Step 3: Go to the source page
Step 4: CTRL + F and type “profileid”
Step 5: Find the FB ID number
• WeChat and Weibo
• Social Messaging Apps
SOCIAL MEDIA COVERAGE
70%
25% 26%
Gender DemographicsLinkedIn Users
(Among active internet users in US)
25%
17
21
32
41
0 20 40 60
Less than $30K
$30K - $49.99K
$50K - $74.99K
$75K+
LinkedIn Users by Income Level
Personal Info Contact Info Work Experience
Professional Connections
Others:
- Certifications
- Publications
- Locations
Types of Information Available
How to make yourself anonymous
What information is available without an account?
What information is available without an account?
What information is available without an account?
What information is available with an account?
• Full profiles are available
• People who have endorsed them
• Groups they are involved with
• List of mutual connections or full (sometimes)
• Contact information
• Publications posted
Less is now available since the new UX was introduced in early 2017.
What information is available with an account?
What information is available with an account?
What information is available with an account?
Connects directly to their WeChat
account
What information is available with an account?
List of full or mutual connections depends on the individual’s settings
• WeChat and Weibo
• Social Messaging Apps
SOCIAL MEDIA COVERAGE
Social Messaging Apps
Can you use these applications for investigations?
• Extremely popular with younger demographics
• Very hard to use for investigative purposes
• Be wary of LINE
• Limited info can be found on Whatsapp
SOCIAL MEDIA RELATED TOOLS
Other Social Media Linkages
Low Profile Individuals
Linking an Email Address to Social Media
Low Profile Individuals
Linking an Email Address to Social Media
• Available info on social media
• Platforms used worldwide
• Search techniques and tools
• The Ethics of Privacy
• Case study
WHAT WE’LL COVER TODAY
THE ETHICS OF PRIVACY WHEN USING SOCIAL MEDIA
Ethics of Privacy
• Investigators have concerns about infringing on the privacy of others
• Social media platforms have an expressed Terms & Conditions
• Users choose what to make public
• It is also the investigator’s responsibility to understand and abide by the laws in their jurisdiction!
Ethics of Privacy
In some cases, privacy issues are a balancing act.
• Available info on social media
• Platforms used worldwide
• Search techniques and tools
• Privacy and Ethics
• Case study
WHAT WE’LL COVER TODAY
CASE STUDIES
Case Study 1 – U.S.
Whistleblowers
Case Study 2 – SEA
Terrorist Connections
Hong Kong | Singapore | Tokyo | New York | Shanghai | Beijing | Guangzhou
About Blackpeak
Blackpeak is an international investigative research and risk advisory firm dedicated to uncovering critical risk-related information for our clients worldwide.
Blackpeak specializes in investigative due diligence, investigations and security, and business intelligence research.
Our team members have been managing risk consulting projects for more than 20 years. We have completed more than 1,200 risk advisory engagements across the globe and covering all industries.Each project is executed by our in-house team with unmatched in-country expertise, using customized investigative methodologies.
Founded in Asia, the firm now operates from strategic locations in key financial and economic centers, including Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo, New York, Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou.
For more information, please visit www.blackpeakgroup.com
Diana M. Ngo
Associate Director
Singapore Office
Direct: +65 6521 4505
Mobile: +65 9111 1986
Email: dngo@blackpeakgroup.com
Using Social Media for
Investigative Purposes
Diana Ngo
Associate Director
Blackpeak Group
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