You Can Be a Private Eye
February 19, 2015
These days, anyone can be a private investigator; all you need are the Internet and some know-how. CNet lays out “5 Tips for Finding Anything, About Anyone, Online.” Writer Sarah Jacobsson Purewal begins:
“I think everyone should have decent online stalking skills. Not because I condone stalking, but because knowledge is power—if you don’t know how to find people online, how do you know what people can find about you online? Googling yourself is like checking your credit report for inaccuracies: it’s only effective as a preventative measure if you do it thoroughly and routinely. Whether you’re looking for yourself or a friend (no judgment), here are five tips for finding out anything, about anyone, online.”
Purewal begins with the logical first step—Google. She helpfully links to a video on advanced Google search techniques. She also advises do-it-yourself sleuths to “type in everything you know about the person in keyword format.” Next is Facebook’s People Search tool. Here, the write-up reminds us we can go through friends and family to find someone who’s using a fake Facebook name. Under the heading “Make connections,” Purewal advises searchers they will have to do some thinking:
“Once you have several facts about your subject, you’ll need to use your brain to make connections and fill in the blanks. For example, if you know your subject’s name, job title, and location, you can probably find their LinkedIn profile. On their LinkedIn profile, they’ve probably listed their undergraduate degree and when they graduated from college, which means you can work backward to figure out approximately how old they are.”
The list goes on to note, “Remember people are not very creative;” many unwisely use the same username and even password at many websites. One can use that clue to hunt someone down in social networks and community forums. Finally, we’re reminded that “A picture is worth a thousand words.” Purewal recommends snagging a Facebook or Twitter profile picture and taking it over to TinEye or Google Images for a reverse lookup. Isn’t technology wonderful?
Cynthia Murrell, February 19, 2015
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
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