Social Media Investigations
Over three and a quarter billion people – nearly half of the world’s population – are currently on social media, and the numbers continue to grow. Americans on average spend about two and a half hours a day using social media to inform and educate themselves, interact and communicate, and broadcast amazingly intimate details about their personal lives, from their innermost thoughts and dreams to their latest meal or shopping trip. Two-thirds of U.S. adults are on Facebook, and it’s not just the younger set. While 84% of 18 to 29-year-olds use Facebook, so do 45% of those 65 and older. Every day, over 500 million Instagram Stories share the events of somebody’s day. And the vast majority of people access their social media via a mobile device, meaning most Americans constantly leave a digital footprint showing everywhere they go and everything they do.
This digital footprint can be investigated, uncovered, and utilized by attorneys involved in litigation, commercial transactions, family law, and countless other legal fields. Millennium Intelligence Agency conducts social media investigations for lawyers and law firms in California and worldwide. Call 213-986-9888 or reach out online for a consultation.
#1 Reason to Conduct Social Media Investigations – CREDIBILITY
There is no doubt social media has changed our lives in countless ways, including what we know about people and how we interact with each other. For many people, communicating on social media platforms like Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and others is like wearing a mask; their inhibitions are removed, and they feel free to say what is on their minds! Additionally, there are those who feel the need to let the world know their every movement and happenings. Some people dream of having their lives exposed as if they were one of the Kardashians! Others harness the power of these platforms to lash out against people, friends, the government, and anyone they disagree with.
What they don’t realize is when they take a picture of that huge steak, exotic cocktail, or aerobics class, or post anything about what is going on in their life, they are leaving a digital footprint!
Digital Footprints are being left everywhere on the internet. A licensed investigator at Millennium Intelligence Agency knows how to trace those footprints and deliver a work product that attorneys and law firms find eminently useful in their legal matters.
#2 Reason to Conduct Social Media Investigations – EVIDENCE
Social media posts are being used more and more in lawsuits and court proceedings. Direct and corroborative evidence can be established through social media investigations. Social media investigations provide valuable evidence for the following purposes, among others:
- Disproving statements made by parties or witnesses
- Jury vetting
- Personal injury client and defendant research
- Challenging the whereabouts of an individual at a particular time and place
- Risk management in the workplace
- Competitor intelligence
- Investor and business dealings between parties
- Witness locating and credibility
- Post-trial jury misconduct discovery
Developing social media evidence is becoming a necessary investigation and discovery tool that more and more attorneys and corporations are using to make critical business and legal decisions.
Performing the Depth of Investigation That Meets Your Needs
Millennium Intelligence Agency is equipped to perform the high-level or deep-dive search that your legal matter requires. Below is a description of the typical social media searches our firm conducts:
Preliminary Search
Our preliminary social media investigation searches all social media platforms. Multiple software programs are used by experienced open-source intelligence specialists utilizing state-of-the-art practices to gather accurate results. We provide a report that includes links to each social media site discovered.
Deep Dive Search
The Deep Dive Search is designed to uncover specific intelligence that matches the requirements of your case. We will harvest all the details you need, such as screenshots, photos, statements, blogs, articles and more. Our social media investigators perform like an archeologist, harvesting and preserving all intelligence and presenting it in an accurate report.
High-Level Search
Our High-Level Search involving politicians, celebrities, social media influencers, and other high-level individuals is geared toward those individuals with large amounts of online content. All online content found on the deep web is harvested and analyzed. Reports include all photos, screenshots, articles, statements, records, speaking engagements, etc., and all specific details matching the requirements of your case.
Evidence Preservation
Evidence Preservation of web-harvested intelligence is something the courts are taking more seriously and requiring. Judges are not so quick to allow the introduction of social media as evidence without the proper foundation and documentation. Preservation of web-based evidence is required if you plan on using it in court. Social media evidence can easily be altered or changed. Counsel can direct a client to pull down or change their social media. Early social media investigations are an important step to capture and preserve web data for legal proceedings.
Why Hire a Private Investigator for Social Media Investigations
You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know, but Opposing Counsel DoesWhether you are looking for general information about a client, party, witness or event, or if you have specific goals and questions to answer, a social media investigation can play a critical role in getting you the information you need in a professional format you can use. Call Millennium Intelligence Agency at 213-986-9888 for a consultation regarding a social media investigation or other intelligence-gathering services.
