As part of my work in SEO, I am sometimes asked if I can investigate who might be behind an online reputation attack, or whether a client’s competitors might be attempting to artificially manipulate rankings. On somewhat more rare occasions, I am called upon to find the real identity behind cyber bullying.
While I don’t offer these as primary services, I will take on such work when I think it fits my skill/background and if I can be truly helpful.
This is an outgrowth of my previous work in the Military Police working undercover in crime prevention. And after the Army, my work as an undercover investigator in the private sector. Then after that, my time working in credit collections where I was deemed good enough at the basic work to be promoted into the skip tracing division.
Sometimes Easy, Sometimes More Challenging
The reality is digital footprint investigations are sometimes straight forward. When you’ve been working in SEO as long as I have, you come to learn how to perform deep dive research online. And too many people are clueless about covering their own tracks. So it may be very simple to find enough pieces to the puzzle.
Other times, those who really know what they’re doing can hide their footprint quite well.
Yet even then, most of those people are sloppy. Maybe not as sloppy as pure amateurs. Yet just sloppy enough.
This is where reliance on heavy hitter forensic tools can really pay off. Cyber intelligence tools can offer a host of insights, if not outright proof of behavior or identity.
Legal Case Value
One of the ways this work can help site owners is when they’re dealing with a legal matter and they need an expert witness to testify in the case. And so far, every client I’ve helped with this specific need has gotten the case settled on their behalf without having to go to trial. Or where the other party dropped any legal claim they tried to use as leverage.
Part of a comprehensive testimony provided to me by Bruce Safran, President, Outsource Marketing Solutions, Inc. after I provided forensic investigative services to him.
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If you find yourself, or your employer or client in a situation that you think requires a proper digital footprint investigation, I’d be more than happy to speak with you about it.
I can’t promise I’ll help every time. And sometimes I may need to refer a case out to others who specialize in this work full time.
Yet I’ll always be willing to listen and at least have an initial discussion.
To find out more about this service, please fill out my online contact form and provide some basic info.