Proactive Social Media Investigations

Course Overview:

This one-day, hands-on training course is designed to equip law enforcement officers with the knowledge, tools, and operational strategies needed to proactively conduct social media investigations using covert or alias online identities. More than just account creation, this course focuses on how to actively engage with the digital environment to identify, monitor, and investigate criminal activity in real time.

Participants will learn step-by-step how to safely and legally develop and manage undercover social media personas that can withstand scrutiny in both the field and the courtroom. From understanding legal considerations and departmental policy to mastering the technical skills needed for creating realistic digital footprints, attendees will leave prepared to use social media not just reactively—but as a proactive investigative tool.

Topics Covered Include:

• Legal and Policy Considerations for Undercover Social Media Operations

• Departmental Approval Processes and Compliance Best Practices

• Planning and Developing a Credible Alias Profile

• Platform Selection Based on Investigative Objectives

• Setting Up Anonymous Infrastructure: Emails, Burner Numbers, VPNs, and Proxies

• Step-by-Step Account Creation and Configuration

• Building Profile Credibility and Avoiding Detection

• Target Identification and Active Monitoring Techniques

• Collecting and Preserving OSINT and Digital Evidence

• Documentation Standards for Court-Admissible Evidence

• Case Studies Showcasing Proactive Social Media Engagement

By the end of the course, participants will have developed functional undercover accounts and will be fully prepared to deploy them in proactive, open-source, and social media-based investigations.

Students will be given a FREE list of investigative resources in the class and shown numerous free databases/resources during the class

COST:

$250 per student

$225 Groups of 3 or more