Investigating on the Internet

Registration & Fees

Registration Fee:
ACFE Members: $655
Non-Members: $805
Early Registration Deadline: November 17, 2025
Register by the Early Registration Deadline to SAVE $125!

Course Outline

Day 1

• 8:00 – 9:20 a.m. An OSINT Mentality and Frameworks

  For today’s anti-fraud professionals, a wealth of information is publicly available and easily accessible on the internet. This session gives an overview of open-source intelligence (as much a mentality as a set of tools and strategies), offers frameworks and workflows to apply in investigations, and relates them to the fraud examination methodology.

• 9:35 – 10:55 a.m. Getting Started with Basics

  Start your investigation using the broadest and most accessible internet search tools, such as Google and Bing. This session will teach you how to take advantage of the features and capabilities of search engines, web browsers, and browser plug-ins. Explore advanced features such as proximity searches, customized alerts, search operators, and other features most users never employ.

• 11:10 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Legal and Ethical Considerations

  Anti-fraud professionals should be aware of legal issues and ethical considerations that can affect or restrict open-source intelligence investigations. Explore challenges such as the use of fake social media profiles, data privacy restrictions, and compliance concerns, along with strategies to navigate them responsibly.

• 12:30 – 1:30 p.m. Lunch

  Lunch

• 1:30 – 2:50 p.m. Public Records and Commercial Databases

  Today, practically every official document is kept as an electronic record. Most of what a fraud examiner is searching for in public records can be accessed online. But how do you find what you are looking for? What can you expect to find? This session outlines what is available and where, as well as the limitations of these records.

• 3:05 – 4:25 p.m. Images, Maps, and Marketplaces

  In this session, participants will explore a number of tools and resources that can significantly aid an investigation if the examiner knows where and how to look. Learn how to fully utilize images and maps, search for evidence in online marketplaces, and inspect a website’s history.

Day 2

• 8:00 – 9:20 a.m. Social Media, Part 1

  Anti-fraud professionals can uncover many aspects of a case with a working knowledge of how social media websites encourage the sharing of personal information. Platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, X, and LinkedIn, are a rich source of investigative data, and it’s important to understand trends in social media, their investigative implications, and strategies to leverage the information found there.

• 9:35 – 10:55 a.m. Social Media, Part 2

  This lesson continues developing the themes from the previous section, and adds practical guidance related to specific social media services and platform types, helping investigators legally and efficiently obtain relevant data and information.

• 11:10 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Cryptocurrency and Digital Assets

  As cryptocurrencies and digital assets become significant facilitators of fraud and other crimes,anti-fraud professionals need to understand how they work, how to recognize indicators of their involvement in an investigation, and how to respond.

• 12:30 – 1:30 p.m. Lunch

  Lunch

• 1:30 – 2:50 p.m. Metadata and Basic Document Forensics

  The presence of metadata and basic document forensics offers critical opportunities for investigators. Hidden details such as time stamps, GPS data, and device information can verify authenticity, connect digital artifacts to people or places, and provide evidentiary support, but require caution due to their potential to be altered or removed.

• 3:05 – 4:25 p.m. OSINT and Artificial Intelligence

  The rapid development and mainstream adoption of artificial intelligence tools offers both positive and negative implications for open-source intelligence in fraud examinations. This lesson covers opportunities for utilization of these tools as well as precautions aimed at reducing errors or liabilities stemming from their use.

Presenter

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