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Hetherington Group © 2019, all rights reserved.
Domestic Due Diligence Investigations
Cynthia Hetherington, MLS, MSM, CFE, CII
Cynthia’s Expertise ▪ OSMOSIS Conference Host
▪ ACFE Faculty
▪ ASIS Educator
▪ Global OSINT presenter
▪ Author & publisher
▪ Analyst
▪ Security Practitioner
▪ Investigator
▪ Tech
▪ Librarian
Agenda Online due diligence is the analytical use of public records and information found in databases, open
sources, fee-based resources, and Web 2.0+ sites
This is how we run our cases…
Using your five knowledge points Know your 1. Company 2. Compliance 3. Sources 4. Research 5. Follow up
Know your Company
Checklist on Domestic Cases COMPANY ASSETS / LIABILITIES
Name Property Ownership
State and FEIN Identifiers Vehicles / Watercraft / Aircraft
Business status (profit, non, charity) Security Ownership (5% Owners)
Industry codes (NAICS, SIC) Business reports
Business address Credit reports
Website Intellectual property
Contact numbers Causes (political, charitable, sponsorship)
Email addresses UCC
Social media profile addresses
LEGAL
COMPANY BIOGRAPHY Bankruptcies
Executive management Liens / Judgments / Tax
Company history Sanctioning / Regulatory
Company statements (mission, sales objectives Litigation
Federal contracting (Sam.gov) Criminal
Secretary of State / Corporation filings Compliance
Permits (OSHA) Property (Foreclosures)
Professional licenses
Professional association affiliations MEDIA
Charitable donations News/Literature
Political donations Social Media (beyond biographical)
Open Sources (Surface Web)
Open Sources via Google A company will have a presence on the Internet whether it is a
Web site
Social media presence
Yellow pages listing
Google.com Proximity Searching
“Phrenology Analytics” * Charleston
“Phrenology Analytics” * “Lorenzo Niles Fowler”
Google filetype:pptx + confidential Using standard Microsoft Filetypes you can narrow down your search to key company information.
Filetype:pptx or docx or xlsx – No space between!
Add words like “attorney work product” or confidential
Filetype:docx “Phrenology Analytics” * “attorney work product”
Google Maps: Charleston Office Changes
2011 2017
Know your Compliance
Public Records Litigation history
Media history
Business & personal affiliations
SEC filings
Corporate records
Regulatory history
Vendor & supplier relationships
Academic records
Financial records
Property records
Board appointments
Liens, judgments, and UCCs
Subsidiaries and franchises
Physical assets
Political & charitable causes
Intellectual property
Know your Sources
Public Records & Open Sources Public records were once found in city clerk’s offices, court houses and government offices.
Now via the Internet the majority of US public records are available for free.
Open sources are considered in addition to public records, such as news and media, social media posts,
anything located via a search engine. Open sources are surface or deep web findings.
Public Record Database Vendors Thomson Reuters CLEAR
Online Databases Much information is available online, yet there are some limitations
Preference should be to find it online and retrieve the hard copy
There are annual, monthly, or
“pay-as-you-go” services
Public Records – Online Limitations Must be licensed to gain access to professional services
Types of records vary widely from state to state and county to county
Searches are limited by geography
Online records are often brief abstracts of original records
Media Benefits The news online starts in the late 1970s’
You can search in multiple languages; however, do not expect translated news
Each provider is owned by a publisher, so they have biases in their sources
Media - Limitations No images
No translations
Nothing prior to the ‘70’s
Free news sites are luck of the draw
Litigation – Limitations & Benefits There may be problems identifying court jurisdiction
Some records exist only at the county level
Investigators may have to search multiple jurisdictions if the subject either lived or acted in multiple locations
Will not include litigation information that has been sealed by the court Financial information (bankruptcy or divorce) Psychological state (divorce) Medical reports (injury or accident litigation)
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Financial Information & Assets Do assets exist, where do they exist, and are they recoverable?
Search for hard assets
Search for asset potential
Noticing more home improvements?
Look for intellectual property
Public Records – What to know! Prefer .gov over .com when possible.
Verify the currency of the database.
Check how far back the records and data go back.
Non-US countries tend to have stronger privacy laws and weaker database systems. There really is no comparison to US public record systems
Consider the following Check out the Web site of your target
Be sure to look at the archive.org and Zoominfo.com The regional library will have localized information and news
Look at any associations your target belongs to
News, News, News! It’s International and comprehensive
Web sites of Interest BRBPublications.com
Searchsystems.net
Degreeverify.com
disexpress.umi.com
blackbookonline.info
Guidestar.org
192.com – UK
infobel.com - World
Local Courts
State Courts BRBPublications.com
Federal Courts Pacer.uscourts.gov
ustaxcourt.gov/docket.htm
Special Courts
Intellectual Property USPTO.gov
Wipo.int
Strategy Is your case Symmetrical or Asymmetrical?
Probably Symmetrical with some asymmetrical sections! A symmetrical case benefits from a clear strategy to keep you focused.
A list of your favorite resources is always handy.
The list of resources you rarely use, but are valuable when you need them is even better!
Professional Services Search Strategies Obtain the 3 identifiers:
Complete name (with middle initial and alternatives) Date of birth Social Security number (SSN) or Foreign Identifier
Get last known address or family address
Watch costs
LEARN THE TOOL FIRST!!!
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Know your Research
Some Steps for Domestic Cases Start by retrieving the comprehensive report
Record a list of all the jurisdictions where they lived and worked
Make note of family members and associates
Visit BRBPublications.com and start evaluating what else is available in the jurisdictions in which your target
is appearing
Strategy – The Business End Subjects
Who is/are the subject(s) of your case?
Do you have the proper spelling of their name?
Budget
What is your budget for time and expenses?
Would a phased approach work?
Deadline
Expectations are based on timing
Strategy - Basic Background Identify locations, professional histories, education
Create a spreadsheet of counties
Biographical info in media/press, Internet, & Who's Who—Marquis via Dialog
Google and Bing for relevant info
Social Network Profiles—LinkedIn, Facebook & Twitter to start
Verify education—DegreeVerify.com and disexpress.umi.com
Strategy – Business & Licensing Look for business ownership and affiliation
Nexis
D&B (individuals in state, address & phone)
Standard public record vendors
Identify any specialized licenses for the subject
States of residence – brbpublications.com
FINRA
Strategy – Media Searches Look for C.A.R.A.: Characteristics, Associations, Reputation, and Affiliations, as well as any adverse
information in media resources
ThomsonReuters
Factiva
Nexis
ProQuest Dialog - Identify local papers or specialty publications for your subject
Strategy – Litigation Checks Search domestic court matters
Federal: Pacer, Lexis US Docket
Opinions & Decisions: Lexis Mega, Westlaw
County-level overall: Lexis Criminal & Civil states, Public Record databases
County-level specific: Lexis (select specific counties), Westlaw, Courtlink, BRBPublications, Public Record databases
UCCs, Liens & Judgment: Nexis, D&B, Public Record databases
Strategy - Sanctions, Regulatory Regulatory searches on your subject
• World Check One (Thomson Reuters)
• WorldCompliance (Lexis Nexis)
• FINRA
• State Licensing Boards – BRBPublications
• National Licensing Boards – AMA, ABA
Other Public Record Sites of Interest BRBPublications.com
Searchsystems.net
blackbookonline.info
Arachnys.com
192.com – UK
infobel.com - World
Locateplus
Experian
Acxiom
USSearch
Intelius
Professional Resources Kompass.com
Skyminder.com
Skyminder Credit Reporting
Bureau van Dijk
Dun and Bradstreet
Owensonline.com
Other Sources: Check out the website
The library
Associations
Personal histories
Search engines
Newspaper and journals
Top 10 Google.com
LinkedIn.com
Dnb.com
Pipl.com
Cybertoolbelt.com
Sec.gov
Facebook.com
World-Check.com - TR
Skyminder.com
clear.thomsonreuters.com
brbpublications.com
Yasni.com
Nexis.com
WIPO.org
WorldCompliance.com - LN
Know your Follow Up
End Notes Stop when the budget runs out, or you have exhausted your leads.
Document all of your findings, even if they seem extraordinary, you want capture these leads when they
present themselves.
When authoring you report, never be 100% unless you have first hand knowledge of the events. Online
results can be wrong or deliberately misleading.
Offer an executive summary or key findings and recommended next steps.
Capture the documents as addendum to your reports.
Hetherington Group © 2019, all rights reserved.
Cynthia Hetherington, MLS, MSM, CFE, CII
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