Growing up in the 80’s I watched more than my fair share of crime fighting shows – from UK series Minder and Dempsey & Makepeace to US shows like Magnum PI. When people come to Rexxfield looking for help, they often have preconceived ideas of how their problem can be solved. Unsurprisingly, the view of what they need is influenced by the modern versions of TV shows that sensationalize crime fighting. Phones weren’t a thing in the 80’s, but today everyone has one, and they are a potential source of forensic data. It’s hardly surprising then that our investigators get asked: “Can a private investigator hack your phone”, or “Can private investigators hack social media”, or “Can you hack …”
To Hack or Not To Hack
Despite what is portrayed on TV, forensic investigation ALMOST NEVER involves hacking. I say “almost never” because on very rare occasions, hacking can be asked for, under court order, to hack a device. Rexxfield has been asked to hack a phone only once, which given our thousands of cases, is clearly extremely rare. Rexxfield has the capability to hack phones, but we will not do it for regular cases or for suspects.
The reason for our refusal as a private investigator to hack your phone is because it’s illegal.
Rexxfield’s reputation is of utmost importance to us, and we will never engage in any activity that is knowingly illegal.
Ethical hacking
Rexxfield does not need to hack.
Rexxfield was asked to hack a phone in a specific situation where a suspect was already in custody and law enforcement officers needed access to his phone for evidence. The suspect refused to provide access, and so the law enforcement officer gained a court order for the phone hack, and so we provided the service.
The exception was an exception because of a court order, but in normal, everyday cell phone investigations, hacking is not an option we consider.
Hacking Alternatives
The nature of our digital lives these days means that cell phone investigations do not require hacking. So much data is online that a talented and resourceful cell phone forensics service can gather evidence without hacking.
Cell phone investigations are not likely to feature in our forensic investigations at all.
Our focus is more likely to be on the digital breadcrumbs left behind by the device when it is communicating online.
Our investigators will gather forensics data from public sources, which are many:
OSINT (Open Source Intelligence)
Most people would be stunned how much of their data can be found online. Sources and examples include:
- Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) available online from various sources
- Social media account analysis
- Reverse image lookups
- Phone numbers (including communication apps that use phone numbers)
- Email and password leaks
- Email headers
- Domain and hosting data
- Website code (eg Javascript code)
- Social media mapping
- Criminal record checks
- Current and historic aliases
- Checked against Child/Adult barred lists
- Research into newspaper archives and online publications
- Pending legal action check
- Sanction and political exposure, INTERPOL Notified Persons check
- Financial activity (on and offshore)
- Exposure to high risk associates
- Physical movements over certain time periods
- Clear and dark web exposure.
TripWire
One of Rexxfield’s differentiators is our Tripwire system. In short, our tripwire discovers IP addresses of suspects at a specific point in time. Every device connected to the internet has a public IP address. Rexxfield can obtain the IP address of a device and collect evidence to definitively prove or disprove a suspect’s involvement in a crime using the same device. Don’t ask us how, but it is legal and proven submissable and compelling in court.
CSINT (Closed Source Intelligence)
Closed source intelligence is data that is sourced from resources not generally open to the public. The data that is available varies on a case by case basis. An example is images from a closed-circuit TV camera. Data availability and usage rules can be complex, but the data is always legally obtained when available. It is a source that can yield very valuable data to open up an investigation or crossmatch with other data.
Financial History
Financial data can be very important when we are dealing with a financial crime. We need financial data related to our client’s losses or information about the scammer’s associates and the larger scam our client fell victim to.
Rexxfield is, on occasion, able to obtain:
- Partial or complete financial history
- Bribery, corruption or fraud checks
- Involvement in money laundering activities
- Reveal concealed offshore accounts
- Corporate entities controlled by the target
- Freeze of funds – we have the relationships to get a temporary freeze of funds enacted at short notice, pending a court order for a permanent freeze.
- Blockchain exposure to scams, compromised or sanctioned entities
Third Parties
Rexxfield has been compiling forensic evidence for clients and law enforcement since 2008. Rexxfield’s founder Michael Roberts, was dubbed the worlds first “Internet Bounty Hunter“. Michael and Rexxfield have been on dozens of mainstream media news, shows and print media, showcasing some of our bigger and public cases (such as “Brewdog“).
Mr. Watt, the founder of Brewdog decided to go public with his case, after Michael successfully identified his protagonist, despite the sophisticated use of VPN cloaking services.
Rexxfield’s work resulted in the criminal conviction of Ms. Emili Ziem, and court-ordered restitution of the equivalent of USD 675,000.
https://rexxfield.com/public-figure-cyberstalkers-investigations/
With our longevity and success as private forensic internet investigators, we’ve built up a world-class network of firms that add to our in-house capabilities.
Some sources prefer to work behind a firewall due to the sensitive nature of their work. However, there are others like Karl Kronenberger, a well-known litigation lawyer, who provides Rexxfield’s clients with an alternative route to the law enforcement path in order to gain financial compensation for their loss. For example; KRlaw specializes in assisting clients who are unable to pursue legal action through law enforcement channels. They can help clients who have been harmed due, in part, to negligence or non-compliance by regulated entities. In situations like these, Karl’s team diligently pursues the financial compensation that the client truly deserves.
How Can We Help You?
What is it that brings you here?
- Are you being harassed online, perhaps in social media, email, SMS, What’sApp? – we can find out who it is, where they are and provide the evidence to obtain a restraining order or pursue legal remedies.
- Have you had photos stolen, deep fake porn made of you, or revenge porn which are being spread online? – we can track it, scrub it as well as build evidence against the perpetrator.
- Someone is defaming you, stalking, bullying you or trying to stop you getting on with your life at every opportunity? -we can socially engineer them into revelaing who they are, incriminating themselves and gaining enough evidence to put them behind bars.
- Financial crime? – increasingly victims are contacted through messaging apps on mobile devices. As trust is built, the risk of being scammed out of your life savings, house, and borrowed money from friends and family increases. We don’t need to hack phones to catch the bad guys, because the assets they use every day are digital, which creates a vulnerability that we can interrogate for evidence. Then there’s the blockchain – the wonderful world of a immutable public ledger – that provides a permanent list of the transactions used in the scam, the laundering and the cashout.
Call Rexxfield
If you have an online problem, where you are the victim of someone harming you in some way, don’t call the TV heroes of the 80’s. You don’t need to find the “A – Team”, just call Rexxfield.
You will already know what our answer will be when you ask, can a private investigator hack your phone? Let us find the legal solution to solve your problem. Call Rexxfield.
