Lawyered Up and Gone Dark: What to do when Subjects Erase their Digital Footprint

It’s a scenario SIUs and claims professionals see every week: a subject’s background check comes up empty, license plate traces are inconclusive, public records disappear; It’s become the go-to advice from plaintiff counsel—shut down, scrub up, leave no digital footprints.

Plaintiff attorneys and their clients have learned that social media content, public affiliations, and community connections can turn cases upside down—so they’re proactive about hiding or erasing them. That leaves SIUs and claim teams with an increasing workload of suspicious claims and less time to properly document and store injury-related activities or collect evidence than ever before.

Harnessing the Power of Vendor Relationships

A properly trained vendor partner doesn’t stop investigating when they find a blank or deleted profile — That’s when we can really shine. Our team is comprised of licensed private investigators, human-driven intelligence, and advanced OSINT tools to piece together a subject’s ecosystem—even when their individual trail seems cold.

Thorough investigation work means looking not only at family member profiles, but also businesses the subject may have interacted with. For instance, was the subject’s daughter on travel soccer? Gymnastics? Does their spouse sell crafts at pop up stores or farmer markets? These businesses post epic amounts of content as a marketing practice for their businesses, often exposing your subject’s activities along the way.

Here’s How We Do It:

Known Network Analysis — Identify and analyze friends, family, work associates, and other connections . Associates’ public posts and personal patterns can reveal ongoing activities, travel, employment, or even the very events that investigation subjects are trying to obscure.

Timeline Reconstruction — We collect places events, activities, and appearances into a clear, chronological timeline, helping SIUs easily connect dots and spot inconsistencies in injury or activity claims. 

Local Hobbies, Businesses & Events — Is the subject involved with local clubs, open-to-the-public fitness events, or recurring social activities? We dig into all community touch points, finding public evidence of ongoing behavior that subjects might think are “under the radar.”

Delivering the Full Picture, Every Time

Even when a subject tries to eliminate their digital footprints, Fraud Sniffr delivers a multi-angle, contextually rich view of behavior and lifestyle. Nothing tells a clearer story than verified connections and consistent timelines backed by metadata. Our reporting integrates social, employment, and even criminal records through OSINT content. The landscape is evolving; claimants are getting smarter about hiding, but so are we about finding. Through collaboration with human expertise and partnership, your team gets investigation results you can trust—even in the toughest cases.

Don’t let “lawyered up and gone dark” be the end of your investigation. Get the complete story. Reach out to learn how Fraud Sniffr makes the invisible, visible. Click this link to start your referral to Fraud Sniffr