Forensic Accounting and OSINT – Hetherington Group
This research paper provides an in-depth look at how forensic accountants can use open-source intelligence (OSINT) to track financial fraud, uncover hidden assets, and conduct due diligence investigations. It emphasizes the importance of social media analysis, advanced search techniques, and digital forensic tools in tracing financial irregularities.
Fraud investigations often start with people, as individuals orchestrate deceptive schemes—leveraging OSINT techniques can reveal crucial details such as undisclosed business interests, offshore accounts, and other fraudulent activities. This aids in forensic accounting to uncover hidden assets and possible nefarious activities.
The document explores how forensic accountants can use social media platforms, image search tools, and business databases to identify financial misconduct. Popular investigative tools are shown to help uncover aliases, corporate affiliations, and financial transactions. Additionally, forensic accountants must be aware of multiple accounts and fake identities, which bad actors use to conceal fraudulent activities. Understanding global financial compliance laws and regulatory databases such as SEDAR (Canada), EDGAR (U.S.), and FFIEC (U.S. financial institutions) is also critical in tracking money laundering and corporate fraud.
The role of image recognition and deep web searches in forensic investigations is also highlighted in this research. This paper shows how image recognition tools are used in identifying fraudulent transactions, counterfeit documents, and misleading financial records. When direct OSINT methods fail, investigators can also turn to advanced proximity searches to uncover critical data.
By combining forensic accounting methodologies with OSINT capabilities, financial investigators can enhance fraud detection, improve legal compliance, and ensure corporate integrity.
Download our research paper to learn more about how OSINT can enhance forensic accounting and investigations.
