Question 1

What is OSINT and what can you actually find?

Accepted Answer

OSINT (Open Source Intelligence) is the systematic collection and analysis of publicly available information — social media, public records, court filings, business registrations, news, image and video archives, dark-web forums, and structured data sources. Findable: identity verification, alias linking, employment and address history, business affiliations, social network mapping, behavioral patterns, threat indicators, and infrastructure ownership for online accounts. Constraints: we use lawful sources only — no hacking, no impersonation, no unauthorized account access.

Question 2

Is OSINT investigation legal?

Accepted Answer

Yes when conducted properly. OSINT relies entirely on publicly accessible information accessed through lawful methods. The practice does not engage in pretexting, impersonation of law enforcement, unauthorized account access, hacking, or any technique that would violate state PI licensing rules, federal CFAA, or state computer-crime statutes. Where a Florida private-investigator license is required for the deliverable (court testimony, certain pre-employment investigations), we either operate under our license or coordinate with licensed counsel.

Question 3

How is OSINT different from hiring a private investigator?

Accepted Answer

Significant overlap, different specializations. Traditional PIs are strong on physical surveillance, in-person interviews, and field investigation. OSINT specialists are strong on digital-evidence collection, social-network analysis, large-data correlation, and infrastructure tracing — which is most of what modern investigations require. Many cases benefit from both; we partner with licensed PIs in Florida and elsewhere when an engagement requires field work alongside our digital analysis.

Question 4

Who hires you for OSINT?

Accepted Answer

Attorneys (pre-litigation diligence, asset tracing, witness vetting, deposition preparation), corporate clients (pre-employment senior-hire investigation, M&A target due diligence, IP-theft suspect investigation, fraud investigation), individuals (identity verification of someone they're considering a business or personal relationship with, romance-scam investigation, threat assessment), and family offices (principal-protection threat scanning, vendor and household-staff diligence).

Question 5

How much does an OSINT investigation cost?

Accepted Answer

Focused investigations (single-subject identity verification, asset trace, social-network mapping): $2,500-$8,000 fixed fee. Multi-subject or longitudinal investigations (organized fraud, complex business diligence, threat-actor attribution): $8,000-$50,000 hourly with milestone caps. Pricing scales with depth of investigation, not data volume.

Question 6

Will the subject of the investigation know?

Accepted Answer

When done properly, no. OSINT relies on publicly accessible information accessed through methods that don't trigger notifications. We do not contact the subject, contact people in the subject's network, or interact with their accounts in ways that would create disclosure. Where the engagement does require interaction (rare, and only with attorney coordination), we discuss it explicitly with the retaining client before proceeding.

OSINT Investigation Services

What this service does

What we will not do

How an engagement begins

Why this work matters

Quinnlan Varcoe

A confidential, structured engagement.

Confidential Consultation

Scoped Engagement

Investigation and Findings

Frequently asked about OSINT investigations

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