Advanced Investigations of MySpace.com and other Social Networking Sites Presentation by:  Sgt. Corey MacDonald, Esq. Sgt. Corey Fuller MacDonald, a decorated member of the Portsmouth, NH, Police Department, has served as a police officer for 10 years and as a high school resource officer during the 2005-06 school year.  He is a certified expert on illicit drug use and drug physiology.  Sgt. MacDonald is a national lecturer on MySpace.com, and recently released a DVD called A Parent’s Guide to MySpace.com in conjunction with Omni Publishing Co.  Sgt. MacDonald holds a BS from Hesser College, and earned his law degree at the Massachusetts School of Law.  He is a member of the Massachusetts Bar Association and the New Hampshire Bar Association.  Sgt. MacDonald is a professor of criminal justice at Hesser College, in Manchester, NH, and a Trustee of the Fuller Foundation, Inc. and the Fuller Foundation of NH.

Table of Contents

1.      Brief Background

2.      Getting Started

§  My Space is the premier online social networking site. With Facebook, Xanga, Craigslist and others, myspace still holds the most appeal

§  An online investigator may be a law enforcement officer, teacher, administrator, school counselor or parent

§  Skill taught here will benefit a number of people

3.      Investigative Purposes

§  Detect evidence of past or present crimes

§  Identify at risk youth – ‘Are you 29?’

§  Monitor social behavior – inappropriate pics. Etc.

§  Conduct counter intelligence

§  Monitor gang and hate recruiting

§  Monitor your own child’s activities

§  Proactive policing of pedophiles / prostitutes

4.      What Is draw to youth for online social networking

§  A false perception of anonymity

§  A chance to portray an image

§  A chance to meet like-minded people

§  Little to no supervision

§  Perception that parents and law enforcement are in the dark on My Space and other social networks

5.      Some of the dangers

§  On line predators, 1in 5 kids are approached online

§  False sites, pornography, phishing for personal info for identity theft

§  Gang and hate group recruitment

§  Rampant prostitution and drug dealing

§  Cyber bullying

6.      Parent’s on the hook 

§  More and more parent’s having their personal information disclosed online

§  Underage party liability (facilitating)

§  Marital problems

§  Substance abuse

§  Employment Secrets

7.      First Steps

§  Take the time to develop a working knowledge of social networks sites; obtain school approval

§  10 minute email / dept email

§  Myspace search demonstration

§  Group demonstration

§  Friend request (now requires confirmation)

§  Internal email and external comments (4^th amendment rights)

8.      Possible Tools

§  Background Investigations / Criminal Activity

9.      Facebook

§  No longer need school email address; Pictures; Email/Group; Events; Marketplace; Search capabilities (regions, college ); Must be at least 13 years old

10.  Gizmo

§  Upload pictures; Must be at least 13 years old; Account settings; Email & IM; Friend requests; Search

11.  Craigslist

§  Nationwide Community Bulletin Board

§  Divided by State/City - Dating, Items for Sale, Jobs, Housing. Services, Events

§  Prostitution and drug dealing

§  Become familiar with terminology -Wikipedia

12.  Undercover Ops

§  Know the laws for entrapment

§  What constitutes soliciting in your location

§  Generally money  + act = probable cause

§  Know whether you can record (visual/audio)

§  Know the lingo

13.  Myspace

§  180 million users; upload pictures/videos; send IM and email; no registration for friend request; Most used site by young adults

§  Set up account settings to screen call ins

14.  Open vs. Close Site Considerations

§  Detail description of differences between Open vs. closed sites; Friend ID how you id someone

15.  Investigations

§  Tracking conversations; print comments ;

16.  Seizing Information

§  Review of # of days you can retrieve messages

§  Preservation of Record / Emergency Disclosure

§  Introducing My Space Evidence

§  My Space Resources; FAQ pages, hotline #