Preface

We conceived this book during a weekend telephone call when Art said we need to write a book on Internet investigations. Todd thought it was a great idea and just so happened to have a draft outline he had written in the hopes of someday writing this book. From the start we wanted to provide to the investigative community a reference book that would help them deal with the growing issues of Internet-related crime. Over the years as we both have taught these topics elicited herein, we heard the frustration with the lack of published material specific to Internet investigations, as opposed to the numerous computer forensic texts. This book was intended to fill the void and provide a focused approach to investigating, documenting, and locating Internet criminals.

In Chapter 1, we define Internet crime and follow with a discussion in Chapter 2 regarding the offenders that were making the Internet their criminal playground. In Chapter 3, we provide an understanding how Internet crimes can be investigated. We then discuss in Chapter 4 the legal issues associated with collecting online electronically stored information (ESI). Chapter 5 commences the process of properly documenting online ESI. Together Chapters 4 and 5 stress the importance of collecting, preserving, and documenting online ESI so it can be admitted as evidence in any legal proceeding.

In Chapter 6, we present various tools for investigating Internet crime. Chapter 7 discusses how investigators need to prepare their equipment and protect themself online. In Chapter 8, we lay out the investigative process of following online data to identify an investigative target. We cover in Chapter 9 how the investigator can work unseen on the Internet and in Chapter 10, we furthered that discussion with detailing how to conduct covert investigations. In Chapter 11, we outline the processes an investigator uses to respond to Internet crime in their community. Chapter 12 focuses on resources the investigator can use to locate online evidence. In Chapter 13, we outline how to investigate websites. We devoted Chapter 14 to looking at social media and how it has impacted investigations. In Chapter 15, we discuss a variety of Internet communication methods and how to investigate them. Chapter 16 provides approaches to detecting and preventing Internet crimes. In Chapter 17, we bring it all together with scenarios that lay out a set of investigative circumstances and how to go about solving online crime.

Most of the scenarios found throughout this book may be similar to real investigations in the field. None of the information mentioned is from a real investigation and should not be inferred as such or associated with any wrongdoing. The cases mentioned as real are referenced to their sources and quoted based on known published facts.

Readers should find that this book takes a practical, hands-on approach to dealing with the techniques and tools defined in each chapter. Our intent is not to provide you with enormous amounts of technical data on the topic, but balance the explanation of Internet processes with techniques to aid in your investigation. You should find that you can immediately employ the techniques in your investigations. We hope that you find Internet Crime Investigations a useful resource in making the Internet a part of your regular beat.