Guides
Practical Guides Before You Hire Anyone
These guides exist because most people can do more than they realise before paying for professional research — and because knowing what a service can and cannot deliver makes for a better decision either way.
Why these exist
Read first. Decide second.
A structured investigation is the right tool for some questions and the wrong one for others. These guides help you tell the difference and act sensibly in the meantime.
Many of the situations that lead people to consider hiring an investigator — a suspicious online partner, an unfamiliar supplier, a business opportunity that seems too smooth — have a set of basic checks anyone can run first. Reverse-image searching a photograph, reading a company's public filings, or noticing a pattern of urgency and avoidance are things you don't need to pay anyone to do.
What these guides don't replace is corroboration across multiple independent sources, structured cross-checking of inconsistencies, and a documented, reviewed conclusion — the parts of the work that justify a professional investigation. Reading a guide first means that if you do commission a case, you'll do so with clear eyes about what it can add.
All guides
Every guide, at a glance
How to Verify Someone Online
A practical, step-by-step approach to checking a new online contact's identity using free and low-cost methods. Covers what a careful individual can realistically confirm alone, and where professional research becomes necessary.
How to Tell If You Are Being Catfished
The behavioural and technical warning signs most often present in fabricated online identities, from refused video calls to reused photographs. Explains what each sign does and does not prove on its own.
Romance Scam Red Flags
A structured list of the patterns seen across romance-related fraud, including urgency, isolation and requests for money or gift cards. Written to help you recognise a developing scam before financial loss occurs.
What Can an Online Investigator Find
An honest breakdown of what lawful open-source research can and cannot establish about a person or company. Sets realistic expectations before you commit to any investigation service.
How to Verify a Company Before Payment
A checklist for confirming whether a supplier, seller or business you only know online is likely genuine before you send money. Covers registration traces, domain history and common red flags in company communication.
Business Due Diligence Checklist
A deeper checklist for evaluating a prospective business partner, investment or counterparty beyond basic verification. Covers ownership structure, public reputation and the questions worth asking before committing.
Start here
Not sure where to begin? Start with your situation
These four situation pages match common circumstances to the right guide and the right service.
I want to verify someone I met online
Preventative verification before committing further.
I think I'm being catfished
Specific doubts about a profile or persona.
Someone is asking me for money
A contact you only know online has requested funds.
I need to verify a business partner
A new partner, supplier or investment relationship.
Frequently asked questions
Are these guides free to use?
Yes. They are published to help you think clearly about a situation before deciding whether professional research is worthwhile, with no obligation to use any service.
Do the guides replace a professional investigation?
No. They give you a sensible starting framework and the checks any careful person can do alone. Professional research goes further — corroborating findings across independent sources and producing a documented, reviewed report.
Which guide should I read first?
Start with the guide that matches your situation most closely. If you're unsure, the four situation pages below will point you toward the right guide and, if needed, the right service.
I've read the guide and still have doubts. What now?
That's usually the point where independent verification becomes worthwhile. Submit a case assessment describing what you've already checked, and you'll receive a scoped, priced recommendation.
Related pages
Ready to go further than a guide can take you?
Submit your situation and receive a scoped, priced recommendation before any research begins.