Process
How the investigation process works
Every case follows the same six stages, in the same order, whether it concerns a person you met online or a company you are about to pay. Nothing proceeds without your agreement, and every conclusion is reported with an honest account of what it does and does not establish.
The six stages
From submission to a written report
Each stage exists to protect the quality of the conclusion at the end of it, not to pad out the process.
- STEP 01
Case assessment
You describe the situation through the case-assessment form: what you already know, what you want established, and what you can supply as a starting point.
- STEP 02
Scope confirmation
You are sent a defined objective, its limits, and a fixed price. Work only begins once you agree to it — there is no obligation created by submitting a case.
- STEP 03
Open-source collection
An analyst gathers lawful, publicly available information relevant to the agreed objective, recording where each item came from as it is collected.
- STEP 04
Corroboration
Individual findings are checked against independent sources before being treated as reliable. A single unverifiable claim is not reported as fact.
- STEP 05
Analyst review
A person reviews the full body of research, checks it for internal contradictions, and assigns a confidence level to each conclusion.
- STEP 06
Written report
You receive a structured report covering findings, the sources behind them, confidence levels, and any gaps or limitations, stated plainly.
Before work begins
Scope and price are agreed first, always
A case assessment is not a commitment and does not create a charge.
After your case assessment is reviewed, you are told what looks realistically achievable given the information available, what it will cost, and roughly how long it is likely to take. This is not a generic price list applied automatically — it reflects the number of subjects involved, the countries and languages implicated, and how much verifiable starting information you have already been able to provide.
If, having read the proposed scope, you decide not to proceed, that is the end of it. Research only begins once you have confirmed both the scope and the price in writing through the platform.
What you supply
What you need to provide
The quality of the starting material has a direct effect on what can be established and how quickly.
- A clear statement of what you want established and why
- Names, usernames, nicknames and any known aliases
- Photographs, screenshots and links you already hold
- Phone numbers, email addresses or messenger handles, if known
- Claimed employer, job title, city and country
- Company names, websites or registration details for business cases
- A short account of the events or inconsistencies that concern you
- Any documents already exchanged, such as invoices or contracts
Turnaround
Realistic timeframes
No investigator can promise a deadline before seeing the case, but most work follows a predictable pattern.
- Straightforward, single-subject cases
- Typically 2–5 business days once scope is confirmed, where good starting information is available.
- Multi-country or multi-language cases
- Usually longer, as sources need to be reviewed in different jurisdictions and, at times, different languages.
- Business due diligence
- Generally the longest engagements, given the number of registries, ownership layers and adverse-media sources typically involved.
- Expedited handling
- Can be requested at case assessment. It affects prioritisation, not the standard of corroboration applied to findings.
Findings & confidence
How results are reported
A finding is only as useful as the honesty of the confidence attached to it.
Every report separates what was established from how confident that establishment is. A finding that is corroborated by multiple independent sources is reported differently from one that rests on a single, unverified source, and both are reported differently again from something that could not be resolved at all. This distinction is stated explicitly next to each significant conclusion rather than buried in a summary.
Read how corroboration and confidence levels work in detail, and see a fully worked example in the sample report.
When a case cannot progress
Sometimes a case cannot be meaningfully advanced
This is said plainly, rather than disguised with a report that looks fuller than the underlying research supports.
Occasionally the information available — even after a genuine attempt at research — does not support a reliable conclusion. This can happen when a subject has almost no public footprint, when supplied details are too generic to isolate a specific individual, or when the claimed identity appears to be entirely fabricated with nothing further to trace. When this happens, you are told directly, the limits of what was possible are explained, and you are not charged for work beyond what was actually completed and agreed.
Frequently asked questions
What happens immediately after I submit the form?
Your submission is reviewed to judge what looks realistically researchable given the information you have provided. You are then sent a scope and a price. No research begins before you agree to both.
Do I have to pay before I know what I'll get?
No. You receive a defined scope and a fixed price first. You decide whether to proceed. Nothing is charged and no research starts until you confirm.
How long does an investigation take?
Most single-subject cases with reasonable starting information are completed in 2–5 business days. Cases spanning several countries, several identities, or requiring archived or non-English material typically take longer. Expedited handling can be requested at case assessment, though it cannot be guaranteed for every case.
What if nothing can be found?
That outcome is reported plainly. An absence of public information is not converted into a false positive, and if a case cannot be meaningfully progressed with the material available, you are told so directly rather than being sent a padded report.
Will I get raw data or a written report?
A written report. Findings are organised, sourced and explained in plain language, with an explicit confidence assessment attached to each conclusion so you know how much weight it can reasonably bear.
Can the scope change once work has started?
If new information emerges that meaningfully changes what is achievable or worthwhile, you are told before any additional work is carried out or charged for.
Related pages
- PricingStarting prices for all ten services.
- MethodologyHow corroboration and confidence levels actually work.
- Sample reportA fully worked, fictional example.
- ConfidentialityHow your case information is handled.
- Start an investigationBegin your case assessment.
- About Fact InvestigationWho this service is for and how it works.
Ready to describe your case?
Submitting a case assessment does not commit you to anything. You will see the proposed scope and price before any research begins.