Brandon Gregg

The internet is no stranger to crime. From counterfeit and stolen products, to illegal drugs, stolen identities and weapons, nearly anything can be purchased online with a few clicks of the mouse. The online black market not only can be accessed by anyone with an Internet connection, but the whole process of ordering illicit goods and services is alarmingly easy and anonymous, with multiple marketplaces to buy or sell anything you want.

Understanding how the market thrives--unregulated and untraceable--can give you a better sense of the threats (or resources) that affect you and your business.

As you already know or you will learn your first time in court, proper documentation of your investigation is a must for all your cases. Unfortunately your case plan, notes, evidence and even how you come to the conclusion of your investigation can be more complex and harder to manage then the case itself.

From sticky notes and pages of documents, to digital screen shots and chain of custody forms, your investigative folder can quickly pile high or worse get damaged or lost. In conjunction with my past articles on free and cheap investigation resources, here are five tools to take your investigation building to the next level.

Whether it is for an investigation, a whistle-blower statement, a prank or just extreme paranoia, you may have a need for anonymously sending messages. The following five tools provide an easy-to-use way to communicate incognito with Internet surfing, e-mails, phone calls and text messages. While these tools have their limitations, they do provide an Investigator a great way to hide his identity, gather intelligence, and communicate secretly when needed.

Fake Name Generator If you have ever tried to use your social engineering skills to gather information and were confronted for a name or other information, causing you to pause in deep thought only to blurt out "John Smith!", you are not alone. Before creating any covert online profile or making any surreptitious phone calls, you need a realistic-yet-random pseudonym. Visit www.fakenamegenerator.com, pick your nationality and gender then instantly receive a new name, address, phone number, usable e-mail address, mother's maiden name, birthday, credit card number, expiration date (not valid of course), social security number, job occupation and UPS tracking number. Never be caught off guard or use the name Cliff Huxtable again.