OSINT
A collection of 28 posts
OSINT, SOCMINT, HUMINT, GEOINT and FININT: The Disciplines Explained
What OSINT, SOCMINT, HUMINT, GEOINT, IMINT, FININT and SIGINT actually mean, where the boundaries sit, which identifiers belong to which discipline, and the UK legal context for organisations doing open-source research.
· UserSearch Team
Grading OSINT Sources with the Admiralty Code: A Practical Guide
How the Admiralty (NATO) system grades source reliability A to F and information credibility 1 to 6, why most open-source items start at F6, how corroboration moves grades, and how to grade results from aggregated data sources.
· UserSearch Team
OSINT Report Template: How to Write Findings Other Analysts Can Check
A complete, copy-and-use OSINT report template with scope, lawful basis, method, graded findings, a source log, confidence language and limitations, plus two worked reports: supplier due diligence and a refund-abuse case.
· UserSearch Team
The Beginner’s Guide to UserSearch: How to Run Your First OSINT Research
New to UserSearch? Learn how Search types, OneScan and Cases fit together, then run your first structured piece of OSINT research on a handle, an email address and a domain.
· UserSearch Team
Vehicle OSINT: Checking Cars, Plant and Vehicle Histories (UK and Beyond)
A practical guide to vehicle research for insurers, lenders and fleet buyers: decode VINs, read MOT history, spot cloned or rebuilt vehicles, check salvage records and verify company fleets with UserSearch.
· UserSearch Team
Entity Resolution OSINT: The Analyst’s Guide to Verifying Organisations
A company name is not enough. Learn how analysts connect company registers, websites, domains and contact details into one verified record for due diligence, and how UserSearch Corporate Intelligence brings the sources together.
· UserSearch Team
Historical Data Sets in OSINT: Researching Organisations
Archived pages, registration history and old infrastructure records often say more than a current website. Learn how to use historical data sets to attribute domains and trading names to organisations.
· UserSearch Team
Reddit OSINT Guide: Researching Communities, Accounts and Campaigns
How professional teams research Reddit: reviewing public accounts, mapping subreddit activity, spotting karma farming and coordinated campaigns, and recording defensible findings in UserSearch.
· UserSearch Team
Wireless OSINT: Verifying Places and Premises via Wi-Fi and Bluetooth (2025)
Business networks broadcast identifiers that community projects have mapped for years. Learn how SSID and BSSID records help verify where a business operates, check supplier claims and audit your own sites.
· UserSearch Team
The Advanced Guide to Email OSINT: Verifying Addresses Beyond the Inbox
An email address connects domains, accounts and organisations. Learn how to check mail setup, headers, account presence and domain history to verify who operates an address before you act on it.
· UserSearch Team
Vehicle OSINT: Verifying Cars, Records and Histories (UK & Beyond)
A vehicle is often the largest asset in a claim, loan or sale. Learn how analysts verify a vehicle from open sources, from DVLA and MOT records to VIN decoding and clone spotting, and how UserSearch Vehicle Lookup brings the checks together.
· UserSearch Team
Corporate OSINT: Mapping Company Structures, IP and Web Assets
A practical guide to corporate OSINT for due diligence and compliance teams: map company structures, officers, registered addresses, patents, trademarks and domains, by hand and in UserSearch.
· UserSearch Team
Name Disambiguation in OSINT: Verifying Directors and Counterparties (2025)
Names are the least unique identifier in OSINT. Learn how to confirm which company, director or professional role a name refers to, using official registers, appointment histories, company domains and UserSearch.
· UserSearch Team
Mastering Username OSINT: How to Turn One Handle into a Map of Related Accounts
Handles outlast email addresses and phone numbers. Learn how to research a username across thousands of sites, cut false positives and connect accounts to domains and organisations for a lawful business purpose.
· UserSearch Team
Phone Number OSINT: Joining Carrier Data and Online Presence
A phone number carries network facts and service facts. Learn how to combine carrier checks with OneScan results to verify which organisation runs a number, spot spoofed support lines and record sourced findings in a Case.
· UserSearch Team
Domain OSINT: From WHOIS to Infrastructure Mapping
A practical guide to domain research for security, brand and due diligence teams: read WHOIS and DNS, extract analytics IDs, check certificates, search ownership history and favicons, and map lookalike networks with UserSearch.
· UserSearch Team
Beyond the Inbox: Email OSINT for Risk and History Analysis
Confirming that an email address exists is not enough. Learn how analysts read an address history, community reports and domain reputation to assess suppliers and senders, and how UserSearch brings those checks together.
· UserSearch Team
Advanced Username OSINT: Mapping Accounts and Campaigns by Handle
Advanced username research for brand, security and research teams: handle variations, bio and logo matching, archived pages and time-zone analysis to connect the accounts an organisation or campaign runs.
· UserSearch Team
The Art of Email OSINT: From One Address to a Verified Account Map
An email address is a hub, not a dead end. Learn the manual methods analysts use to check where an address is registered, how old it is and whether it fits the organisation behind it, and how UserSearch Email Intelligence brings it together.
· UserSearch Team
Email OSINT: A Practical Guide to Researching Business Email Addresses
A practical guide to email research for due diligence, security and trust and safety teams: search operators, header reading, DNS and domain checks, and how to verify the organisation behind an address with UserSearch.
· UserSearch Team
Global Legal Records OSINT: Checking Judgments and Case Law Across Borders
A practical guide to cross-border legal research for due diligence: published judgments, tribunal decisions and insolvency filings in five jurisdictions, searched by hand and with UserSearch OneScan.
· UserSearch Team
Beyond the Handle: A Practical Guide to Username OSINT for Organisations
A practical guide to username research for compliance, security and brand teams: map the accounts an organisation really runs, spot lookalike handles, use archives and image checks, and keep sourced findings in a Case.
· UserSearch Team
Phone Number OSINT: Carrier, Line Type and Business Checks
Carrier, line type, business messaging accounts and company records: a practical guide to phone number research for supplier checks, payment verification and due diligence.
· UserSearch Team
Crypto Wallet OSINT: Linking Addresses to Websites and Infrastructure
Following funds on-chain often stalls at mixers. Learn how to pivot from a wallet address to the websites, domains, hosting and chat services that publish it, using manual methods and UserSearch.
· UserSearch Team
Image Geolocation and Verification: Building Findings from a Single Photo
One photo can hold a place, a date and a publishing history. Learn how to verify images with reverse image search, geolocation, EXIF and ELA checks, and how to report the findings with a clear confidence level.
· UserSearch Team
Telegram Channel OSINT: Members, Messages, and Media at Scale
A practical guide to researching public Telegram channels: collecting channel details and posts, mapping related channels, spotting narrative shifts and attributing channels to the organisations and websites behind them.
· UserSearch Team
Mapping a Username’s 3,000-Site Footprint Without Missing Signals
A username is the most persistent identifier online. Learn why manual checks miss signals, and how analysts map a handle across 3,000+ sites with enrichment, OneScan comparison and graph views for security and brand protection work.
· UserSearch Team
Email Research OSINT: Verifying Business Contacts and Sender Domains
How professional teams verify a business email address and the domain behind it: DNS and sender policy checks, published presence, open-source tools, and structured research in UserSearch with source attribution.
· UserSearch Team