OSINT People Search & Identification 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which technique involves searching for a person's username across multiple platforms simultaneously to map their digital footprint?
- Credential stuffing
- Username pivoting (Correct answer)
- Password spraying
- Cookie harvesting
Correct answer: Username pivoting
Username pivoting uses a known handle to find the same person's presence across forums, social networks, and other platforms.
Question 2: What does the Wayback Machine primarily help an OSINT investigator discover about a person?
- Their current location
- Historical versions of their social profiles or personal websites (Correct answer)
- Their real-time IP address
- Encrypted email contents
Correct answer: Historical versions of their social profiles or personal websites
The Wayback Machine (archive.org) stores historical snapshots of web pages, letting investigators see old profile content, bios, or contact info that has since been removed.
Question 3: An investigator finds a person's profile picture and wants to find other accounts using the same image. Which method is most appropriate?
- WHOIS lookup
- Reverse image search (Correct answer)
- DNS enumeration
- Port scanning
Correct answer: Reverse image search
Reverse image search tools like Google Images, TinEye, or Yandex Images can locate other web pages where the same photo appears.
Question 4: Which type of public record is most useful for confirming a subject's historical addresses across multiple decades?
- Court dockets
- Voter registration records (Correct answer)
- FISA warrants
- Grand jury transcripts
Correct answer: Voter registration records
Voter registration records often include current and historical addresses and are publicly accessible in most US states.
Question 5: When conducting people search using LinkedIn, which search operator helps find someone by their current employer and job title?
- site:linkedin.com intitle:"name" inurl:company (Correct answer)
- filetype:pdf name employer
- cache:linkedin.com/in/ name
- link:linkedin.com employer title
Correct answer: site:linkedin.com intitle:"name" inurl:company
Google dorking with site:linkedin.com combined with intitle: and inurl: operators narrows results to LinkedIn profiles matching employer and name criteria.
Question 6: Which OSINT framework category specifically lists tools for identifying individuals by their phone numbers?
- Domain tools
- Username tools
- Phone number tools (Correct answer)
- Dark web tools
Correct answer: Phone number tools
The OSINT Framework categorizes phone number tools separately, including resources like CallerID services, carrier lookup APIs, and number search aggregators.
Question 7: A subject uses a pseudonym online. Which data point is LEAST likely to help de-anonymize them?
- Writing style and vocabulary patterns
- Profile creation timestamps correlated across platforms
- The font used in their posts (Correct answer)
- Consistent use of unique phrases or idioms
Correct answer: The font used in their posts
Font rendering is controlled by the viewer's browser or app and is not a reliable indicator of the author's identity.
OSINT People Search & Identification 2
Which technique involves searching for a person's username across multiple platforms simultaneously to map their digital footprint?