WHEN: 

September 26, 2025

8:30AM- 4:30PM

WHERE:

LA HIDTA 

5801 E. Slauson Ave. (Garden Level)

Commerce, CA 90040

WHAT TO BRING:

This is a hands-on course, students are encouraged to bring a laptop and dedicated investigative phone to the course.  

This one-day, hands-on training course is designed to equip law enforcement officers with the knowledge, tools, and operational strategies needed to proactively conduct social media investigations using covert or alias online identities. More than just account creation, this course focuses on how to actively engage with the digital environment to identify, monitor, and investigate criminal activity in real time.

Participants will learn step-by-step how to safely and legally develop and manage undercover social media personas that can withstand scrutiny in both the field and the courtroom. From understanding legal considerations and departmental policy to mastering the technical skills needed for creating realistic digital footprints, attendees will leave prepared to use social media not just reactively—but as a proactive investigative tool.

Topics Covered Include:

• Legal and Policy Considerations for Undercover Social Media Operations
• Departmental Approval Processes and Compliance Best Practices
• Planning and Developing a Credible Alias Profile
• Platform Selection Based on Investigative Objectives
• Setting Up Anonymous Infrastructure: Emails, Burner Numbers, VPNs, and Proxies
• Step-by-Step Account Creation and Configuration
• Building Profile Credibility and Avoiding Detection
• Target Identification and Active Monitoring Techniques
• Collecting and Preserving OSINT and Digital Evidence
• Documentation Standards for Court-Admissible Evidence
• Case Studies Showcasing Proactive Social Media Engagement

By the end of the course, participants will have developed functional undercover accounts and will be fully prepared to deploy them in proactive, open-source, and social media-based investigations.

Students will be given a FREE list of investigative resources in the class and shown numerous free databases/resources during the class.

Recent Evaluations:

"The training was full of only real life examples, and not textbook information. That really sets it apart from a lot of other trainings. Instructor is a wealth of knowledge!"

"Easily one of the best classes I have been to in my nearly 10 years of LE"

"I have been to lots of training in 30 years and I found this to be some of the most applicable and useful.  I really appreciate the willingness to share the tools like the resource list and the online classes."

"I really enjoyed this course. Many useful tidbits and the instructor was right to the point and not boring."

"VERY informative course, appreciate you sharing your case studies and experience. This course will immediately benefit my investigations" 

Instructors: We only use active law enforcement as our instructors, who are active in the fields they are teaching. Keeping the material up to date and immediately applicable. 

Cancellation Policy:

Full refund if canceled more than 30 days prior to start of event

If canceled less than 30 days prior to start of event there are no refunds, however you can swap seats with someone from your agency.