Create Sock Puppet Profile For OSINT Investigation
It’s been a while since my last post in this blog. Two years back I got lost in OSINT so I’ll post here what I’ve learn so far.
It’s been a while since my last post in this blog. Two years back I got lost in OSINT so I’ll post here what I’ve learn so far.
I’ve been using OSINT in my work such as doing investigation with news gathering team, protecting company brand with legal team etc.
This post is general with little bit focus on Indonesia.
What is sock puppet?
Sock puppet or in Indonesia they call it alter account. This is a fake account that you will used for your investigation.
Why use sock puppet?
Because when you use your real account, it can backfire to you. For example LinkedIn profile. When you see people profile, they will get an alert who viewed their profile. You don’t want your person of interest (poi) know you are investigating him/her.
How to build a sock puppet?
Basically you can register as usual in platform that you want to investigate. Before that you need to pay attention to some details below.
Use burner phone
Phone number mostly used for verification and receive OTP SMS. For general you can buy burner phone or VOIP number. For Indonesian, you can buy new number that already registered and don’t use your primary phone. Just buy a cheap phone for this.Use VPN or Tor Browser
VPN or Tor Browser are used to access the platform so your real IP will stays hidden. When use a VPN, make sure your system/computer time is same with your VPN country time. For example, you use VPN from London then you have to set your system/computer time to London as well.Change User-Agent
Your browser will send your User-Agent to every server you visit. If you use Windows then your browser will tell the server you use Windows. You can change it with chrome extension like this and this. Check your IP address, User-Agent, system time etc here.Create a new email
Don’t ever use your real/primary email for sock puppet. Just make a new one on Gmail or mail.com for example. If you want more privacy use Proton or other privacy email provider.Profile name
You can choose your name from auto generated tools like fakenamegenerator or randomuser. For Indonesian, you can use common name like Agus, Budi, Sri etc. Make sure the name you choose will fit in your target circle.Username
Use public word for a username like firestation or combine with numbers like fir4stat10n. If you have specific target, you can use specific word that might attract your target. Don’t use same username in other platform.Profile picture
You can use tools like thispersondoesnotexist or just grab from randomuser. If you have a photoshop skills, you can edit or make your own photo. Never use your real photo or photo related to you! Please remember when you use picture from thispersondoesnotexist, it’s easy to guess that your profile is not real. You can use general picture like car, bike or a landscape. Don’t use other people actual photo!Followers/Friends
Add followers/friends as much as you can but remember to add people from your target circle so it will build trust if the target sees your profile. Add genuine followers/friends is good than buying followers/friends.Profile activity
You have to make your profile looks alive. Interact more, join groups, pages, play games, share some news, comment on a post etc.
Important notes!
Do not follow your sock puppet with your real account!
Do not post anything related to you on your sock puppet!
Keep you real account circle away from your sock puppet!
If possible use different browser for your investigation.
Post public things on your sock puppet account or things related to your target.
Thank you :)