I read this post last night at a bar and didn't have time or patience to reply from my iphone. I think the number of hostile posts you received suggest you ruffled a feather or two. Keep doing what you're doing and post the results. The stories behind what you uncover would be interesting.

I'd like to see the ratio of actual work going into subterfuge (corp thieves who really work at infiltrating and then betraying the corp) and how many just get lucky with either a complete lack of vigilance on the corp's part, or just getting an opportunity and deciding to act.

My old corp had a theft once while evacuating from a lost station, and when I asked the pilot why he did it (he stole from his corpmates, not the corp) he told me he never thought of stealing before and wasn't his intention. But when he realized he had a couple billion worth of goods handed over to him to carrier haul he felt he couldn't resist.

Does anyone else find enjoyment out of doing Intel gathering, whether it be proactive or destructive? Close calls if you like to be the "Bad Guy"? Common mistakes the Criminal has made? The Corp? -Besides not doing Intel at all!

Refuse to be average. Let your heart soar as high as it will.

This guy is making way harder then it needs to be.

... use any number of tools online we could think of, including social medias, google, local property assessors, you name it. I learned there that anything and anyone can serve as a skip-tracing tool.

... If you can play poker well, the lying skills required - of building not just a bluff but a believable story behind the bluff, being aware of your body's default reactions to you lying and how you can hide them (in your voice), and being able to rapidly and seemlessly adjust your lies to fit changed circumstances - will generally let you get into opsec-aware corps, but it is a lot harder.

Some parts of this can be obscenely boring. Generally, I'm trying not to do background checks on individuals now unless you can really sell me on why its important and give it all some context.

Dalto, there are all kinds of players that perform intel gathering activities, but only a few of them actually enjoy connecting the dots, and smile when they notice a new web strand. Funny, I found this post while searching on google for intel on something seemingly unrelated. I worked as a debt collector for the United States Department of the Treasury a few years ago, and was quickly placed on a specialized team of 8 people that were more than talented at finding debtors deemed "non existent" by other collectors. We had all sorts of tools available to us, social security number tracking software, and were encouraged to use any number of tools online we could think of, including social medias, google, local property assessors, you name it. I learned there that anything and anyone can serve as a skip-tracing tool. I called neighbors, librarians, teachers, checked school websites, public paintball team members' data, noticed similarities in misspellings and word use, the list is endless.

The point is, some people DO experience actual enjoyment in connecting the dots of background checks, and there are just as many skip-tracing avenues in Eve as there are in RL. Keep it up! If you're good at it, you can even turn it into a RL career.

Though I'm sure they'd be fascinating, I'd see how much those uncovered were willing to pay to stay in the shadows...

Though collecting intel may not be 'exciting' to some, your post reminded me of an old article about the Mittani, and how his spy network was instrumental in destroying his corp's adversaries. Knowledge is power. Don't let anyone dissuade you from your passion.

I'm still around, just on the opposite timezone! Send a mail if you need anything, I have finished all my contracts I had going and I'm bored!

I do appreciate the participation in this thread! I think some have assumed I spend a lot of time in researching, but as I stated, its a hobby and not one that I am particularly great at. I am wrong as much as I am right, considering that much of the answers are mere speculation that can't be 100% proven most of the time without information that only CCP and billing officials are privy to.

I also admire the ones of you willing to share your experiences with the enthusiast out there that seem to be a bit "spooky" in how much data they can collect. I agree that Eve Who and Eve-Live both have complete changed the playing field. What I find amusing is how many CEO's out there still do not use the tools to protect their Corporations. They live and they learn I guess!