Creating your own Sock Puppet for OSINT
In the ever-evolving landscape of the digital realm, Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) has become an indispensable tool for researchers, investigators, and cybersecurity professionals seeking to unravel the mysteries hidden within the vast expanse of online information. As the importance of OSINT grows, so too does the challenge of navigating through deceptive personas, particularly those donned by entities known as “sock puppets.”
A sock puppet is not a children’s toy but rather a persona assumed by an individual or group to manipulate, deceive, or influence online discourse. These digital marionettes, operated with intent ranging from benign anonymity to malicious misinformation, have become a formidable force in the realm of OSINT investigations. Unmasking and understanding these sock puppets has become an essential skill for those committed to extracting accurate insights from the vast ocean of online data.
This article will take you through on how to create a Sock Puppet for your research purposes.
Purpose of Sock Puppets
Sock puppets are created by OSINT investigators to access social media accounts to investigate about a certain group or an individual. You might probably wondering that a Sock Puppet is very similar to a creepy online stalker. But it is not. OSINT investigators use Sock Puppets only to gather information about a specific target that they have been given. This is done to separate the investigator’s real identity from their research accounts. This is also considered as a good practice in Operational Security(OPSEC).
How to create a Sock Puppet?
There is no step by step process to create a sock puppet. But, there are few considerations and practices that you need to follow before making your research accounts.
- IP Address
Avoid using your home network or VPNs(Virtual Private Networks) to create a social media account. Some social media platforms like Facebook flag VPN servers. Create your account using a free WiFi connection that is available at a mall or a coffee shop. The idea here is to let the platform know that you are an user that uses your account from multiple location so your account won’t get flagged.
2. User Details
Avoid using your real identity when creating a Social Media account. Use fictional details to create your account. Consider a name that will blend with your target and the target’s surrounding. You can use free websites like FakeNameGenerator to generate a fake person for your research account.
3. Profile Image
As mentioned above you have to avoid using your real image as the profile picture. You can use tools like This Person Does Not Exist to get a random AI generated image that will suite your fake user details.
4. Phone Verification
The best practice you can do here is to use a burner phone that is completely wiped and fresh. You can buy a sim card like Mint Mobile on Amazon for a very cheap price.
5. Privacy Settings
Another great practice that you should follow is to immediately review and set the privacy settings of the platform to the most secure so the people can only see the least amount of information about your sock puppet.
Another practice that you should follow is to use a burner credit card. You can get a burner credit card from Privacy.com which you can use to generate virtual credit cards that does not require your real identity. You can use these burner credit cards to buy subscriptions that you can later burn so you don’t have to manually cancel the monthly subscription plan. The best thing about privacy.com is that you can stay anonymous and own a virtual credit card.
6. Activity
Once your sock puppet is created it is the best practice to act on the platform as a normal user by sharing posts and engaging with other user accounts to make the platform know that you are a real person.
In the realm of OSINT, creating a sock puppet demands a careful and ethical approach. While it serves the purpose of protecting investigators’ identities, responsible use is crucial. Always adhere to legal boundaries, respect privacy, and adapt to evolving online platforms. Remember, the true mastery lies in using sock puppets judiciously for accurate insights while navigating the ethical complexities of the digital landscape.
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