Overseas Investigations: Surveillance, Records, and OSINT Without Borders
Introduction
A common question related to surveillance cases is "Can you conduct investigations in X [country, city, region]?" The answer, with very few exceptions, is yes.
With diligent sourcing of local operatives, rigorous case preparation, and an understanding of how legal and privacy frameworks vary across jurisdictions, clients can ensure their cases are investigated effectively in nearly every corner of the globe.
The Strategic Advantage of Overseas Investigations
One of the most significant, and consistently underestimated, advantages of conducting investigations overseas is that subjects are vastly less likely to suspect they will be placed under surveillance. In case after case, subjects who have left the United States operate with a fundamentally different mindset abroad. They believe distance equals protection. They assume that the reach of any investigator, insurer, or attorney ends at the U.S. border. That assumption is wrong, and it works in our clients’ favor.
Since subjects rarely anticipate being surveilled abroad, their behavior is unguarded. Many subjects claiming total disability have been documented working physically demanding jobs as carpenters, exercising vigorously and posting the results to social media accounts, and participating fully in daily life. These results have been obtained across a wide range of locations, including the Netherlands, Italy, Mexico, and India, among others.
How do Investigations Overseas Differ from those in the US?
Surveillance
Whether a subject has returned to their home country, is vacationing abroad, or has permanently relocated, physical surveillance can document behavior that contradicts claims made in legal or insurance proceedings. Overseas surveillance operates on the same fundamentals as US-based surveillance, but the logistics often look quite different.
There are more situations abroad that require the use of two or more investigators. In many countries, the use of two investigators is standard for every case. There are numerous reasons for this, but some common reasons include:
· The subject is going on vacation and has to be followed from the airport, with the unknown of whether they plan to travel by rental car, train, taxi or by someone they know.
· The subject lives in a close-knit community and there is a higher risk of being noticed by family or neighbors if a single investigator is setup too close to a residence.
· Local traffic does not abide by as stringent traffic laws and the chances of loss while driving are much higher than in the US.
· Considerations for investigator safety in more restive areas of the world necessitate two or more investigators.
Records and Background Research
Privacy laws in the US are very different from the rest of the world. Foreign records including employment, medical, civil, and criminal, can be significant to a claim, if they are available. The United States is one of only a few countries whose municipalities and credit bureaus allow for records aggregation by centralized background databases and makes that data accessible to investigators. In the rest of the world, privacy laws may dictate that certain records are unavailable, as is true of Criminal records in Canada. For the records that are available, one must first know who holds the records and what the method of retrieval is. In regions where digital infrastructure is limited, records may only exist in physical form at local offices or government registries and require physical retrieval.
It is best practice to do a full background report on individuals who have lived overseas for a significant portion of their adult lives. Below we have highlighted some of the most requested locales, and indicated whether their privacy laws are more or less strict:
| Less Strict | More Strict |
|---|---|
| Eastern Europe | European Union |
| Northern/East Africa | The Middle East |
| South America | East Asia |
It is worth noting that in some places with more strict laws, records are not necessarily impossible to get but are considerably more expensive.
Online Presence and Social Media
Social media and digital footprints do not have borders, but they do have their own nuance. Local social networks and regional websites can yield compelling evidence of a subject's activities, associations, and whereabouts. Knowledge of regional particularities can greatly help identify a subject who might otherwise not be found.
Examples of some social media platforms that are used regionally are:
· Douyin – China
· VKontakte (VK) – Russia
· Rubika – Iran
· ShareChat – India
· Mastodon – Germany
Language is also a factor in any investigation where the subject is not English-speaking, or it is not their first language. Understanding how to identify and work past translation errors and differences in online search conventions are the key to a thorough online investigation.
UpStream’s Approach
UpStream maintains investigative resources across every major continent and can service investigative needs in the vast majority of countries around the world, provided the work is legal, practical, and ethically conducted under the laws of the relevant jurisdiction.
UpStream works exclusively within the legal framework of each jurisdiction. We do not ask our partners to cut corners, and we ensure that all evidence gathered overseas meets standards that will hold up in U.S. legal proceedings. Engaging in legally compliant overseas investigation is a professional obligation, and it protects the integrity of your case.
Each of our carefully vetted international partners have the requisite insurance and licensing coverage in their areas of operation. Additionally, we work with them to understand practices in the local jurisdiction that while legal locally, may not be favorably looked upon by an American judge. For example, in many countries it is legal to place a tracker on a vehicle you do not own, including the UK and Mexico. We work with our partners to make sure that they understand this tactic should not be used except by request.
There are also some countries where investigations, in particular surveillance, is not legal or can only be conducted under very specific circumstances. Surveillance can only be conducted in the United Arab Emirates on non-citizens, it is illegal in Iceland, and extremely tightly regulated in Japan.
When International Investigation Should be Considered
Among the most common scenarios we encounter is the claimant who files a domestic insurance claim for workers' compensation, motor vehicle, or general liability, and then returns to their country of origin or departs for an extended period abroad.
In civil litigation, it is not unheard of for one party to relocate internationally after a claim has been filed or a lawsuit has been initiated. Whether voluntary or strategic, that relocation does not end the investigative need, it simply changes its geography. Locating a party, serving process through appropriate international channels such as the Hague Convention, and gathering evidence about their current circumstances may all require overseas investigative support.
When a business transaction, partnership, or hiring decision involves a party whose background is substantially international, domestic databases are insufficient. Verifying credentials, assessing litigation history, identifying undisclosed relationships, and confirming financial standing all require in-country research conducted by investigators with local knowledge and access.
Key witnesses in US-based litigation sometimes reside abroad or travel internationally. Locating those witnesses, confirming their current circumstances, and in some cases supporting the process of obtaining testimony through the appropriate legal channels requires an investigative partner with international reach.
The most common mistake in international investigations is delay. The longer a subject operates overseas without scrutiny, the more difficult it becomes to gather timely, compelling evidence. International investigations require lead time. Engaging partners in foreign jurisdictions, navigating legal requirements, arranging for in-person records retrieval, and conducting surveillance in unfamiliar environments all take longer than domestic equivalents. Early engagement is not just advisable, it is often the difference between a successful outcome and a missed opportunity. We welcome the opportunity to discuss how we can help.