Social Media Control is a specialised investigative service used to examine fake profiles, suspicious account activity, online harassment, impersonation, potential account compromise and other digital incidents involving social networks. At Nikos Pelekasis & Associates, we provide professional social media investigation and digital evidence analysis in Athens, Piraeus and throughout Greece.
Social networks have become an integral part of personal and professional life. Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, LinkedIn and other platforms contain enormous amounts of information, while messaging applications such as Messenger, WhatsApp and Viber are frequently used for everyday communication.
At the same time, social media can be used for impersonation, harassment, threats, fraud, scams, defamation and other abusive activities.
With more than 30 years of experience in private investigations, combined with modern digital investigative methods, our agency assists individuals, families, lawyers and businesses in investigating legitimate concerns involving social media and online activity.
Our investigations are conducted within the applicable legal framework. We do not provide unauthorised access to private accounts, passwords or communications.
A Social Media Control investigation can have several different objectives.
Some clients want to identify the individual operating a fake profile. Others are concerned that their account may have been compromised or that personal information is being used without permission.
Depending on the circumstances, an investigation may concern:
The investigative methodology depends on the circumstances and the information lawfully available.
A professional Social Media Investigation involves more than simply searching for a person’s name on Google or Facebook.
Individuals may use:
The objective is to identify and correlate relevant publicly accessible information while carefully verifying whether different digital profiles actually belong to the same individual.
False identification is a significant risk in online investigations, so conclusions should not be based on a single username, photograph or similarity.
Fake profiles are frequently created for impersonation, harassment, fraud or other abusive purposes.
A fake account may use:
Our investigation can examine the information lawfully available in order to identify potential connections between the fake profile and other online activity.
Relevant indicators may include:
No single indicator should automatically be treated as proof of identity.
Online impersonation occurs when someone creates or uses an account that falsely represents another individual or organisation.
This can cause serious personal, professional and reputational damage.
Impersonation may be used to:
Where impersonation is suspected, preserving the available evidence as early as possible can be important.
Profiles can be deleted, usernames can change and posts or messages can disappear.
Fake Facebook profiles can be created using stolen photographs, fabricated personal information or details copied from a legitimate user.
An investigation may examine publicly accessible information including:
Where additional information is held privately by Meta, access may require the appropriate legal or judicial process.
A private investigator cannot compel Facebook or Meta to disclose protected user information.
Instagram impersonation and fake accounts are common because photographs and usernames can be copied relatively easily.
A fake account may be used for:
Investigation may involve comparing usernames, images, posting patterns and other publicly accessible information across multiple platforms.
Reverse-image research and broader open-source investigation can sometimes help identify where photographs originated or whether they have been used elsewhere online.
Social media investigations are not limited to Facebook and Instagram.
Depending on the case, relevant platforms may include:
Different platforms expose different types of public information.
An effective investigation therefore considers the individual’s broader digital footprint rather than examining only one social network.
Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) is an important component of many social media investigations.
OSINT involves the structured collection and analysis of information from sources that are lawfully accessible to the public.
Depending on the case, this may include:
The objective is not simply to collect large quantities of information.
Information must be evaluated, cross-checked and placed in context before investigative conclusions are reached.
Most individuals leave some form of digital footprint through their online activity.
A digital footprint may include information associated with:
A professional investigation can attempt to connect relevant pieces of publicly available information and determine whether they relate to the individual being investigated.
Usernames can sometimes provide useful connections between different online platforms.
An individual may reuse the same or similar username on:
However, the existence of the same username on two platforms does not automatically prove that the accounts belong to the same person.
Additional information must be examined before a connection can be considered reliable.
Online harassment can range from repeated unwanted messages to sustained campaigns involving threats, impersonation or reputational attacks.
Depending on the circumstances, an investigation may assist with:
Where threats indicate an immediate risk to personal safety, the appropriate authorities should be contacted.
Threats received through social media or messaging platforms should be evaluated according to their nature and circumstances.
Relevant information may include:
Screenshots can be useful, but where possible the original information should also be preserved.
A screenshot alone may not contain all the technical context available from the original content.
Cyberbullying can be particularly serious when minors are involved.
It may include:
Parents who become aware of serious online harassment involving a child should preserve relevant information rather than immediately deleting conversations or profiles.
Where there is a risk to the child’s safety, appropriate authorities and professional support should also be considered.
Children and teenagers can interact online with individuals whose real identity is very different from the identity presented through a profile.
A suspicious account may use:
Where parents have legitimate concerns regarding a child’s online safety, investigation may focus on publicly available information concerning suspicious profiles and other relevant digital evidence.
Any investigation involving minors requires particular care regarding privacy, parental responsibility and applicable law.
Where concerns extend beyond social media and involve a minor’s activities, contacts or personal safety, a broader Child Safety Investigation may also be appropriate.
Social networks and messaging applications are frequently used to establish fraudulent relationships.
A scammer may create a convincing identity using stolen photographs and fabricated personal or professional information.
Warning signs can include:
A social media investigation can examine publicly accessible information and attempt to determine whether photographs, names or other details have been used elsewhere.
Fraudulent profiles can also be used for:
Investigation may involve examining the online infrastructure and public digital footprint associated with the suspected fraud.
Where financial loss has occurred, clients should also consider contacting their bank, lawyer and competent authorities as quickly as possible.
Online fraud, phishing and other forms of cybercrime are also addressed at European level by Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre (EC3).
Not every suspicious event on social media means that an account has been hacked.
Unexpected activity can sometimes result from:
A proper investigation should distinguish between suspicion and technical evidence.
Where the account owner has lawful access, relevant security information can be reviewed to identify signs requiring further examination.
Potential warning signs may include:
None of these signs alone necessarily proves spyware or sophisticated hacking.
The account and associated devices should be examined according to the circumstances.
If an account is suspected of being compromised, immediate security measures may include:
Where important evidence may exist, consider documenting suspicious activity before making extensive changes.
Many account compromises do not involve technically sophisticated hacking.
Instead, attackers may attempt to convince the victim to provide their credentials through a fake login page, deceptive email or fraudulent message.
This is known as phishing.
A phishing investigation may examine:
Users should avoid entering passwords into links received through unexpected messages.
Sometimes suspicious social-media activity may originate not from the social platform itself, but from a compromised smartphone.
For example, malicious or unauthorised software may potentially expose information stored or displayed on a device.
Where there are legitimate indications of device compromise, a Mobile Spyware Detection examination may be appropriate.
The objective is to examine the device for technical indicators rather than assume that unusual account activity automatically means spyware is present.
Digital Forensics can become important when a social media investigation involves a smartphone, computer or other electronic device.
Where lawful authority exists to examine the device, forensic analysis may assist with:
The scope of examination should be limited to the legitimate investigative objective.
Posts, messages, photographs and profiles can sometimes be deleted after an incident.
Whether deleted information can be recovered depends on where it existed and what happened after deletion.
Potential sources may include:
Direct recovery cannot be guaranteed, particularly on modern encrypted devices.
Where deleted information may be important, Recovery of Deleted Data techniques may be considered as part of a broader forensic examination.
Online evidence can disappear quickly.
A user may:
For this reason, preservation should be considered early.
Depending on the circumstances, relevant documentation may include:
Evidence should be preserved in a way that retains as much context as possible.
Professional Collection of Evidence involves more than taking isolated screenshots.
The context of the information can be important.
Depending on the case, documentation may include:
The purpose is to create a clearer record of what was observed and why it may be relevant to the investigation.
Social media material may become relevant to civil, family, corporate or criminal proceedings.
However, the fact that something appears online does not automatically mean that it will be accepted as evidence or interpreted in the way a client expects.
Where litigation is anticipated, cooperation with the client’s lawyer is recommended.
The lawyer can advise regarding:
Our role is to investigate and document relevant information within the applicable legal framework.
Social media can sometimes provide relevant information in family disputes.
Depending on the circumstances, publicly available content may relate to:
However, investigators should avoid drawing conclusions from isolated posts without considering their context.
Where the matter involves a broader family issue, social media research can form part of a wider Family Investigation.
Suspected infidelity is another area where clients frequently focus heavily on social media.
A new follower, a like or a public comment does not prove an extramarital relationship.
However, publicly available online information may sometimes provide investigative leads that can be evaluated alongside other evidence.
Where there is a legitimate concern regarding marital or partner infidelity, social media investigation may therefore complement traditional investigative methods.
Businesses may require social media research in matters involving:
Publicly available information can sometimes help identify connections or patterns relevant to a broader investigation.
Any investigation involving employees or professional relationships must respect applicable employment and data-protection law.
Criminals can create social-media profiles that imitate legitimate businesses.
These profiles may use:
The objective may be to mislead customers, obtain payments or collect personal information.
Early identification and documentation of fake company profiles can assist with platform reporting, legal action and broader fraud investigation.
Public social-media information can sometimes form part of a broader background investigation.
However, social-media research should not be treated as an unrestricted method for investigating every aspect of someone’s private life.
The purpose of the investigation, lawful basis and relevance of the information should be considered.
Information discovered online must also be verified because profiles can contain outdated, exaggerated or completely false information.
Sometimes an investigation can develop evidence pointing toward the individual associated with a fake profile.
However, this cannot be guaranteed.
Publicly available information may provide useful investigative leads, but protected subscriber information held by a social-media company is not generally available simply because a private investigator requests it.
Where disclosure from a platform is necessary, the appropriate legal or judicial procedure may be required.
A private investigator generally cannot obtain a user’s protected IP logs directly from Facebook, Instagram or another social-media platform simply by viewing the account.
Such technical information is normally held by the platform or service provider and may require formal legal authority for disclosure.
Claims that someone can automatically identify the IP address of any social-media user should therefore be treated cautiously.
Investigation should focus on information that can be obtained lawfully and reliably.
We do not provide unauthorised access to another person’s private social-media account.
This includes obtaining passwords through deception, bypassing account security or accessing private messages without lawful authority.
A legitimate investigation can use publicly available information, information lawfully provided by the client and other investigative methods permitted by law.
If you have lost access to your own account, the appropriate recovery procedure should generally be performed through the official platform.
A private investigation may assist in examining how an account was potentially compromised, but we do not bypass platform security or obtain another person’s password.
This distinction is important both legally and technically.
Depending on the assignment, relevant findings can be organised into a professional investigation report.
The report may include:
The report should distinguish clearly between verified information, investigative assessment and information that cannot be independently confirmed.
Social media investigations can involve highly sensitive personal or professional information.
Our investigations are handled with discretion and confidentiality.
Information unrelated to the legitimate objective of the investigation should not be unnecessarily collected or processed.
This is particularly important where the investigation involves:
Social media investigation does not mean that everything available online can automatically be collected, processed or used without restriction.
Investigations must take into account applicable requirements concerning:
We do not offer hacking, unauthorised account access or illegal interception of communications.
Where protected information is required, the appropriate legal procedure must be followed.
Nikos Pelekasis & Associates has more than three decades of experience in private and corporate investigations.
Modern investigations increasingly combine traditional investigative methods with digital research and forensic analysis.
Depending on the case, social media research can be combined with Digital Forensics, Mobile Spyware Detection, Recovery of Deleted Data and evidence analysis.
This allows online information to be evaluated alongside other relevant digital evidence.
A suspicious username, photograph or profile does not automatically establish identity.
We compare multiple sources and distinguish between verified findings and investigative hypotheses.
Sensitive online investigations require discretion.
Client information, investigative findings and relevant digital material are handled confidentially.
Social media and digital investigations can be undertaken for clients in Athens, Piraeus, Attica and throughout Greece, as well as international clients with cases connected to Greece.
Social Media Control is an investigative service involving the examination of social-media activity, fake profiles, impersonation, online harassment, suspicious account activity and other legitimate digital concerns.
Potentially. Publicly available information and other lawful investigative methods may provide useful leads, but identification cannot be guaranteed.
Not simply by viewing a profile. Protected IP logs are generally held by the platform and may require appropriate legal authority for disclosure.
No. We do not provide unauthorised access to private accounts, passwords or communications.
Yes. Depending on the circumstances, an investigation may document relevant activity, examine associated profiles, establish timelines and identify investigative leads.
Where you own or are authorised to access the account and associated device, relevant security information and digital evidence can be examined for indicators of compromise.
Sometimes relevant information may remain on an authorised device, backup or other legitimate source. Recovery depends on the technical circumstances and cannot be guaranteed.
Potentially. The relevance and admissibility of evidence depend on the circumstances and how it was obtained and documented. Legal advice is recommended where court use is anticipated.
Yes, where there is a legitimate child-safety concern and the investigation can be conducted lawfully. Cases involving minors require particular care regarding privacy and parental responsibility.
Yes. Digital investigations can be undertaken for clients throughout Greece and, depending on the circumstances, international clients with cases connected to Greece.
If you are dealing with a fake profile, online impersonation, harassment, threats, suspicious account activity, online fraud or another legitimate social-media concern, contact Nikos Pelekasis & Associates for a confidential initial assessment.
Before beginning an investigation, provide as much relevant information as possible, such as:
Our Social Media Control services combine professional investigation, open-source intelligence and, where appropriate, digital forensic examination.
Services are available in Athens, Piraeus and throughout Greece, including assistance for international clients with investigations connected to Greece.
Our objective is to identify and document relevant information through lawful, discreet and evidence-based investigative methods, without resorting to unauthorised account access or other illegal practices.
Nikos Pelekasis & Associates – Social Media Control & Social Media Investigation in Greece
Athens | Piraeus | Nationwide Digital Investigations
Athens Office:
39 Stadiou Street, Athens, 10559
Piraeus Office:
36 Iroon Polytechniou Street, entrance from 8 Dragatsi Street, Piraeus Attica, 185310
