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#918566 - 03/10/08 05:29 PM Internet Research
Rosie O'Grady Offline
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Rosie O'Grady
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 438
California
Does anyone have a document that details hits/processes for searching the internet, especially for those that are performing research on SARs. I'm putting together training for our folks that complete SARs and don't want to reinvent the wheel. Any help would be appreciated.

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#920159 - 03/11/08 08:55 PM Re: Internet Research Rosie O'Grady
Rosie O'Grady Offline
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Rosie O'Grady
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 438
California
Bump

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#920162 - 03/11/08 08:56 PM Re: Internet Research Rosie O'Grady
rlcarey Online
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rlcarey
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 83,227
Galveston, TX
What type of information are you looking to gather from the internet to file a SAR?
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The opinions expressed here should not be construed to be those of my employer: PPDocs.com

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#920258 - 03/11/08 10:29 PM Re: Internet Research rlcarey
WonderWoman Offline
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WonderWoman
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 2,108
gone fishin'
If I understand your question ... you're looking for what search methods other people use?

Searching for a name in "quotes" limits your search.
"John Smith" or "Smith, John"

Some counties or states list people currently incarcerated or have search engines to see what crimes people have been charged with.

Searching local news paper articles for customer names involved in BSA related crimes (money laundering, embezzlement, drug trafficking)
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My opinions are my own, and not that of my employer.

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#921507 - 03/12/08 09:23 PM Re: Internet Research Rosie O'Grady
Rosie O'Grady Offline
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Rosie O'Grady
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 438
California
I've included procedures to lookup MSBs, fictious licensing, standard licensing (e.g. attorneys, doctors, etc) how to look up addresses, etc. I was just wondering if anyone out there has other types/tools for using the internet during a SAR investigation.

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#921705 - 03/13/08 11:30 AM Re: Internet Research Rosie O'Grady
Retread Offline
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Retread
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 2,548
Southeast
We do extensive internet research when investigating everything but structuring. The list of sites used is exhaustive and depends entirely on who or what we are investigating. They include anything we can find out about the customer and the entities involved in the transactions. You would be really surprised at what you can find. Before some people jump down my throat and say that is not necessary, I would just like to say that we want to feel comfortable with any and all SARs that we file and any situations where SARs were not filed. The only way to do that is research, research, research, etc.
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#922046 - 03/13/08 04:57 PM Re: Internet Research Retread
Plain Old Tom Offline
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Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 217
Heres a question for you. Would you Google "John Customer"? My concern is with privacy. It could be a great way to find out more about your customer, but then you have just put their name into the (semi) public world. This company now has your customers name and is doing... something with it. Some of you might remember the AOL Search debacle when they actually released a list of all the terms people searched for. How do/would regulators view this?

I don't see much of a problem with searching for a company name though, since you could easily just be looking for their website. Or am I off on that?

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