The Investigator’s Handbook: United States Edition

What the United States edition covers

1. United States 1. Domestic legal process: who can ask for what, and how

   This chapter shows an investigator working in the United States which law governs each kind of request to a communications provider, who is allowed to sign it, how long it lasts, and what a private investigator or journalist must do instead. One federal statute, the Stored Communications Act, sets out how a federal, state or local governmental entity can compel a provider to disclose stored data, and some states add requirements of their own. Search warrants, state electronic-privacy laws and recording rules differ by state, and this chapter says where to check rather than trying to cover fifty jurisdictions.

   Sections in this chapter

   • What was read, and which version
   • The map: one federal statute for providers, many warrant laws
   • Who may ask, and who may not
   • Preservation: the section 2703(f) request
   • Subscriber and session records: subpoena, then court order
   • Content: warrants, and when the statute allows less
   • Emergency requests
   • Time limits, notice and secrecy at a glance
   • State law: what varies and where to check
   • Interception: awareness only
   • If you are a foreign investigator
   • Making the records usable as evidence
   • Worked example (generic)
   • Checklist

2. United States 2. Internet and telecom providers: finding who to serve

   This chapter shows an investigator in the United States how to identify the company behind an IP address, a phone number or a domain, what the rules say about how long providers keep records, and how to use the Ministry’s directory of FCC-registered providers without mistaking a registered agent for a place to serve a subpoena. Read it with Chapter 5 of the global edition, which explains the general method, and Chapter 1 of this edition, which sets out the process you serve.

   Sections in this chapter

   • Who regulates, and what each body tells you
   • How to identify the provider
   • What providers must keep
   • Using the Ministry’s US provider directory
   • Law-enforcement contacts that the law requires
   • Platforms and providers with a US presence
   • Worked example (generic)
   • Checklist

3. United States 3. Banks, wallets and national reporting: money and complaints

   This chapter shows an investigator in the United States where a fraud report goes, which official mechanisms try to freeze money quickly (the FBI’s Recovery Asset Team and FinCEN’s Rapid Response Program), what a victim’s bank must do under the federal consumer rules, which regulator takes a complaint about which institution, and what the confidentiality rules for suspicious activity reports allow a bank to disclose and to whom. It ends with a worked example and checklist.

   Sections in this chapter

   • National reporting: who receives what
   • Freezing or holding funds quickly
   • The regulator and complaint ladder
   • What the customer’s bank must do, and by when
   • Suspicious activity reports and the financial intelligence route
   • Wallets, payment systems and money services
   • Worked example (generic)
   • Checklist

4. United States 4. Cross-border: treaties, platform routes and what US authorities can send out

   The United States is the destination of many requests for platform data, because many of the largest platforms are US companies. This chapter explains the US side of that traffic: which US statutes let a provider answer a foreign agency and which do not, how a mutual legal assistance request is received and executed by the Department of Justice, what the CLOUD Act executive agreements with the United Kingdom and Australia change, and what US authorities can send abroad. It ends with a decision flow and a checklist.

   Sections in this chapter

   • The United States’ treaty and agreement position
   • The US as destination: what a US provider may do for a foreign agency
   • US requests to the major platforms
   • Outgoing: what US authorities can send abroad
   • Police and other channels (awareness)
   • What a foreign agency should send to reach US providers and banks
   • Decision flow
   • Checklist

5. United States 5. Templates, contacts and quick reference

   This chapter lists the national bodies an investigator in the United States deals with, gives ready-to-adapt outlines for a preservation request, a production request or application, an emergency request and a foreign agency’s request to the Department of Justice, and ends with a one-page table of who to call first for six common case types. Each template names the section of US law it rests on so you can check it against the text read in Chapter 1.

   Sections in this chapter

   • National agencies and contacts
   • Template 1: Preservation request to a US provider (18 U.S.C. 2703(f))
   • Template 2: Production request and application outlines
   • Template 3: Emergency disclosure request (18 U.S.C. 2702(b)(8) and (c)(4))
   • Template 4 (foreign agencies): Request to the Office of International Affairs
   • Who do I call first? Quick reference by case type
   • Checklist

Every edition also includes the global reference: how data requests work, the seven big platforms, the 116-service directory, country routes, cryptocurrency, evidence handling, templates and a glossary. See the full contents or try the free First 24 Hours checklist.

Related directories for United States

• United States ISP and telecom directory
• Bank fraud help in United States
• Cybercrime agencies in United States
• Law-enforcement request hub (LERS)

Questions