Neotas Ltd

AI-Based Social Media Checks Without Human Intervention AI Social Media Checks As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to advance, its integration into various aspects of our lives becomes increasingly apparent. One area that has created considerable interest is the use of AI-based social media checks. While these AI based systems may promise enhanced security, efficiency, and … Read more

Social Media Background Checks The widespread use of social media has led to an increasing trend among employers to conduct social media checks as part of their recruitment process. However, employers must be aware of the GDPR and FCRA implications of such checks, which set out strict rules for the processing of personal data, including … Read more

Social Media checks for Lawyers and other legal professionals In recent years, social media has become a ubiquitous part of our lives, with millions of people using it every day to share their thoughts, opinions, and experiences with others. Social media has also become an increasingly important tool for businesses and organizations to promote themselves … Read more

Social media checks for doctors and healthcare specialists In the modern age, social media has become an integral part of our daily lives, extending its influence into professional realms. This article explores the significance of implementing social media checks for doctors and healthcare specialists.    Social media checks contribute to maintaining professionalism, upholding ethical standards, staying … Read more

Social Media checks for Police Officers This article covers the importance of social media checks for police officers, ensuring public safety, preventing misconduct, and building trust. By promoting transparency and professionalism, social media checks foster a stronger relationship between law enforcement and the community they serve.    Introduction: The demand for social media checks for police … Read more

Social Media Checks for School Staff Social Media Screening Checks for Education Industry To Aid Safeguarding The Department of Education (DfE) is consulting on changes to the Keeping Children Safe in Education statutory guidance, to include the recommendation of social media background checks and adverse internet checks on prospective teachers. The proposed changes would be … Read more

Enhanced Due Diligence for High Risk Customers By Michael Harris MCMI, Head of Financial Crime Risk, Neotas There is growing concern that disinformation and so-called “reputation laundering” campaigns could be used by high-risk customers to illegitimately pass enhanced due diligence checks. Additionally, such campaigns could undermine the introduction of sanctions on high-risk individuals, as well … Read more

ESG and The Power Of Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) “We frequently seek opportunities to enhance ESG within our investment processes. We felt that OSINT-based analysis was the natural next step for our ESG programme.” – Coller Capital Neotas Partners With Coller Capital Neotas are delighted to be chosen service providers of Coller Capital, to provide enhanced … Read more

Suisse Secrets Leaks Exposes EDD Shortcomings : It is a sign of the times when the largest political grouping in Europe threatens to designate Switzerland a high-risk jurisdiction for financial trading. A spokesperson for the European People’s Party said information in this week’s data leak (nicknamed the ‘Suisse Secrets’) showed “massive shortcomings of Swiss banks … Read more

Neotas Due Diligence 2021 Annual Report : Risks hidden in plain sight “2021 was another unprecedented year for Neotas. In spite of the circumstances, we enjoyed our most productive year to date and I couldn’t be prouder of the way our team overcame the challenges we faced together. “ – Ian Howard, Director We are … Read more

Neotas Employment Screening 2021 Annual Report Reflections on 2021 “Employers in 2021 were forced to adapt and overcome a host of challenges that were multiplied due to the pandemic.  In an increasingly ‘connected’ world, adopting new technologies and techniques like our social media screening services proved vital, leading to actual improvements in hiring decisions.” Ian Howard, … Read more

Private Equity Risk: What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You : That stupid saying “What you don’t know can’t hurt you” is ridiculous. What you don’t know can kill you. If you don’t know that tractor trailer trucks hurt when hitting you, then you can play in the middle of the interstate with no fear … Read more

Using Open Source Intelligence To Enhance Online Reputation Management : While reputations can be built, sometimes crafted, over many years, they can be tarnished in an instant. The value of a reputation should not be underestimated and it’s imperative that brands use all of the tools at their disposal to protect and bolster their reputation. … Read more

How The Pandora Papers Changed Due Diligence Forever : The Pandora Papers leak – the latest in a series of off-shore data leaks in the past seven years – has exposed nearly 12 million financial documents to the public eye. As with previous leaks, this public scandal damages the reputations of those involved and raises … Read more

Dear Trade Finance Firms – The FCA Wants You To Do More : The recent Dear CEO letter shared by the FCA & PRA has sent a stern warning to businesses operating in trade finance – more needs to be done. The letter was addressed directly to the CEOs of firms carrying out trade finance … Read more

How Social Media Due Diligence Can Improve Investment Decisions : When assessing non-financial risk data as part of M&A due diligence, traditional checks currently pay little attention to investigating the online footprint of a target company. An organisation’s online activity, and indeed the online activity of its management teams, can provide valuable insight into reputation, … Read more

Why Management Due Diligence (MDD) Could Be The Key Ahead Of Private Equity Boom : New analysis from KPMG has revealed that Private Equity Investment has soared to its highest levels in over five years. The investment boom represents a significant jump when compared to the same period in 2020, as the impact of the … Read more

An Investigation Into England Euro 2020 Social Media Abuse Using Open Source Intelligence : Following the targeted racist attacks towards members of the England football team after the final of Euro 2020, Neotas have conducted an investigation into the online abuse(England social media abuse). After Twitter had publicly shared the results of their “proactive” action … Read more

How Non-Financial Risk Indicators Can Improve Credit Risk Due Diligence : “Credit risk is more than just financial models. There’s a whole series of non-financial data points that can be used to help make those decisions better.” – Ian Howard, Neotas  Managing and mitigating post pandemic risk  For financial institutions, managing and mitigating risk has become an … Read more

The Impact Of Social Media On Sport – How To Avoid A Crisis  : Social media and sport are inextricably linked. The globalised, commercial nature of professional sport means it now relies on social media to bring its products to new audiences and to communicate sponsored messages to fans. The relationship between the two is … Read more

Guest Blog by Vero Screening: How Social Media Screening Benefits Our Clients : How Has Social Media Screening Benefited Our Client Base? In a world that requires ever-increasing online due diligence, we are seeing clients’ screening requirements constantly evolve. As of 2019, and after much supplier comparison, we partnered with Neotas to provide our social … Read more

Why Corporate Background Checks Could Be The Key To Building Company Culture: Armstrong Wolfe Conduct & Culture Summit In April this year, Armstrong Wolfe held their Conduct & Culture Summit, inviting senior executives from global organisations to discuss and learn about conduct and culture. The summit featured a host of senior figures from international firms, … Read more

COVID-19 Impact Leads To Increased Fraud Risk : What Impact Has Coronavirus Had On Enhanced Due Diligence? In what’s been a year like no other, we have seen the significance of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on all aspects of the business world.  Many traditional business practices have been completely overhauled as global restrictions … Read more

The Truth About Social Media Screening and GDPR: One of the most common questions we get asked is how our searches comply with GDPR. In particular, there are always questions around privacy, data protection and social media screening. Our searches are fully compliant and are always updated to reflect any changes in regulations – but … Read more

What Did We Find In 2020 Risks hidden in plain sight  2020 proved to be a truly remarkable year globally, with all industries feeling the impact and repercussions of the pandemic. Throughout the year, we provided thousands of objective background check services, from pre employment background screening through to a host of third party due diligence … Read more

“Fraud and deceit are anxious for your money. Be informed and prudent”. – John A. Widtsoe   International Fraud Awareness Week Neotas have joined the global effort to minimise the impact of fraud by being a supporter of International Fraud Awareness Week (IFAW). IFAW, or Fraud Week, is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year and … Read more

Pre-employment Checks, What Should You be Doing in 2021? “83% of hiring individuals have found candidate discrepancies on both CVs and job applications”. Hire Right, 2020   With Covid-19 still prominent and our country facing a looming recession, businesses are facing unprecedented times. It’s more important than ever as we near 2021 that for those … Read more

5 Industries that Should be Doing More than a DBS Check A Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check is a common way for employers to assess the background of a potential employee. Many jobs ask that employees undertake a DBS check to ensure they have a clean criminal record and will not be putting people … Read more

Neotas use OSINT For Good to Support Environmental Investigation Agency Neotas are proud to use OSINT for good (#OSINTForGood) to support and assist Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) in their efforts to investigate environmental crime. The recent report published by EIA highlights the threat towards Asia’s leopard population due to illegal killings in aid to meet … Read more

Over the Easter weekend a team of Neotas Analysts participated in the Tracelabs Global Missing Persons Capture The Flag competition. The aim of the competition is to use Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) to help locate missing people around the world. Information identified ranges from social media profiles to deep web documents and dark web databases, … Read more

Online Reputation Screening Avoid the cost of a bad hire with online reputation screening Over 80% of HR decision-makers admit their organisation has made a bad hire and the cost of a bad hire being anything up to 23 times their starting salary1. Using the full breadth and power of online reputation screening, we help … Read more

OSINT Due Diligence: the new litmus test for investors Private equity firms and investors are increasingly placing focus on management due diligence and the importance of understanding people, cultural fit and capability. Due diligence that harnesses open source intelligence (OSINT Due Diligence) unlocks more meaningful insights into teams and companies, informing business decisions and protecting … Read more

Pep Guardiola’s emails hacked : Last week, it was reported that a man is being questioned by Greater Manchester Police for his alleged involvement in hacking Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola’s emails. A contractor employed by the club through an IT firm two years ago, he has claimed that the hack was “the easiest thing I’ve ever … Read more

Regulators now require OSINT – what next for AML and CDD? The regulators have called for the use of open source internet and social media checks (OSINT) in anti-money laundering (AML), enhanced customer due diligence (CDD) and conduct surveillance measures. So, if the regulators require OSINT – what are financial institutions doing to meet these … Read more

Locating Missing People: A Crowdsourced and Global Use of OSINT At the beginning of February, Neotas Analysts took part in a global competition in which they contributed to active global missing persons investigations. They joined a community of 140 teams of OSINT practitioners from around the world, ranging from law enforcement officers to threat intelligence … Read more

Social media screening in the spotlight after government controversy Social media background screening is again in the spotlight after the latest controversy involving a UK government official. The UK Government is once again under scrutiny for its hiring and vetting process, following the “reprehensible” and “racist” comments online of Downing Street adviser Andrew Sabisky. Online … Read more

Guide for SRA-regulated firms: Offensive Communications Online: As our online and offline personas increasingly converge, the spotlight is being shone on law firms and the online behaviour of their members. The SRA has recently updated its guidance, warning “the same ethical obligations of professional conduct apply in an online environment”. We take a look at what … Read more

Bad hires: Don’t become another victim We all know that bad hires can have detrimental effects on your business. The cost is significantly higher than just their salary as the negative impact on reputation or team moral can be challenging to say the least. A high turnover of staff creates instability within a business and can affect its day to day functioning of a business, slowing everything down.  … Read more

The Campaign Crisis: MPs and their Mishaps : As election day looms, we look back at what has been a tumultuous campaign for MP candidates from all parties. As is becoming the norm in British politics, online blunders and revelations have once again ended several political careers. In a previous blog post we highlighted the mistakes made by Change … Read more

Sharing is Caring. Right? The emergence of sharing economy companies, such as Uber, Airbnb, and Bolt has brought a question mark around the level of due diligence conducted on service providers. Does the very nature of the sharing economy, which has called into question the regulatory system surrounding it, provide a platform for crimes to … Read more

Assurance for the Insurance Sector: SMCR and beyond Today the Bank of England tells insurance companies to improve their working cultures after revelations about sexual harassment and bullying in the industry. The Prudential Regulation Authority has flagged recent instances of alleged abuse as of “deep concern” and said bad behaviour could result in senior managers being banned … Read more