Many times, especially in domestic cases, there are three sides to every story: his, hers and the truth. Cell phone forensics allows us to find that third side.
Cell phones are just computers. And, as I have stated before, even data you think may have been deleted from a computer is still stored somewhere in the hard drive. Therefore, the same goes for cell phones. Text messages and e-mails are most likely retrievable. And in the case of a domestic case, you can use cell phone records as evidence. Not only the call logs, but the data extracted through cell phone forensics and cell phone analysis.
In order to perform cell phone forensics on a cell phone, the phone must be accessible. We are able to isolate the phone in a “quarantine” of sorts. That allows for a snapshot of everything that is on the phone at a given time. The data that is extracted from the phone can be used as evidence because of the technology we use and the protocols we follow in the process.
Cell phone forensics can provide actual text from e-mails and text messages. That, combined with the cell phone carriers call logs can reveal patterns and explicit details. We don’t judge or interpret the data and information retrieved.
The results of our investigation are not always used in court. Often, it is just provided to the client. When presented with the results of data extraction, the response from the client may be “it is what it is” and that is the truth. The evidence to support or refute an allegation is either there – or it’s not.
It may surprise people to know that the majority of people who have forensics done on cell phones are usually mainstream, average, every-day Joes. However, there are some high profile clients and extremely sophisticated cases. It makes no difference who the client is or what the case is – the result is the same. It is what it is. The truth.
-Brenda McGinley, CEO, All in Investigations, All in Investigations