SPIN Investigate

I received a file or attachment. It doesn’t look trustworthy. Should I open it? Malicious files are often designed to look ordinary. They may appear as invoices, PDFs, résumés, photographs, ZIP files, office documents or links sent through email or messaging platforms. SPIN can help examine suspicious files and attachments to determine whether they show signs of malicious or unsafe behaviour. Who is this service for? [[UL]] Individuals Professionals Students Senior citizens Business owners Employees who receive suspicious communications Anyone unsure whether an attachment or file is safe [[/UL]] When should you consider this service? [[H]]You may need this service if [[UL]] You received a file from an unknown sender. A known contact unexpectedly sent you an unusual file. An invoice or document looks suspicious. An attachment asks you to enable macros or permissions. You received an unfamiliar ZIP or executable file. Your device behaved strangely after interacting with a file. You want a file checked before opening it. [[/UL]] What may be examined? [[H]]Depending on the file and circumstances, the analysis may include [[UL]] File-type verification. Metadata examination. File-hash analysis. Malicious-code indicators. Embedded scripts or macros. Suspicious links. Known malware indicators. Abnormal file behaviour. Phishing-related characteristics. [[/UL]] How can SPIN help? [[H]]SPIN may help you [[UL]] Understand whether a file appears suspicious. Identify technical indicators of potential malicious activity. Preserve relevant evidence. Understand whether further device examination may be required. Receive recommendations on what to do next. [[/UL]] Possible Deliverables [[UL]] Preliminary File Risk Assessment Detailed Technical Assessment Recommended Next Steps [[/UL]] Important Notice from SPIN Avoid opening, forwarding or repeatedly interacting with a suspicious attachment until it has been appropriately assessed.

Someone keeps following, threatening, bullying or targeting me online. Can I find out what is happening? Who is behind it? Cyberstalking and online harassment may involve repeated unwanted messages, fake accounts, threats, abusive posts, monitoring of online activity, impersonation or coordinated attacks across multiple platforms. SPIN may help examine the available digital trail and preserve evidence relevant to the incident. Who is this service for? [[UL]] Individuals experiencing cyberstalking Victims of online harassment Victims of cyberbullying Women facing persistent online abuse Students Professionals Influencers and public-facing individuals Parents or guardians seeking support for affected family members [[/UL]] Situations that may require investigation [[UL]] Repeated threatening messages. Anonymous accounts repeatedly contacting you. Online bullying. Defamatory or harmful posts. Fake accounts created to target you. Coordinated harassment. Threatening social-media activity. Repeated unwanted digital contact. [[/UL]] What may the investigation involve? [[UL]] Social-media profile analysis. Open-source intelligence. Account and profile correlation. Digital-footprint analysis. Communication analysis. Timeline reconstruction. Evidence preservation. Available metadata analysis. Lawful examination of technical identifiers. Platform-reporting support. Assistance organising information for law-enforcement reporting. [[/UL]] How can SPIN help? [[H]]SPIN may help you [[UL]] Understand the pattern and scope of online harassment. Preserve relevant communications and online content. Identify links between suspicious accounts where possible. Organise an incident timeline. Identify evidence that may be important for subsequent reporting. Understand possible next steps. [[/UL]] Important – Please Note Identification of an anonymous person or IP address cannot be guaranteed. Some information may only be available to platforms, telecom providers or law-enforcement agencies through lawful processes.

This email looks genuine — but is it really from the person or organisation it claims to be from? Fraudulent emails are increasingly designed to imitate banks, companies, government agencies, employers, colleagues and even known personal contacts. SPIN can examine available technical characteristics of an email to assess whether there are indicators of phishing, spoofing or impersonation. Who is this service for? [[UL]] Individuals Professionals Senior citizens Small-business owners Employees receiving unusual instructions People receiving suspicious payment requests Anyone unsure whether an email is genuine [[/UL]] Typical situations that may require assessment [[UL]] Unusual payment instructions. Password-reset emails you did not request. Bank or financial emails asking you to click a link. Emails claiming to come from an employer or senior executive. Unexpected invoices. Emails containing suspicious links or attachments. Communication that looks genuine but behaves unusually. [[/UL]] What may be examined? [[UL]] Email headers. Sending domain. Routing information. SPF indicators. DKIM indicators. DMARC indicators. Links embedded in the email. Suspicious attachments. Spoofing characteristics. Phishing indicators. Impersonation indicators. [[/UL]] How can SPIN help? [[H]]SPIN may help you determine [[UL]] Whether technical indicators support the claimed sender. Whether the email shows phishing or spoofing characteristics. Whether an attached file or link requires further examination. Whether additional protective actions should be taken. [[/UL]] Possible Deliverable [[H]]Email Authenticity / Phishing Assessment Report including [[UL]] Observed technical indicators. Risk observations. Suspicious characteristics. Recommended next actions. [[/UL]]

My email or social-media account has been hacked. How do I get it back the control of my account? How do I understand what happened? Losing access to an account is only one part of an account compromise. It is equally important to understand what may have happened, what the attacker could have accessed and whether connected accounts remain at risk. Who is this service for? [[UL]] Individuals Professionals Influencers Business owners acting in their personal capacity Public-facing professionals Individuals whose personal email has been compromised Individuals whose social-media account has been taken over [[/UL]] Accounts may include [[UL]] Gmail / Google Microsoft Instagram Facebook LinkedIn X WhatsApp Accounts on many more email and social media platforms [[/UL]] When should you consider this service? [[UL]] Your password no longer works. Recovery details have been changed. Posts or messages have appeared without your knowledge. Unfamiliar logins are visible. Contacts received suspicious messages from your account. You received an unexpected password-reset notification. The attacker appears to have accessed linked accounts. [[/UL]] What may be examined? [[UL]] Suspicious login activity. Account-change history. Authentication records where available. Phishing indicators. Recovery-email or phone changes. Unauthorised sessions. Linked-account exposure. Compromise timeline. Possible entry point. [[/UL]] How can SPIN help? [[H]]SPIN may assist with [[UL]] Understanding how the account may have been compromised. Preserving available evidence. Navigating lawful platform recovery procedures. Identifying associated risks. Securing linked accounts. Reviewing security settings. Strengthening the recovered account. [[/UL]] Important – Please Note SPIN assists legitimate account owners and does not bypass platform security mechanisms or obtain unauthorised access.

My phone or computer is behaving strangely. Could it have been hacked or infected? Malicious software can steal information, encrypt files, monitor activity, provide remote access or secretly use a device's computing power for cryptocurrency mining. SPIN can help assess supported devices for signs of compromise. Who is this service for? [[UL]] Individuals Professionals Home-office users Students Senior citizens Business owners Victims of ransomware Individuals concerned about spyware or unauthorised access [[/UL]] Warning signs may include [[UL]] Unusual slowness. Unexplained overheating. Excessive battery usage. Unfamiliar applications. Unexpected pop-ups. Files becoming inaccessible. Ransom messages. Unusual network activity. Unexplained CPU usage. Suspicious login activity. [[/UL]] What may the investigation include? [[UL]] Device-forensic examination. Malware identification. Ransomware indicators. Spyware assessment. Cryptojacking indicators. Malicious-process analysis. Persistence analysis. Suspicious application analysis. Compromise indicators. Evidence preservation. Infection-vector assessment. [[/UL]] How can SPIN help? [[H]]SPIN may assist with [[UL]] Determining whether the device appears compromised. Identifying suspicious software or activity. Understanding potential impact. Preserving relevant evidence. Recommending containment measures. Supporting malware removal. Recommending system recovery. Strengthening device security after recovery. [[/UL]] Supported Devices [[UL]] Computers: Microsoft Windows, Apple MacOS, Linux, ChromeOS Mobile: Android, iOS [[/UL]] Important – Please Note SPIN assists only legitimate device owners / their legally appointed representative and does not bypass any security mechanisms or obtain unauthorised access to devices.

I still own my wallet, payment or trading account — but I cannot access it. What can I do? This service is intended for legitimate owners who have lost or compromised access to supported payment accounts, trading accounts, crypto exchanges or digital wallets. It is different from investigating money that has already been stolen. Who is this service for? [[UL]] Payment-wallet users – inc. users of independent payment wallet platform or those offered by various e-commerce sites, etc. [[/UL]] [[UL]] Investors and Traders Crypto-exchange customers Legitimate crypto-wallet owners Individuals whose account credentials were compromised [[/UL]] Situations may include [[UL]] Lost authorised access. Compromised login credentials. Account takeover. Altered recovery mechanisms. Trading-platform access problems. Crypto-exchange account compromise. Supported wallet-recovery situations. [[/UL]] What may be examined? [[UL]] Account-compromise indicators. Suspicious access. Transaction history. Recovery mechanisms. Available account records. Relevant communications. Platform recovery options. [[/UL]] How can SPIN help? [[H]]SPIN may assist with [[UL]] Understanding why access was lost. Assessing whether the account appears compromised. Exploring legitimate recovery pathways. Preserving relevant evidence. Supporting interaction with authorised platform-recovery mechanisms. Reviewing suspicious transactions where relevant. Providing reporting guidance. [[/UL]] Important – Please Note SPIN does not circumvent security mechanisms, obtain unauthorised access or guarantee recovery of an account or digital asset.

Someone is acting online as though they are me. How do I find out what they have done? Digital identity misuse can go far beyond creating a fake profile. Someone may use another person's name, photograph, personal details or documents to create accounts, communicate with others, carry out transactions or commit fraud. Who is this service for? [[UL]] Individuals Professionals, Doctors, Lawyers, Academics, Chartered Accountants, Company [[/UL]] Secretaries, etc. [[UL]] Executives Business owners acting personally Influencers and content creators People whose identity documents may have been compromised [[/UL]] Situations may include [[UL]] Fake accounts created in your name. Unauthorised online registrations. Fraudulent messages sent using your identity. Use of your photograph or documents. Transactions undertaken using your identity. Scams carried out while pretending to be you. Misuse of professional identity. [[/UL]] What may the investigation involve? [[UL]] Fake-profile identification. Digital-footprint analysis. Account correlation. Misuse assessment. Communication analysis. Incident timeline. Evidence preservation. Examination of related fraudulent activity. Platform reporting. Takedown assistance; where applicable. [[/UL]] How can SPIN help? [[H]]SPIN may help you [[UL]] Understand where and how your identity has been misused. Identify known fake or impersonating profiles. Preserve evidence. Identify linked suspicious activity. Document the incident. Understand containment options. Prepare for subsequent reporting. [[/UL]]

Money has disappeared from my account or I was tricked into sending it. What happened? Where did it go? What should I do now? Online financial fraud can involve unauthorised transactions, phishing, investment scams, payment-wallet fraud, fake trading schemes and deceptive communications intended to make victims transfer money voluntarily. Who is this service for? [[UL]] Victims of UPI fraud Victims of online banking fraud Payment-wallet users – inc. users of independent payment wallet platform or those offered by various e-commerce sites, etc. [[/UL]] [[UL]] Victims of investment scams Trading-fraud victims Senior citizens Crypto-fraud victims Marketplace-fraud victims [[/UL]] Situations may include [[UL]] Unauthorised UPI transactions. Fraudulent online transfers. Phishing-related financial loss. Fake investment platforms. Trading scams. Online marketplace fraud – e.g. seller accepted payment and disappeared without delivering products, payment was asked through crypto-currency, buyers using stolen credit cards and sellers’ accounts going on hold, etc. [[/UL]] [[UL]] Wallet theft. Fraudulent payment requests. Crypto-related fraud. [[/UL]] What may the investigation include? [[UL]] Transaction chronology. Communication analysis. Fraud-modus assessment. Payment-identifier analysis. Profile / account investigation. Digital-footprint analysis. Evidence preservation. Transaction reconstruction. Available fund-flow analysis. Phishing-link examination. Associated-account correlation. [[/UL]] How can SPIN help? [[H]]SPIN may assist with [[UL]] Understanding how the fraud may have occurred. Documenting the financial and digital trail. Preserving important evidence. Identifying available digital indicators. Organising information for banks or payment providers. Preparing information for cybercrime reporting. Identifying immediate containment measures. Identifying appropriate next steps. [[/UL]] Important – Please Note Recovery of stolen funds cannot be guaranteed. Prompt reporting to banks, payment providers and relevant authorities may be critical.

Someone is using my face, voice or identity in fake digital content. Can I do something about it? Can it be investigated? Artificial intelligence (AI) and readily available editing tools can now create convincing fake images, videos, voices and social-media profiles. Such content may be used for harassment, fraud, reputational damage, fake endorsements or impersonation. Who is this service for? [[UL]] Individuals Professionals Executives Women targeted through manipulated imagery Influencers Content creators Public-facing individuals Persons targeted through fake advertisements Persons whose voice or image has been misused [[/UL]] Situations may include [[UL]] Fake social-media profiles. Manipulated photographs. Deepfake video. Synthetic voice recordings. Fake endorsements. Fabricated communications. Fraudulent advertisements. Unauthorised use of photographs or videos. [[/UL]] What may the investigation involve? [[UL]] Content preservation. Metadata examination. Authenticity assessment. Digital-media analysis. Account investigation. Source investigation. Digital-footprint analysis. Distribution mapping. Profile correlation. Platform-reporting assistance. Takedown support; where applicable. [[/UL]] How can SPIN help? [[H]]SPIN may help [[UL]] Determine whether content shows signs of manipulation. Identify associated profiles or distribution channels. Preserve relevant evidence. Document where and how the content is being circulated. Support platform reporting. Identify further investigation or legal-reporting options. [[/UL]]