You can do more than you think — and less than the internet promises. After a scam, a hacked account, or a harassment campaign, a careful non-expert can preserve evidence, build a clear record, and file the free reports that a later investigation stands on. What you generally cannot do at home is recover deleted data from a device, prove who is really behind an anonymous account, or produce findings that hold up in court. This page draws that line so you spend your energy where it counts.
What you can safely do yourself
- Preserve before you touch anything. Stop deleting, stop replying, and keep the original messages, emails, and files exactly as they are.
- Document the events as a dated, plain record — see how to build a timeline.
- Report it for free.File with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, the FTC, and — if your identity was used — IdentityTheft.gov. These reports are what give a later case something official to stand on.
- Run the safe open checks.Review your own account security and sign-in history, and use the EFF’s Surveillance Self-Defense guides to lock things down without tipping anyone off.
What to preserve first (and how)
Evidence is fragile. Capture screenshots for context, but keep the originalstoo — a screenshot strips the metadata that proves when and where something happened. Do not log into a suspect account “just to look”; that can alter its state and may be unlawful. Work from copies, leave originals untouched, and write down what you did and when. The difference between a screenshot and a preserved original is covered in screenshots vs. forensic evidence.
Where do-it-yourself hits its limits
Some work needs tools, training, and lawful authority you likely do not have at home: recovering deleted texts or files, imaging a phone or laptop without changing it, attributing an anonymous account to a real person, and packaging any of it as court-admissible evidence. Pushing past those limits on your own often destroys the very thing you were trying to save.
When to bring in a professional
Call a credentialed digital-forensics examiner when the case is going to court, when you need device-level or deleted data, when attribution matters, or when an attacker keeps getting back in. SleuthX pairs an AI investigation assistant with examiner review so you can start the easy parts yourself and hand off the parts that need a professional — see how the platform works and how to organize what you have for a lawyer or the police.
