ACFCS OSINT Workshop Focuses on Financial Crime Investigations and AI-Assisted Research

The Association of Certified Financial Crime Specialists (ACFCS) is holding a 3.5-hour virtual workshop on 20 August 2026 focused on the practical use of open-source intelligence (OSINT) in financial crime investigations.

The Discovering Digital Trails: An Introduction to OSINT workshop runs from 11:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. ET and is aimed at financial crime investigators, law-enforcement professionals, compliance officers, forensic accountants, risk professionals and financial analysts. ACFCS describes the session as introductory, with an emphasis on giving participants a workable foundation for using public information to identify fraud, money laundering and other illicit activity.

From search techniques to corporate records

The agenda covers OSINT fundamentals, key tools and techniques, and methods for checking the credibility of open-source information. Participants are also introduced to Boolean logic, search operators and corporate registry research, along with approaches for investigating individuals, entities and social-media activity.

A hands-on exercise is included so participants can apply traditional search techniques in a financial-investigation context. ACFCS says the workshop is intended to help practitioners understand how publicly available information can be converted into intelligence that supports investigative reports and the identification of financial irregularities.

Generative AI is part of the discussion

The programme also includes a dedicated segment on AI-assisted OSINT. The session examines practical use cases for generative AI, where it may improve research efficiency, and the need to ensure that AI-assisted findings remain verifiable and actionable rather than being accepted without validation.

Other topics include legal and ethical considerations when collecting open-source information, analysing public records and social media, and determining how different search methods should be adapted depending on whether the subject is a person, company or other entity.

The workshop is hosted on Zoom and will not be recorded. ACFCS says the format is intentionally interactive and includes open discussion, exercises and Q&A. The principal instructor is Pamela Clegg, Head of Growth Strategy at Inca Digital, with ACFCS training staff supporting the session.

For AML and financial crime teams, the programme reflects the growing role of OSINT in supplementing formal KYC, transaction data and internal case information, particularly when investigators need to understand relationships, ownership, adverse information or activity that may not be visible in structured compliance databases.