Person of Interest
By Seme Research Team · Updated May 22, 2026
Definition
A Person of Interest (POI) is an individual who has come to the attention of investigators or analysts for a specific reason, but who may not necessarily be suspected of wrongdoing. In identity investigation, a POI is typically someone whose background needs to be verified, whose connections need to be mapped, or whose activities need to be monitored as part of a larger investigation. POI designation is the starting point for focused investigation — it triggers a systematic process of data collection, analysis, and verification. The term is used across domains: law enforcement (persons connected to a case), corporate security (individuals flagged for access review), journalism (sources and subjects of investigation), and due diligence (persons requiring background verification).
How It Works
POI investigation follows a structured workflow. Step 1 — Intake: recording the reason for POI designation, initial identifiers (name, photo, email, phone), and investigation scope. Step 2 — Identity Resolution: confirming the POI's identity through entity resolution across available data sources. Step 3 — Background Collection: gathering employment history, education, social presence, public records, and associations through OSINT and database queries. Step 4 — Network Mapping: identifying the POI's connections to other persons of interest, organizations, and events. Step 5 — Risk Assessment: evaluating the collected information against the original investigation criteria to determine threat level, relevance, and required follow-up actions.
Example
A corporate security team designates a POI after receiving a tip about a departing employee. Investigation reveals: the employee has been downloading proprietary files (E1 — IT logs), has been in contact with a competitor's recruiter (E3 — email metadata), and recently updated their LinkedIn profile with new skills matching the competitor's job posting (E3 — public profile). Network analysis shows they have 5 close connections who also recently left for the same competitor. The POI assessment upgrades from "monitor" to "high risk" — triggering immediate security protocols.
Applications
- •Corporate security insider threat assessment
- •Law enforcement lead development and suspect profiling
- •Investigative journalism subject background research
- •Due diligence screening of potential business associates