In This Issue
Training and Operations: Advanced Human Trafficking Training Oklahoma
OSINT Stories That Matter: Julie Beck
Who We Are
The Skull Games Task Force employs Open Source Intelligence to IDENTIFY sexual predators and their victims, enabling law enforcement to INTERDICT the cycle of abuse. Our mission is to liberate survivors and EMPOWER them with the opportunity for a life of hope, healing, and freedom. The Task Force provides direct support to law enforcement through small teams or as a massive expedition, bringing together the collective capability of more than 400 elite volunteers. This counter-sexual exploitation offensive leverages considerable expertise and resources to fight human trafficking and sexual exploitation. With us as the HUNTERS, we get into the heads of predators, in our own “SKULL GAME”…
February Operations
by Olinda Cardenas
- Predators and Victims Identified: 11
- Predators Arrested: 5
- Individuals Trained in Countertrafficking: 25
In February, Skull Games Solutions partnered with the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Human Trafficking Response Unit to deliver Advanced Human Trafficking Training to law enforcement agencies in the Broken Bow region.
Training equips agencies with tools to recognize indicators, investigate digital evidence, and build stronger cases. But training alone is only the first step. Action is what protects communities.
Following the training sessions, participating agencies coordinated a human trafficking enforcement operation in Idabel, Oklahoma. The operation resulted in:
- Five (5) arrests for Solicitation of Prostitution and violations of the Computer Crimes Act
Human trafficking networks rarely operate within a single jurisdiction. They cross county lines, state borders, and digital platforms. Effective response requires the same level of coordination from those working to stop them.
This operation reflected exactly that: a multi-agency effort built on shared intelligence, joint preparation, and trust between partners.
Skull Games Solutions is grateful for the continued partnership with the Office of the Oklahoma Attorney General and Attorney General Gentner Drummond, and for the commitment shown by the agencies protecting Oklahoma communities.
Participating agencies included:
- Pittsburgh County Sheriff’s Office
- Idabel Police Department
- Hochatown Police Department
- Clayton Police Department
- McCurtain County Sheriff’s Office
- Choctaw Nation Lighthorse Police
- Valliant Police Department
- Antlers Police Department
- Oklahoma Department of Corrections
- Rattan Police Department
- Pushmataha County Sheriff’s Office
Stronger partnerships. Smarter operations. Safer communities.
OSINT Stories That Matter
by Tom Phelan and Julie Beck
In this new section, we ask the Skull Games community for impactful stories from their work. We encourage our Hunters to share short reflections on the following:
- A moment where our work directly supported an investigation or operation.
- An insight or lesson learned that changed how they approach OSINT or analysis.
- A time when collaboration within the Task Force or with partners made a difference.
- An “aha” moment where assumptions were challenged, or clarity was gained.
- What motivates you to continue volunteering and contributing to the mission?
We want to take time to reflect on stories that focus on the work, the process, and the impact, highlighting professionalism, teamwork, and growth. The month’s story comes from Julie Beck.
The Weight You Don’t See: An Analyst’s View from the Inside of Human Trafficking Investigations
There are challenges in human trafficking investigations that never make it into case summaries, threat assessments, or intelligence briefings. They don’t fit neatly into a methodology section or a slide deck. But they sit with you—long after the tabs are closed, and the tools are powered down.
From the outside, investigative work can look technical: link analysis, OSINT collection, pattern recognition, timelines. From the inside, it’s human. Painfully human.
The Emotional Toll No One Trains You For
One of the hardest parts of working trafficking cases is the age of the individuals involved. Seeing very young people—sometimes children—presented through fragments of online life is deeply destabilizing. Profiles, images, captions, emojis, comments. Things that should represent innocence or self-expression instead signal coercion, fear, and survival.
As analysts, we are trained to observe, not react. To document, not intervene. To stay objective. But objectivity doesn’t erase empathy. It doesn’t stop your brain from filling in the gaps between the data points.
You see patterns others might miss: repeated phrases across posts, unnatural scheduling, signs of control masked as “relationships.” And you also see how young they are—how limited their agency truly is. That awareness carries weight. It forces you to reconcile professional distance with a very real human response: grief, anger, helplessness.
There’s a quiet moral injury that can come with this work. You know what you’re seeing matters. You know it may contribute to accountability or rescue. But you also know you are witnessing harm in near real time, often without the authority to stop it yourself.
That tension never fully goes away.
When the Data Itself Becomes the Obstacle
Beyond the emotional strain, trafficking investigations present technical challenges that are uniquely complex—and sometimes deeply frustrating.
One case that stands out involved twins.
From an OSINT perspective, twins introduce a level of ambiguity that breaks many assumptions investigators unconsciously rely on. Same birthdays, same addresses, facial similarity, shared environments, overlapping social circles, and near-identical timelines make attribution extraordinarily difficult. Automated tools struggle. Visual confirmation becomes unreliable. Even manual review can lead you down false paths.
Profiles appeared to belong to one individual—until subtle inconsistencies emerged. A tattoo that appeared in one image but not another. Slight differences in writing style. Variations in location metadata that didn’t quite line up. Each discrepancy mattered, because misattribution in a trafficking case isn’t just an analytical error—it can misdirect resources, implicate the wrong person, or obscure a victim’s actual circumstances. The challenge wasn’t just distinguishing between two individuals. It was doing so ethically and accurately, without overconfidence. OSINT thrives on pattern recognition, but this case demanded restraint: acknowledging uncertainty, documenting confidence levels, and resisting the pressure to “force” clarity where it didn’t yet exist.
It was a reminder that human beings don’t always resolve cleanly into datasets—and that some cases resist tidy conclusions.
Why This Work Still Matters
Despite the emotional cost and investigative complexity, this work matters deeply. Each accurate identification, each carefully sourced finding, each responsibly handled uncertainty contributes to a larger ecosystem of accountability and protection.
Human trafficking investigations are not just about exposing networks or documenting crimes. They are about honoring the reality of the individuals caught inside them—especially the youngest, whose voices are often the hardest to hear and the easiest to overlook.
For analysts in this space, the challenge is twofold: to sharpen our technical rigor while also acknowledging our humanity. To build better tools and methodologies, yes—but also to build better support systems for those doing the work.
Because behind every data point is a person. And behind every analyst is another human, carrying what they’ve seen, doing their best to make it count.
Upcoming Events
- Task Force Expedition XIX | May 16 – 17 | Ybor City, FL
Skull Games Links
- Social Media: Follow Us Linkedin Facebook Insta Twitter
- Donations: Support Us
- Law Enforcement: Partner With Us
- Volunteer: Join Us
About the Author
Tom Phelan is an active-duty U.S. Army Intelligence Officer with over five years of experience in OSINT and a dedicated volunteer for Skull Games Task Force.
Olinda Cardenas is a former crime scene investigator turned cybercrime enthusiast. She specializes in OSINT and financial crime investigations and is a dedicated volunteer with Skull Games
