How to Be Invisible: The Essential Guide to Protecting Your Personal Privacy, Your Assets, and Your Life (Revised Edition)

Description

From cyberspace to crawl spaces, new innovations in information gathering have left the private life of the average person open to scrutiny, and worse, exploitation. In this thoroughly revised update of his immensely popular guide How to Be Invisible, J.J. Luna shows you how to protect yourself from these information predators by securing your vehicle and real estate ownership, your bank accounts, your business dealings, your computer files, your home address, and more.J.J. Luna, a highly trained and experienced security consultant, shows you how to achieve the privacy you crave and deserve, whether you just want to shield yourself from casual scrutiny or take your life savings with you and disappearing without a trace. Whatever your needs, Luna reveals the shocking secrets that private detectives and other seekers of personal information use to uncover information and then shows how to make a serious commitment to safeguarding yourself.There is a prevailing sense in our society that true privacy is a thing of the past. Filled with vivid real life stories drawn from the headlines and from Luna's own consulting experience, How to Be Invisible, Revised Edition is a critical antidote to the privacy concerns that continue only to grow in magnitude as new and more efficient ways of undermining our personal security are made available. Privacy is a commonly-lamented casualty of the Information Age and of the world's changing climate-but that doesn't mean you have to stand for it. Cover......Page 1 Copyright page......Page 8 A Note to Readers......Page 9 Contents......Page 13 Travel......Page 15 Alternate Addresses......Page 16 Recommendations......Page 17 Legality......Page 18 1 How This Book Can Make You Invisible......Page 21 Physical Harm......Page 22 Financial Harm......Page 23 Totally Unforeseen Tidal Waves......Page 24 "Whom Shall I Trust?"......Page 29 Privacy......Page 32 What Makes This Book Unique?......Page 33 How to Use This Book......Page 34 Why are you against offshore trusts?......Page 35 How about banks in tax-haven lands?......Page 36 How about keeping offshore communications private?......Page 37 2 U.S. Mail—Serious Dangers......Page 38 To Move or Not to Move......Page 39 Never Give Your Address to Strangers......Page 40 Mail Theft......Page 42 Receiving Mail at Your Present Home Address......Page 46 Mail Forwarding......Page 47 Additional Family Benefit......Page 48 An Option for Non-Personal Mail......Page 49 What is a "mail cover"?......Page 50 Exact postage?......Page 51 How secure is my incoming mail?......Page 52 How I can best protect my outgoing mail?......Page 54 What's the best way to have a letter remailed from some faraway place?......Page 55 What's the most remote, faraway return address?......Page 56 3 When Is a "Lie" Not a Lie?......Page 57 PIs and True Lies......Page 61 Private Investigators—Friends or Foes?......Page 64 4 Mailboxes, Public and Private......Page 65 Disadvantages of Having a P.O. Box......Page 66 Other Options for Receiving Mail at a P.O. Box......Page 69 Advantages of Having a Private Box......Page 70 Possible Remedies for Private Boxes......Page 71 Use Mail Boxes Etc address for driver's license?......Page 72 Can I rent a P.O. box with a single visit?......Page 73 Can I open a P.O. box without showing my driver's license (which is from another state)?......Page 74 5 How to Obtain Your Own "Ghost" Address......Page 75 A Partial List of Places Where Alternate Addresses Will Be Used......Page 76 How to Set Up Your Own Ghost Address......Page 77 One of My Own Examples......Page 78 Older Office Building......Page 80 Charity Mission......Page 81 Alternatives......Page 82 Should You Allow Anyone at Your Ghost Address to Know Where You Live?......Page 83 Now for the Hard Part......Page 84 Your House Number......Page 85 Breaking News......Page 86 I am a single mother who is having a hard time setting up a ghost address?......Page 87 Is it OK to put my true home address on the bags I check when making a trip by air?......Page 88 Privacy & public schools......Page 89 6 Repairmen, Home Deliveries, House Calls, Fedex, UPS......Page 90 Obtaining Consent to Enter by Deception......Page 91 Fedex, UPS, DHL, Airborne Express......Page 92 Home Delivery......Page 93 Mail Drop Pickup......Page 94 Robbers May Impersonate the Police......Page 95 Pizza Deliveries......Page 96 Can a bounty hunter legally break into my home?......Page 97 Allied, Bekins, or Mayflower?......Page 98 What about the cleaning lady or the carpet cleaner?......Page 99 What about letting a baby-sitter into our home?......Page 100 7 Untraceable Trash, Anonymous Utilities......Page 101 What Your Trash Reveals About You......Page 104 Utilities......Page 105 How can I get rid of trash other than by shredding it?......Page 106 Top-secret trash?......Page 107 8 Your Social Security Number and Date of Birth......Page 108 Your Date of Birth......Page 109 Your Driver's License......Page 111 Hospitals and Doctors......Page 112 Banks......Page 113 Renting an Apartment......Page 114 Renting a House from Its Owner......Page 115 Real Estate Purchases and Sales......Page 118 False Social Security Numbers......Page 119 Run Your Life on a Cash Basis......Page 121 Isn't giving out a false Social Security number a federal offense according to U.S. Code, Title 42, Section 408?......Page 122 Can I get by without a passport and still maintain my privacy?......Page 123 Can't I just apply for a new Social Security number?......Page 124 Can I avoid giving my Social Security number on the basis of Revelation, Chapter 23?......Page 125 Paying rent in advance to avoid giving out SSN?......Page 126 9 Your Alternate Names and Signatures......Page 128 If You Say It's Your Signature, Then It's Your Signature......Page 129 An Alternate Name......Page 130 Titles......Page 131 Medical Records......Page 133 How can I change my name legally?......Page 134 What do you think about fake passports?......Page 136 What if someone like Sears demands my name before they unll sell me a large item?......Page 137 10 Telephones and Answering Machines......Page 139 Unlisted Numbers......Page 141 How to List Your Name......Page 142 Answering Machine Messages......Page 144 A Great Idea That Still Needs Work......Page 145 Call Intercept......Page 146 Cordless Phones......Page 147 Prepaid Telephone Cards......Page 148 Prepaid Phone-Card Trick......Page 150 Calls to 911......Page 151 Is there any quick-and-easy way to get a residential telephone in a totally different name?......Page 153 How can I be sure my telephone isn't tapped?......Page 154 Can international telephone calls be monitored without a warrant?......Page 155 What is a "trap line?"......Page 156 11 Cell Phones and Pagers......Page 158 Scanning a Cell Phone......Page 159 Use a Pager with Your Cell Phone......Page 161 Are there any dangers with cell phones that have extra features?......Page 163 Prepaid cellular phones are 100 percent safe, right?......Page 164 What do you mean by "sneak and peek?"......Page 165 12 Handheld Two-Way Radios......Page 166 Add Radios to Your Arsenal......Page 167 Multiple Uses......Page 168 FRS Versus GMRS Radios......Page 169 How do GMRS radios compare to CB radios?......Page 172 Where can I learn more about shortwave radios?......Page 173 Is there any danger in using a wireless video camera?......Page 174 13 How to Find and Use Nominees......Page 175 Protect Yourself with a Written Agreement......Page 177 Is locating a nominee to act of my behalf something I should consider, even if I am not in business?......Page 178 14 Bank Accounts and Money Transfers......Page 179 Your Personal Bank Account......Page 180 Use a Nominee......Page 182 Or No Bank Account at All......Page 184 Another Good Reason to Pay Cash......Page 185 Hawala Banking......Page 186 What if a bank requires my fingerprint on the back of a check?......Page 188 Can't I just keep a normal bank account and a credit card—both in my own name—and get by?......Page 189 15 Limited Liability Companies......Page 191 A Typical Order for an LLC......Page 194 Proof of Ownership......Page 198 For real estate, which is better, a trust or an LLC?......Page 199 16 Hidden Ownership of Vehicles and Real Estate......Page 200 Purchasing a Vehicle in the Name of an LLC......Page 203 Insuring Your Vehicle......Page 205 Invisible Ownership Transfer......Page 206 Hidden Ownership of Your Home......Page 207 You mention driving luxury cars, but doesn't that draw undue attention to yourself?......Page 208 Out of state license plates?......Page 209 Sales tax when re-titling expensive cars?......Page 210 What do you think about vanity license plates?......Page 211 Will hiding my true address and having license plates that cannot be traced protect me from stalkers?......Page 212 What precautions can be taken against carjackers?......Page 213 17 Personal Computers......Page 215 Encrypted Files......Page 216 Fortify the Room......Page 217 The Third Layer for Desktop Computers......Page 218 The Third Layer for Laptop Computers......Page 219 Passwords......Page 220 Tempest and Van Eck......Page 223 Protective Measures......Page 224 More Advantages of Laptop Computers......Page 225 Couldn't a PI who secretly enters my home to install a keylogger be prosecuted for trespass?......Page 226 Is it safe to buy a standard-model wireless keyboard?......Page 227 18 E-Mail and the Internet......Page 229 Your Home Computer......Page 230 ISP Alternative......Page 231 Chat Rooms......Page 232 "Safety" on the Internet......Page 233 Firewalls and Antivirus......Page 235 What About Those "Cookie" Files?......Page 236 Using a Computer at Work......Page 237 Scams on the Internet......Page 238 Why to Be Extremely Carefui......Page 239 Nothing on the Internet Is Secure......Page 240 Anonymous and Pseudo-Anonymous Proxies......Page 241 The Secret of Making Your Hard Drive Squeaky-Clean......Page 242 The One Sure Way to Send a Secret Message......Page 243 Recommended Reading......Page 244 Do you recommend that I install SpectorSoft Spyware on our family computer, so I can check on the kids?......Page 245 If I reformat my hard drive, will that get rid of every last file forever?......Page 246 I travel with a notebook computer—how can I slip secret computer files past customs when entering a country with a repressive regime?......Page 247 What problems might there be in installing a wireless network in our home?......Page 248 Am I safe enough in keeping secret files on my home computer, since they are all encrypted?......Page 249 19 How to Secretly Run a Home-Based Business......Page 250 Anonymous Profits in Real Estate......Page 252 Invisible Profile......Page 253 What is a "fictitious" business name, something fraudulent?......Page 256 20 Secret Spaces, Hidden Places......Page 258 And Speaking of Neglect . . .......Page 263 What do you think about buying gold coins and burying them?......Page 264 You mentioned having a fake can with a removable bottom. Where can I buy one?......Page 265 21 Cool Stuff That Did Not Fit in Earlier......Page 266 Are Most PIs Competent?......Page 267 Before You Leave......Page 268 Prescreening......Page 269 Crossing Into Mexico or Canada......Page 270 How to Delay the Serving of a Subpoena......Page 272 Facial Recognition Software Is Here to Stay......Page 274 Tips on Maintaining a Really Low Profile......Page 275 Tracking the Car You Rent......Page 276 The Latest on "Lo-Jack"......Page 277 Are You Under Surveillance?......Page 278 Magnetic Locks......Page 279 Your Medical Records......Page 280 Magazine Labels......Page 281 Information-Sharing......Page 282 Instant-Messaging (IM)......Page 283 22 An Exam, a Secret, and an Invitation......Page 284 An Exam......Page 285 A Secret......Page 287 An Invitation......Page 289 Closing Remarks......Page 290 Glossary......Page 293 Ghost Addresses......Page 294 Consultations with the Author......Page 295 B......Page 297 C......Page 298 F......Page 299 H......Page 300 J......Page 301 M......Page 302 P......Page 303 S......Page 305 T......Page 306 W......Page 307 Z......Page 308