My name is Frank M. Ahearn and I am known as a skip tracer who finds people as well as a privacy expert who teaches people how to disappear. Whether you are a hardcore extremist who wants to live under the radar or simply in search of a little more privacy, you need to use the tools of Misinformation, Disinformation and Reformation.
Let us take a quick test, go to the website Zabasearch and pop in your name. First, try it as a nationwide search than narrow it down to a statewide search. Most people will see a list of addresses, some might see old addresses, perhaps your current phone number or work number. Did you see your date of birth?
Take it a step further, where you typed your name above it click on the link search by social security. Type in your SS# and last name, this is free so fear not. What’s interesting about this search it list cities and states where you lived, even far back as college. In addition, it may show the city you currently live that may not have appeared in Zabasearch.
From the simple steps I showed you a skip tracer, bill collector or stalker could find your home address in a matter of minutes, even your parents homes, or work address or number. I know you are thinking what it matters, I pay my bills, no one is stalking me, and what do you have to worry about, your right you do not, however, some company is selling your information for the world to see.
There was a time when data was garbage in and garbage out. Now day’s data almost exist like corporate gold. Data is the key to a good consumer and corporations buy and sell your information repeatedly.
Look in your wallet, see all those cards in there, those cards are a wealth of information. Your credit cards list every transaction you make; your discount cards from bookstore‘s, airline‘s, car rental companies, and video stores all have detailed information about you.
Misinformation is the act of taking information that companies have on you and destroying it beyond recognition. The purpose for this is when a company sells your information to the different data companies, they will not have your old address, your work number or your date of birth online for all to obtain.
Your home phone number list every call you have ever made over a period of time, your cellular phone as well. Answer, get non detailed billing, and have the bill sent to a PO Box or mail drop.
Your frequent flyer with an airline lists every trip you logged. What is amazing about this is most airlines keep your information not by account number but by name and zip code. I suggest using a mail drop in a different city, which has no connection to you or your home address.
Car rental companies keep track of whom you are by your phone number, which leaves a record of every car you rented. Do not give them your real phone number give them 867-5309. Theses companies do not really need your home or cell number.
Video stores keep your records by phone number, a good skip tracer can do a little social engineering and pretext the store and find various information about you. Give a bogus number. Keep in mind your not breaking the law it is your account, tell them what you choose to tell them.
Remember the old days of Radio Shack; you could not buy a $2.00 battery with out them asking for your phone number. Below are lists of companies that have a slew of information about you.
Telephone
Cell phone
Pager
Internet provider
Subscriptions
Utility companies
Cable TV
Car rentals
Banks
Water companies
Credit cards
Library card
Discount cards
Airlines
Groups or Associations
The list goes on!
One of the difficult things to accomplish is to either delete or deviate information about you online, like Superpages, Whitepages, Crimetime, Infospace, Blackbook, check out Trulia and Zillow if you own property.
The second part of disappearing is Disinformation, creating false leads for the predator to follow. Presently it is a Federal crime to pretext a phone company in the United States, some investigators and information brokers still obtain phone records. Therefore, if a person is looking for you they may obtain your family or friends phone records and see if they have been calling you in some other city or state.
I have my client’s family make bogus calls to different states, perhaps a realtor in Chicago, a utility company in California, a cable TV company in Florida. I also have associates of mine make collect calls to my client’s family. One call from Toronto, another from Yonkers and another from Myrtle Beach, have fun with this process it will drive the person crazy. The act of Disinformation creates havoc, the investigator or stalker has no idea, which leads to follow.
It is also against the law for people to pretext a bank, however, some still do. I have you give me your debit card; I ship to clients all over the country and have my clients make small purchases with the card. If a skip tracer accesses the bank account, they will see the purchases all over the country. I wish them well on that bogus hunt.
Reformation is the action of taking my client from point A to point B. Thegoal is to be confident that who ever is searching for my client does not find them. Before I work with a client a few things I need to know, one being are they staying in the country or not.
If I am working with a client who is looking to go offshore, I need to know how THEY plan to expatriate their money. I am not an attorney nor an accountant so I do not give advice in those matters. I am very cautious in this area since there is a lot of legality and I do not want to aid anybody in money laundering.
First thing is communications, a prepaid phone is the best way to communicate, for added security use a prepaid calling card to make calls. What is great about prepaid phones you could be in California where the area code is 714 but have a Chicago 312 area code. I suggest you use one phone for incoming calls and another for outgoing calls. Change the numbers weekly and dump the phone every so often. When you dump the phone clear the call history, leave the phone on a park bench and let some one else have the phone. If the phone was compromised, the information broker will now be tracing a stranger.
If your self-employed exist under your corporation, get the utilities, cable etc. under the business.
I work with a lot of woman who are victims of stalkers and stalking is a scary situation. The problem with stalking is you never know how far the stalker is going to push. If you are a victim of a stalker, you need to document every thing the stalker does. You need to file a report to the police immediately. There are excellent groups that assist victims, contact them immediately for help.
The best way to create a little more privacy is to question whom you give your information to - my advise just don’t.
Frank M. Ahearn
About the Author:
Christopher S. Stewart is the author of HUNTING THE TIGER, a book about
Zeljko “Arkan” Raznatovic, the Serbian mobster and warlord at the center
of the Balkan wars in the 1990s.
He’s a contributing editor at Conde Nast Portfolio, where, among other things, he’s written about the Unification Church’s gun business.
His work has also appeared in GQ, Harper’s, The New York Times Magazine, The Paris Review, Salon, Wired, and other publicati
Misinformation Disinformation & Reformation
