For those who have not read my previous posts, I am a Privacy Consultant who wrote a book, “Anonymous You”. Prior to publication, I had a change of heart and decided to break my manuscript into a series of Steemit posts. It is hoped that my small corner of Steemit can grow into a complete, ever-evolving privacy resource. Strategies will change as circumstances change- guided by the personal experiences of users. Sound like a plan? Then subscribe, up-vote, and comment as you see fit!
This post marks the beginning of the “Who Are You” section, an extensive discussion of personal identity documents that will be key for anybody looking to mask, alter, or bury their identity. This is where the “meat” of my system begins. If it grabs you, then feel free to go back and read the previous posts, which are basically introductory/ background stuff.
Once again, here are the relevant terms you'll need to know:
"ACTUAL YOU"- The living, breathing flesh-and-blood entity currently reading this book-- regardless of your name.
"PERSON OF RECORD"- This is you, as known by your "real name." The name by which you are plugged into officialdom, such as the DMV and your state's Bureau of Vital Statistics.
"VIRTUAL SELF"- A made-up name (or names) underwhich you might be living, working or transacting business, or by which you socially introduce yourself.
So what IS your name? Most of us have several. For starters, there's the one on your birth certificate. Perhaps you're known by a shortened, more familiar version: "Bob" instead of "Robert." Those of a certain age and demographic might be known by a street name: "Southside,' "Killer," "Vinnie the Chin", whatever. Your kids call you "daddy", your wife calls you "sweetie," and you're "hey you" to the boss. But this is a good thing. In the pursuit of extreme privacy, an Actual You can't have enough Virtual Selves.
Although some may find it necessary to completely jettison their Person of Record (especially if the police are looking for them), there are practical reasons for keeping him on the radar-- but out of circulation. For example, operating a motor vehicle as Person of Record is much simpler than attempting the arduous (and risky) process of getting licensed in the name of a Virtual Self. Just make sure the "listed" address leads to a mail drop or place where Actual You can seldom, if ever, be found. Governmental entities like to know (or think they know) that at any time, they can swoop down on Person Of Record's official address and serve (or snatch up) Actual You. By all means, allow them to maintain this belief.
Since Person of Record's name and personal information is easily obtained by anybody, both should be used sparingly and kept out of circulation. This name can be found many, many places: driver's license, car registration, personal checks, employment records, utility bills, credit card applications, public records and databases such as anywho.com. If Person Of Record has a listed phone, that number can be obtained from numerous online sources. His/her address appears on personal checks, driver's licenses, medical records, utility bills, mortgage information, credit applications, and employment records. There might be a picture of his house on Google Earth. Social Security numbers can be obtained from pay stubs, earnings statements, government records, employment records, student ID numbers, credit applications, and even (in some states) driver's licenses. Any real estate owned by Person of Record is discoverable through the county courthouse or any number of on-line sources. So are you, Person of Record, beginning to feel over-exposed at this point? Slightly vulnerable? All the more reason to use this name only in situations where it is absolutely required.
Legally speaking, you can be known by any name you choose. No need to sign any papers or get court approval; simply begin using your new name. But there are five key (and hopefully infrequent) times; when you'll have no choice but to identify yourself as Person Of Record (if you intend on keeping things legal): In court, when interacting with law enforcement, insurance companies, the IRS, or when traveling on public conveyences such as airplanes, ships and busses.
As we've mentioned, "disappearing off the face of the earth" is impractical for most people and might create more problems than it solves. What privacy seeker wants to sit down for breakfast, only to see his own mug smiling back at him from the ass-end of a milk carton? So in all but the most extreme situations, "finding" Person of Record (or at least his faint footprints) should be relatively easy, although Actual You might be something of a no-show.
"Person of Record" should maintain an actual physical address, if only a cheap apartment or shared rental. Should anybody run this address through Google Earth, a picture of a credible (though downmarket, perhaps) residence will pop up. Person of Record can be contacted there by snail mail or even a listed landline phone. He might also have an easily-discovered e-mail address through a secure, privacy-oriented service, provided that security measures described elsewhere in this book were used when setting it up.
Use a pre-paid, throw-away phone to check Person of Record's voice mail, or have a trusted person do this for you. You can even monitor his residence via a security system (hidden, preferably) that uploads video to the Internet so you'll know exactly who came calling and when, even from half a world away. By leaving a few meaningless breadcrumbs, it will appear (at least to anybody who doesn't know you personally) that you never stepped out of your old life at all. And if it ever becomes necessary or expedient to make a momentary re-entry, this can be accomplished seamlessly.
When selecting names for your Virtual Selves, pick relatively common ones, but avoid the suspiciously generic (“John Smith", "Bill Jones"). A name such as "James Rogers" is a better bet. It doesn't sound made-up, yet the mass quantities of them out there make it will be difficult for a pursuer to determine which James Rogers he's interested in.
So with millions of "John Smiths" in circulation, how do companies and governments tell them apart? By comparing the date of birth with a known address-- another reason why Person of Record's name can never be linked to the address where Physical You actually resides. The same holds true for your date of birth. Never divulge the real one, unless you have no choice-- such as when accessing health services or during an encounter with law enforcement. Some misguided privacy seekers, when asked their date of birth, will refuse and make a show of "standing their ground." Don't do this. People who pound on counters and stridently refuse to answer routine-seeming questions attract unwanted attention. Most off the time a made-up date of birth will be sufficient, but be consistent. If your "Elmer Fudd" persona is claiming 7/7/77 as his birthdate at the bank, he should do likewise on an application for a Walgreens
loyalty card. Frequently, databases cross-pollinate each other, and discrepancies could be seen as an indication that Elmer is making it up as he goes along.
Don't limit yourself to only one alternative identity. Use one on-line, another to order merchandise, and still another in which to receive mail. You might even select a name with an eye towards creating deliberate confusion or misdirection: If the name on your mailbox reads LaShawn Jefferson or Enrique Hernandez, a snoop would logically assume that some white guy observed pulling into the driveway couldn't possibly be the person actually residing there. A visitor perhaps? Who knows?
As we learned from Frank Abagnale in "Catch Me If You Can," a gifted con man (or a privacy seeker) can do well for himself by adopting a "professional" persona. There is nothing illegal about holding yourself out as a doctor, lawyer, or pilot, as long as you don't actually practice in those professions. Don't attempt to fly airplanes or render opinions on medicine or the law. Explain that since your legal specialty is shareholder derivatives, you can't offer advice on a divorce...
You might consider legally changing Person of Record's name. After completing the application at the county courthouse, you'll be given a date to appear, at which time you'll be queried by a judge to ensure you're not changing your name for a deceitful purpose. Once approved, your freshly re-christened Person of Record is legally entitled to a new driver's license, passport, credit cards, and will be able to change the name on his bank account. But legally changing your name leaves a paper trail. A records search would quickly reveal this maneuver, so consider a two-step strategy: Change your birth name, then, in an adjoining state, change this new name to something entirely different. Ultimately, your "formerly known as" name would now be the initial one you'd changed it to. While this is by no means an undetectable dead-end, it can effectively muddy the waters.
To whomever wishes to know, the answer to a “Who Are You" question is often this: “you” are the name printed on whatever official (or official looking) document you're presenting at any given moment.
A privacy seeker would be well advised to steer clear of the quaint, 60's-era identity change techniques used by draft dodgers to repatriate from Canada after the Vietnam war. Here in the computer age, few of these still work.
In the next series of posts, we’ll cover the the standard identity documents beneficial to a person looking to "go private":
