Western Consulting and Research LLC
Reclaiming your privacy in the era of Surveillance Capitalism
1. Be Brave! Brave.com is my current browser of choice. Feel free to do your own due diligence on it and other browsers, I think most will agree it’s a good choice for enhanced privacy. Once you have Brave set up as your default browser, make Startpage.com your default search engine. Duckduckgo.com is also a good choice, but I have found that Startpage works better for me.
2. Get/use a VPN. Again, do your due diligence. If the VPN is free, it’s probably worth exactly that, in fact it may be built to compromise your security. Some VPNs are based in Pakistan, China or even worse, Facebook! I would advise you avoid anything to do with Facebook if any other options are available. I like NordVPN. Not inexpensive, but in life you generally get what you pay for. It appears there is currently a coupon code for 75% off NordVPN if you do some looking.
3. Tape is your friend!
https://mic-lock.com/products/mic-lock
4. Escape the Goolag! Understand that IF YOU ARE NOT PAYING FOR A PRODUCT, YOU ARE THE PRODUCT!
Protonmail.com is a much better option in my
opinion. Dump Goolag-mail.
Doxxing, SWAT-ting and Red Flag laws
By Gary Mason
Definition of dox
slang : to publicly identify or publish private information about (someone) especially as a form of punishment or revenge
Definition of SWAT-ting
slang : to call in a false complaint that may result in law enforcement making a dynamic entry of a target’s residence based on the false claim, as a form of punishment or revenge
Definition of Red Flag laws
A new wave of laws structured to allow for the confiscation of firearms without due process protections
Colorado recently enacted a law that actually makes the public less safe, and violates core constitutional rights. In the era of Doxxing and SWAT-ting, we now have a Colorado law that allows a hostile individual to use the courts and law enforcement to “SWAT” a person without due process. Now, it appears that roughly half the state is a sanctuary for the Second Amendment and Due Process. What do you do if you live in the “Your angry ex gets to SWAT you” part of Colorado?
Now is the time to prepare. Once the trigger has been pulled on you (Hopefully not literally) your weapons will be seized and your ability to get them returned, well it doesn’t look good. We will see, but I would strongly suggest not being the test case.
The first thing I would suggest is moving from “California East” to Free Colorado. “But my job/life circumstances force me to live in the middle of the People’s Republic of the Front Range”. OK, buy property in Free Colorado and make that your permanent residence, then find “off grid” housing for temporary stays in “Red Flag Colorado”.
All your irreplaceable firearms and components should be safely stored in Free Colorado. Anything for practical self defense should be considered expendable, as once you return to the urban danger zone you have a higher risk of needing to defend yourself and risk being “Red Flag SWAT-ted”.
I strongly recommend going from level 0 to at least level 2 privacy. How? Call to arrange for individual consulting services.
Coming soon, “Surviving Red Flag SWAT-ting” classes.
1. Basic, economical moves that would require the opposition several hundred dollars (At a minimum) to hire a P.I. to track you down. (Basically it would be checking social media, open sources and databases for licensed investigators. This may also include making phone calls to elicit the information and verify the location.)
2. At level two, your utilities, your smartphones and your other electronic devices will be in alternate names. The license plates on your vehicles will not reveal your true name and address. A P.I. will require a LOT of money to track you down. J.J. Luna correctly points out the direct relationship between finances and investigations. Any P.I. worth using will work very long and hard as long as he/she is getting paid. If the payment ends, so does the investigation. This level requires fieldwork and travel, including paying for lodging, meal and mileage which is NOT cheap.
3. This pretty much requires a move from your present location. Your residence (s) and vehicles will be in the names of anonymous LLCs. It will be very, very difficult and EXPENSIVE to locate you.
4. Basically, it's not legally possible to do this unless it's the US Marshal's Service WITSEC program. If you attempt to do this without the federal government's blessing, you would violate various state and federal laws. If the US Government really wants you, they can find you, within the US or globally.
Pro Tip: I strongly recommend reading "How to be Invisible", so go to an actual brick and mortar store and buy it with cash!
If you work in a field where you may face the threat of violence, privacy is an essential element of your personal security plan. If you work in law enforcement or related fields, you absolutely should be at level one at the very minimum!
As someone who has located people as a law enforcement officer, and later as a private investigator, I have some additional methods of accomplishing the same three legal levels of privacy using legally viable operational security/personal security techniques.
Need help in moving up from level 0 privacy? Call me for a free consultation on upgrading your privacy and personal security. Think you are already difficult/impossible to find? I can verify your actual privacy level and help you correct gaps in your privacy/security methods.
As always, I offer discounts for LE/MIL professionals and their dependents. I also offer discounts and pro bono services for victims of stalking and domestic violence (must provide documentation of the stalking/DV report to law enforcement).
Let’s start with a definition of “Normalcy Bias”
Normalcy bias
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The normalcy bias , or normality bias , is a belief people hold when facing a disaster. It causes people to underestimate both the likelihood of a disaster and its possible effects, because people believe that things will always function the way things normally have functioned. This may result in situations where people fail to adequately prepare themselves for disasters, and on a larger scale, the failure of governments to include the populace in its disaster preparations. About 70% of people reportedly display normalcy bias in disasters.
Now, disasters can be many things, including very personal disasters that only directly affect an individual or small group. It need not be an earthquake, tornado or crash of the national power grid.
It’s easy to convince yourself that as nothing really bad will happen to you, since nothing really bad has happened before. In law enforcement circles, a common theme in officer survival training is fighting the basic human urge to lapse into complacency. Even law enforcement officers, facing real threats on a regular basis can die because of “normalcy bias”.
I have observed with the legalization of marijuana in various states, a lot of new “High Net Worth” (No pun intended) individuals being created from the legal industry. I have also observed that the new money is resulting in a lot of very noticeable, flashy high-end vehicles being purchased and driven and lots of cash being flaunted to attract attention. Unfortunately, sometimes this bring the wrong kind of attention, as seen below:
If the above victim had professionally vetted his employees, he might have avoided the nightmare he survived. If he had an Executive Protection detail, it is very unlikely this would have happened to him. Aside from the physical security provided by an EP detail, surveillance detection and counter-surveillance operations would have detected the pre-attack surveillance of the dispensary owner.
Questions about your personal security? Contact us for a free initial consultation.
https://amp.usatoday.com/amp/992615001
Los Angeles man arrested after 'swatting' call led to innocent man's death in Kansas
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https://archives.fbi.gov/archives/news/stories/2008/february/swatting020408
Don’t Make the Call
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https://www.ranker.com/list/celebrity-swatting-victims/celebrity-lists
Celebrity Swatting Victims
A chronological list of celebrity swatting victims. The timeline includes celebs targeted by the growing trend called "swatting," an elaborate type of prank phone call to 911, often falsely claiming a violent incident, criminal activity, or hostage situation at the home of a famous person. The term swatting is derived from SWAT units that show up along with other law enforcement such as the cops, police helicopters, fire department, and bomb squad in response to the bogus calls. Swatting is a huge waste of money, resources, and time, and also puts people's lives in danger.
Anti-Gun Zealots Adopt a Dangerous Tactic to Antagonize Firearm Carriers
https://www.911.gov/pdf/National_911_Program_Public_Safety_Information_Swatting_2015.pdf
Public Safety Information on “SWATTING”
SWAT-ting will become much more common, and be used to target a variety of people for various motivations. This is something that jeopardizes on duty law enforcement, Executive Protection/Estate Security professionals, lawfully armed citizens and law enforcement officers in plainclothes or off duty, and like the recent case in Kansas, innocents with no connection at all to the “Swatter”.
The same techniques could also be used to draw patrol officers and/or tactical teams into ambushes. It is my suggestion that dispatch centers and law enforcement agencies develop training on this topic, and EP/Estate Security personnel open lines of communication with law enforcement agencies to avoid “blue on blue” scenarios if a Principal is targeted by a “Swatter”.
Armed citizens should be aware that they may become the target of this tactic and be prepared for a sudden encounter with law enforcement officers that may have inaccurate information about their conduct, creating a dangerous situation for everyone involved.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=6&v=9CO6M2HsoIA
Privacy is a key element of personal safety and security. Now, and especially in the future.
The drone in the above picture doesn't seem so benign now, does it?
But not always.
https://archives.fbi.gov/archives/columbia/press-releases/2014/man-pleads-guilty-to-conspiracy-to-co...
http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/28/justice/colorado-prison-chief-killed/index.html
http://gazette.com/prosecutors-link-burglary-attempt-shootout-to-prison-gang/article/1574608
http://www.kktv.com/home/headlines/Suspected_Serial_Rapist_Stands_Trial_For_Attempted_Murder_1259901...
How were these law enforcement officers located and targeted? The criminals started with just a name. Don't assume you can't be located by them.
Western Consulting and Research LLC can perform a "red team" assessment of your vulnerability to being located by potential assailants and assist in reducing the threat.
Call or email to set up a free initial consultation.