Blog Post

Privacy, getting it and improving it

  • By Gary Mason
  • 21 Jan, 2019

The four levels of privacy

When discussing privacy, it's important to quantify the very broad concept. Privacy expert J.J. Luna breaks it down into four levels (My version of what he articulates in "How to be invisible") :

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).


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