< Disclaimer> < Return To Issue Article Index >

May 2005 Being a leading skip tracer who is hired to find people, I have also helped individuals disappear. I have dealt with corporate whistle blowers, wives stalked by ex-husband’s and others just looking for a new start.  I receive emails from individuals who seek new identities. Questions range from, how to get a new passport, a birth certificate and a driver’s license. I express repeatedly new identities do not work. If you have ever been finger printed or perhaps left some hint of DNA behind you cannot escape it.  I recently was on On The Mark radio show in Boston and Mark Chauppette, the host, asked if it is possible to buy someone’s identity? My answer was simple; you never know whose identity you are buying. Does that person have a warrant or a tax lien you do not know about? What skeletons dwell in their closet? What about if you take this unknown person’s identity and you tell your new friends you are from Dubuque, Iowa. Now, you're sitting at the beach sipping Mai Tai's and a couple of tourist show up in your age range and start talking about a place you know little about. Then, imagine if the tourist sipping on his or her Mai Tai knows the person whose identity you are assuming.

New identities to me are always a nefarious situation; it is a red light shinning, blaring trouble. There are many ways to disappear or be more private in this world, even in the world of DNA, fingerprints and big brother. New identities usually have the word felony standing behind them; my advice is to get a good lawyer if you feel the need for a new identity.

If you are looking to disappear, leave life behind, or just start over and not have people from your past find you, there is hope with a little misinformation, disinformation and reformation it can be done. 

Some people believe that they can just pick up and go, the problem with that is if someone is looking for you, they have your whole past and present to search. They have your family and friends to contact, store memberships, airlines, car rentals, banks, credit card statements, subscriptions, library records, phone records, emails, IP addresses, the list is as long as the person’s imagination and budget.

A little homework before you go, see my three steps to disappearing.

The Three Keys To Disappearing

Mis-Information

This is the act of taking all the information that exists about you and changing it. Look in your wallet besides the credit cards. Any one of the membership cards you have can assist a skip tracer in finding you. Bookstores, they know your hopes, your dreams, fears and medical problems; they keep track of every book you buy if you have a discount card. By investigating your name and zip code through your frequent flyer account, someone can very quickly learn all about your travel records. Car rental companies list your account by phone number: this can tell us where you last rented a car. The list goes on and on.

What you need to do is to go into your account and deviate your name, then deviate your address, then deviate your phone number. Repeat the process until it is a confusing mess to the potential tracer.

Disinformation

This is the act of taking your personal information and creating false leads. We have you fly to Vegas, rent a car and actually got to a realtor and apply for an apartment. We know that the realtor will run a credit report on you. We know that the person looking for you will run your credit record and see an inquiry from a company in Vegas and start looking there. Your goal is to eat up his budget. 

Open a checking account at a local bank. If you notice that almost every bank you walk into uses a service that will list any overdrafts you make at the bank, then be careful because that very same service can also list where you applied for a bank account. A very crafty investigator will locate your inquiry in Vegas and search there. 

It is against the law for people to pretext banks, however, some people still do. With your new account, you leave a balance of $300.00; you recieve an ATM card. That ATM card is turned over to me and when some of my clients or friends go traveling, I give them the card. They make an ATM withdrawal in London. The person who is now checking that account is looking for you in London. Three months later a withdrawal from your account is made in Omaha. Once again, we eat up the budget of the individual who is searching for you.

Reformation

This is the act that takes you from here to there with no leads. Reformation depends on you and how much money you have. We create forms of contact with people you need to stay close to. Contact is typically maintained through prepaid cell phones or prepaid calling cards.

Misinformation, disinformation and reformation equal MDR, which also means, money, disappearing and relaxing.  My advice, take it slow and do your homework. Every mistake leads to someone finding you.

The following are Frank's previous articles for the magazine:

Learning How To Disappear - Learning How To Disappear
Asset Protection - Moving Offshore

To contact Frank Click Here or see his web site www.frankahearn.com
.

< Send a Letter to the Editor > < Subscribe> < Submit An Article >< Disclaimer>