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REPAIRMEN, HOME DELIVERIES, FEDEX, UPS

George Joseph Phillips, who lives in the 600 block of South “D” Street in Tacoma, Washington, is a photographer. His nightmare began when he called Washington Energy Services Co. to get a new furnace and water heater installed. When work began, an employee spotted some darkroom chemicals and, apparently unfamiliar with darkroom supplies, told his boss he saw chemicals in the home that he felt might be used to manufacture drugs. A company official then notified the police. Please pay more than the usual attention to what followed. According to the headline of an article in a Seattle newspaper “Utility’s House Call Became a Nightmare.”

Phillips claims that after the company reported its suspicions to police, a member of the Police Department asked the company to gather information from Phillips’s home so police could obtain a search warrant.

The article goes on to report that the employees—yes, the ones Phillips was paying to install the furnace and water heater—then took “pictures of the home’s interior,” and searched through Phillips’s personal effects. Further, he suspects they also searched his computer files because his computer was broken and beyond repair after the search. Whether or not this was an illegal and unconstitutional search—and I think it was—let’s benefit from Philips’s experience, shall we? The next time a worker enters your home, think beforehand about what could possibly give him a false impression. Then, when you let him in, stick with him.

OBTAINING CONSENT TO ENTER BY DECEPTION

The following is based on information from the January 1994 F.B.I. Law Enforcement Bulletin, now in the public domain. The below applies to any home that federal agents would like to search, but for lack of evidence are unable to obtain a warrant.

A van that appears to be from a well-known courier service pulls into your driveway and the driver, with a package in hand, rings your bell. He asks for a certain person and when you say no such person lives at this address, he asks to use your telephone to supposedly “call the company.” If you allow him to do it, and if—while in your home—he observes anything that might be illegal, he may return within a few hours. This time he’ll be with police officers who have a warrant to search your home, based on what the “deliveryman” observed earlier.

You and I are law-abiding persons, with nothing to hide. Nevertheless, why invite strangers into your home? Just say no, and give the location of the nearest pay phone. Or, if you need an excuse, here are two:

• “My husband,” says the wife, “told me never to allow strangers into the house when he’s not here.”

• “All we have is a cell phone and I lent it to my father today.”

Sometimes, of course, no warrant is needed, as the following section explains.

COURIER SERVICES SUCH AS FEDEX AND UPS

The only sure way to avoid having someone send you an envelope or a package by courier is to never, ever, let anyone other than your closest friends know where you really live. The result is that, should a uniformed courier show up on your doorstep—or even a clown with balloons!—you automatically know that he or she doesn’t belong there. In fact, if you see someone coming up the walk—or observe them through the peephole that I hope you have in your door—and do not know them, why open at all? When I was younger, cars were stolen, not hijacked, but improvements in car alarms have brought about a change. The same is starting to be true with house burglaries, now that locks and burglar alarms have improved. Thugs may just ring your doorbell. When you open, they slam their way in. Housejacking started in New York some years ago, then jumped to the West Coast. It may soon be coming to your hometown.

Now then, just in case you consider some of my advice to be extreme—and I confess that many do—I am willing to discuss some options. I don’t recommend them, but better half an ounce of prevention than none at all.

HOME DELIVERY

Never allow your true name to be coupled with a delivery to your home. If you feel that it is imperative to have a delivery made to where you really live, it must not be in your name. All courier companies keep a national database of names and addresses and countless thousands of their employees can run a search of your name. PIs know this and many have contacts inside these companies.

If, in fact, you have ever received a letter or package at your present address under your real name, the only way to protect your privacy is to move. Once this move has been made, then any future delivery must be in another name. When you sign for the delivery, sign your other name.

You may get by with no problems doing this, as long as you do not order expensive items from out of state. If you do, however, keep in mind that in states with a sales tax, it is not uncommon for irate neighbors to call the tax department and report that the people next door are buying such-and-such to avoid the state’s sales tax. (You do know, do you not, that you are obligated to “voluntarily” pay any local sales tax on merchandise purchased from out of state?)

The logical solution to anonymity with courier services would be to have your parcels come into one of their nearby offices and just pick them up there. Unfortunately, these companies do not employ logic. Whereas they never ask for ID at a private home, they absolutely demand it if you stop by one of their offices to pick anything up. I have argued this point in vain with the various home offices, pointing out that if I send a package in a certain name, I will sign a waiver to the effect that they may deliver to any person asking for it in that name. After all, this is similar to item number 8 on all FedEx labels, which reads: “Release Signature. Sign to authorize delivery without obtaining signature.” In fact, if you really wish to remain incognito, have the sender sign on the line for this release and when you see the FedEx truck arrive, do not answer the door.

But do not pick up at their office. I sent an e-mail to the FedEx main office, pleading for permission to send a letter to one of my clients who would not present ID when he picked it up at an office in Memphis. I received this short, but not sweet, reply:

Thank you for your inquiry. FedEx requires a valid consignee name and phone number for shipments that are held for pick-up. More hold for pick-up information can be found on our website.

Thank you for your interest in FedEx.

Susan Carr

FedEx Webmaster

MAIL DROP PICKUP

Although USPS regulations require that you show picture ID in order to receive mail sent to you as “General Delivery,” the commercial mail receiving agencies are apparently not bound by these regulations. So then, even though you have not rented a box at the CMRA, you can normally receive a shipment there in a business name and no ID is necessary. The following is an example of how it works.

Assume I live in Plano, Texas. I wish to have a friend from New York City send me a small box that will not be identified with me in any way. Not by my name, and not by my address. I look up The UPS Store in the Yellow Pages, choose one of the six offices listed, and have my wife make the call. The conversation goes like this:

“Hello, this is Mary Johnson with Triple R Services in New York. I wish to send a small box to your address, for pickup by one of our salesmen traveling through. Will that be satisfactory?”

“No problem—in whose name will it be?”

“We’ll just send it to your address in the name of Triple R Services. Anyone that asks for a package in that name can pick it up.”

“There is a small pick-up fee, of course…”

“No problem.”

I then call my friend, who ships the package. The following week I stop by, pay the fee, and pick up the box. (I have my wife make these calls so that when I ask for the box, the manager does not recognize my rather odd accent and connect it with the supposed “New York” caller.) Or, I can send anyone else around on my behalf, anyone at all.

ROBBERS MAY IMPERSONATE THE POLICE

If no one knows where you live, it is extremely unlikely that police will ever show up at your door. If, therefore, you see what appear to be policemen coming up your walk, if you have even the slightest doubt about them, do not open the door. Call the police department or even 911 on your cell phone, to check them out.

Some years ago, two men who identified themselves as police officers entered a home in a Los Angeles suburb with their guns drawn and tied up the couple who lived there. Both men wore dark clothing and caps with the word POLICE on the brow. They then stole $1,000 in cash and a laptop computer.

“Unfortunately, this happens too often,” said LAPD spokesman Lieutenant Anthony Alba, “but generally on the east side or the south side of town, where recent immigrants might not be familiar with our law-enforcement officials. This one’s a bit different.” He referred to the fact that the victims were from a relatively quiet street in a predominantly middle-class neighborhood.

Later, two Los Angeles men suspected of committing more than thirty home-invasion robberies were arrested on suspicion of several theft, assault, and drug crimes. At a widely publicized press conference, police displayed more than one hundred items confiscated from the suspects’ home, including night-vision goggles, official Los Angeles police badges, handcuffs, five handguns, a sawed-off shotgun, an assault rifle, and hundreds of rounds of ammunition.

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In summary, a ghost address will give you not only protection but peace of mind as well. No longer will you have to wonder who is coming to your door. If it is not someone you recognize, then—since no one else has this address—they have no business there. The postman? Ignore him! Woman dressed in a FedEx uniform? Ignore her! Two or three guys in leather jackets? Don’t even think of answering your door! (See how easy it is, once you eliminate all traces of your home address?)

PIZZA DELIVERIES

You may feel confident in calling in an order for pizza, because you give them a different name. However, it’s safer never to have pizza delivered to your home under any name, and here’s why.

Suppose all a PI has to work with is your unlisted number (567-1234) and he’s after your name and especially your home address (677 Camino Privado). From the telephone prefix, he will know what city you live in. His next step will be to call every major pizza delivery company in town, because he knows that in most areas these companies log the numbers of their customers for quicker future orders. The following is what happens:

PI: I need a delivery.

Pizza Place: What’s your phone number?

PI: 567-1234.

Pizza Place: Are you still at 677 Camino Privado?

PI: Yeah, same address. Oh, hang on a sec … wait … something’s come up … Guess I’ll have to cancel for now. Sorry!

Didn’t take the man very long to get your home address, did it? And with the address, it won’t take long to get your name. Remember, never receive anything at your home—no mail, no packages, no courier deliveries, nada. That means no pizza, either.

IF YOUR HOME ADDRESS IS ALREADY KNOWN, MOVE

I suspect that for most of you readers, your home address is readily available. In addition to the regular mail, FedEx or UPS has also delivered there, and perhaps pizza as well. By far the best move you can make to protect your privacy, then, is to do just that. Move.

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Mexican journalist Fernando Balderas and his wife Yolanda Figueroa wrote a book called The Boss of the Gulf: The Life and Capture of Juan Garcia Abrego. The book was dedicated to Mexico’s federal attorney general, Antonio Lozano Gracia. At that time Fernando and Yolanda lived, with their children Patricia, Paul, and Fernando Jr., in an attractive home in an upscale neighborhood in Mexico City. Although nothing in the book appeared to warrant retribution, it did discuss Mexico’s drug lords and revealed bribery in high circles. What happened next is described in a USA Today article:

MEXICO CITY—Police found journalist Fernando Balderas, his author wife, Yolanda Figueroa, and their three children, ages 18, 13, and 8, bludgeoned to death in their beds last week … a brutal murder that shocked even hardened residents. Adding to the intrigue: Police say the family was probably murdered Tuesday night, a day after President Ernesto Zedillo fired Mexico’s federal attorney general Antonio Lozano Gracia, to whom the Figueroa’s book was dedicated.

I suspect that the Balderas family did indeed think about moving, but then decided it would be too much trouble.

ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF SOMEONE WHO FAILED TO MOVE

Washington state resident Elizabeth Reed, twenty-eight, dated Anthony Nitsch Jr., thirty-two, for about two months. Then, concerned about his drinking, Elizabeth told Anthony the relationship was over. When she stopped taking his calls, he became angry and began stalking and harassing her.

Anonymous packages arrived at her home, one with a dead skunk, another with a sex toy and an obscene message. Strange items began to appear in her yard. Someone disconnected her heat pump fuse box and defecated on it. Her new fiancé came to visit her and when he returned to his car he discovered the tires had been slashed.

Two years passed. Elizabeth continued to live at the same address. She went to a judge and sought a restraining order against Anthony. The judge refused to grant it because Elizabeth could not prove Anthony was the person who was harassing her. Then, on a warm Monday night in early June, Anthony cut the telephone line that led into her home, He broke in, threatened her, and fired one shot at her from a .40-caliber handgun.

The ending of this story is not as sad as might normally be the case. I have before me the Tacoma, Washington, News Tribune dated June 5. The headline on page 3 reads: “Intruder Who Was Shot Held for $500,000 Bail.” Although Elizabeth Reed had failed to move away, she was armed and ready. Nitsch missed. Reed did not. “Nitsch remained in serious condition Wednesday,” continues the article, “at Harborview Medical Center with five gunshot wounds to his chest.”

TROUBLE OR NOT, MOVING IS BETTER

In the late fall of 2011, I received an urgent message from Keith, one of my readers who lives in a small city in Illinois. His best friend, Vic, had been on a major drug bust a few weeks earlier. When the leader—I’ll call him Pancho—burst out of a back room to attack, Vic dropped him to the floor with the butt of his shotgun. Pancho and his confederates went to jail. That was not, however, the end of the story.

“Last Thursday,” wrote Keith, “Vic learned that there was an offer on the street—$50,000 cash for the murder of Vic and his family. The other officers checked with informants who confirmed it. None of them claimed to know who was behind it but it has to be Pancho!”

As this book is being written, I am preparing to meet with both Vic and one of the other cops who’s fearful that Vic may not be the only one targeted. Both know that they must move, fast, and pull their kids out of public school as well. They plan to enroll the children in a private school under altered last names.

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

Can a bounty hunter legally break into my home?

If you ever post bail via a bondsman, and fail to show up in court, then the answer is, Yes indeed. There have been a number of articles and programs about this fact. As reported on the CBS program 60 Minutes, a bounty hunter—unlike the police—can search whatever he likes without a warrant. He can break down doors, read mail, power up your laptop, check out your smartphone, copy any keys he finds, whatever.

The justification for all this is that anyone arranging bail through a bondsman signs a contract, and the bounty hunter is merely fulfilling the fine print in said contract. So if any of you readers ever forfeit bail, you’d better make sure your home address is really private.

A more likely danger is that, knowingly or unknowingly, you invite someone into your home that has forfeited bail. This might be a relative, a close friend, maybe even your brother, or grown son or daughter. You might wish to give this some thought, the next time a certain someone “stops by.” In some cases, there is a danger even in knowing the persons the bounty hunters are after.

One person interviewed on the 60 Minutes program told of a couple being held and grilled for eleven hours by bounty hunters intent on getting enough information to track down someone this couple knew.

If someone pounds on your door and yells “Special agent!” you are about to meet one or more bounty hunters (who prefer to call themselves “bail recovery agents”) in person. Do not be fooled by the fact they may wear uniforms, carry badges, and at first glance appear to be with the FBI or the ATF. Or, they may get you to open the door by dressing as an employee of UPS, FedEx, or the U.S. Postal Service. In one case, the hunters determined that one particular tough quarry—who was wise to all normal ruses—had a young daughter whose birthday was coming up. They waited until that day, then sent in a clown with balloons. He passed muster with the closed-circuit video, the door was opened, and you can guess the rest.

What about the cleaning lady or the carpet cleaner?

At the very least, use someone that your friends have used for years and will recommend without reservations. However, if you have deep secrets to protect, this precaution may not be enough. PIs have been known to offer serious money to obtain trash from a home office before papers have been shredded.

My next suggestion may be worth far more to you than the price you paid for this book. Employ only longtime members of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Unlike the mainstream religions, virtually no Witnesses are in jail anywhere unless (as in many countries)—they are there for their faith.

These people would rather die than cheat, use drugs, steal, or accept a bribe to sell their employer out. For this reason, Witnesses do up to 80 percent of the nightly janitorial work in office buildings in major American cities, and are much in demand for nighttime janitorial work in clinics (due to drugs being present). They also do the cleaning in many upscale homes and mansions where security is paramount.

The Witnesses often have no objections to working late at night or very early in the morning, because this gives them time for their ministry during the day. Another plus is that they’ll work on December 25, January 1, July 4, or any other national holiday.

Although they call their meeting places “Kingdom Halls,” you can find them in the Yellow Pages under “Churches.” Over the years we’ve learned that the best time to call a Kingdom Hall is at 6:45 p.m. on a Tuesday, or 9:45 a.m. on a Sunday. (This is fifteen minutes before a meeting is about to start.) Ask to speak to one of the “elders.” If they are busy, leave your number and have them call back. When an elder comes on the line, do not call him an “elder,” and don’t use a title such as pastor or reverend—they do not use titles. Just explain what you need and add that you prefer a worker who is a “pioneer.” This is the term Witnesses use for those who put a certain minimum number of hours in their Bible-teaching work. They cannot be pioneers unless they have an excellent reputation both within and without their congregation.

There is no reason to be embarrassed about calling. Businessmen often call Kingdom Halls to ask about hiring one of their members for some job. If you are hiring a Witness crew for offices where secrets must be protected, explain your circumstances to them. Instruct them never to leave the trash in the building’s Dumpster. Instead, they are to take the trash with them and dispose of it in some other way. Also, stress the importance of calling you immediately if anyone approaches them and even hints at being interested in your trash.

Although they may charge you more than the lowest-bidder types, trust me on this one: It will be money well spent. And not to worry—they won’t preach to you while on the job.

What about letting a babysitter into our home?

I agree with authors and speakers such as Dr. Laura Schlessinger who warn you to never use a babysitter other than Grandma.

Even if you ignore this advice, you may later start to harbor vague fears. If so, set up a voice-activated recorder with multiple pickup microphones. You may hear phone calls, boyfriends coming to visit, or sounds of child abuse. A better solution is to install a nanny-cam and see what goes on in living color. Perhaps she is checking out your computer or going through your drawers!

Actually, however, if you suspect the sitter may need electronic surveillance, your fears are probably right. Better to call Grandma, take the baby with you, or stay home yourself.