Whether you are disappearing and starting a new life or you simply want to get away from today's electronic and crime filled society, it is important that you learn what you can do to protect your physical privacy. Banks, hospitals, stores and restaurants all have privacy laws that should protect us from the unnecessary force, but this isn't always the case. If you are worried about your physical privacy, then keep reading for some tips on how you can protect it.
What impact does internet privacy have on your physical privacy? Do social networking websites do everything they can to keep your physical address private? Stalking, sexual predators, and identity theft are all dramatically increasing in society; thanks in part to social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook. For children and teenagers, online bullying has become a major issue.
Even if you take every advantage of privacy settings both online and offline, you still have to deal with the potential for pretexting or phishing scams. Consider the following steps to help you make sure you are doing everything you can to protect your physical privacy.
Pretexting
When it comes to physical privacy, one of the things you can't forget is your actual identity. Some criminals go after social security numbers, credit card numbers, bank account information, cell phone records and other physical data. Other criminals are after your body, and they do this through a process known as pretexting.
Pretexting is when a criminal pretends to be someone else or at least tries to gain access to private information under a false pretense. Sometimes these individuals will even call a bank in order to pretend they are someone else or you in order to get your bank account number, utility account number or addresses or any other wide variety of information.
Some of the information gathered about you might all be found through public records, such as whether or not you filed for bankruptcy or your real estate taxes. Someone you know could be inadvertently dragged into pretexting when they are lied to and think they are helping someone. It is scary to think about how much information someone can find out about you with just a few bits of information like a cell phone number, birthdate or address.
Ghost Addresses
The first step to becoming invisible is to get yourself a ghost address. There are a few options for how you can do this. For example, you can pay a small business to have them accept your mail, or you could use a Commercial Mail Receiving Agency (CMRA). Of course, you need to promise that you won't use the address for anything illegal. Another option is to set up a virtual address or office. The easiest option is to get a mail forwarding service.
A mail forwarding service can come in handy, especially if you want packages to be signed for while you are away from home or traveling. Sometimes mail can even be scanned and forwarded to you by email. The most popular function of these services is that they allow your mail to be delivered to anywhere other than a post office or home address which makes it easier to track you.
Living Off Grid
This is likely a term you've heard used before. It is often applied to those living with self-sustainability. It means individuals who produce a significant amount of their energy needs through renewable resources like water, solar or air. If you have no electric bills or utility costs, you will be making it even harder for yourself to be found. This is truly an excellent way to keep your privacy protected.
However, keep in mind that this is easier to do with a small home. If you can't completely go off grid, you can choose to reduce your dependence on electricity by investing in solar panels or wind turbines. Many governments offer significant tax advantages that could even become a decent monetary investment in addition to the privacy benefits it offers. It is very easy for any average home to go off the grid without having to adjust your lifestyle too much.
The focus is on not having to consume utilities, so you don't have to disclose your location to utility providers and compromise your personal privacy.
Prepaid Phones
One of the easiest ways to improve cell phone security and privacy is to use a prepaid cell phone. Drop your contract with your cell phone provider and use a prepaid service such as H2O Wireless. While you will still need to provide some information like a name and address, you won't have to worry about a credit report and signing a contract. Most of these phones are pay as you go or month to month payments. This will reduce some of the paper trails that leads back to you.
If you are worried about protecting your physical privacy, then your should consider reducing your virtual trail as well. This will make it more difficult for people to find you physically. When you are aware of pretexting and take steps to resist it, like the methods recommended above, then it will make it easier for you to disappear.
A good way to protect your privacy and stay hidden while on the run is to make sure you properly cover your tracks. Let's see how you can do it.
This is just the beginning and how you can stay hidden while on the run. However, once you reach your destination, you are going to need to start your new life. The first step in this process is to create a new identity.