The ONLY use for your drving license should be to show a traffic cop who has stopped you for a driving violation. Hide the driving license in the car (NOT in the owner's manual in the glove box, where thieves may look), and ONLY present it to traffic police. Use it for NO OTHER PURPOSE; use the passport instead!

Dorothy, JJL is right. The only way I've been able to successfully implement HTBI practices is by being self-employed. You can do almost NONE of this and have an employer because, you're right, if you start changing your patterns, then your employer and colleagues will likely notice and somebody will start snooping. Having a job is a huge privacy killer. So, whether you went to college (like I did) or not, get self-employed as soon as you can so you can control your privacy.

Eleanor, if you can't for some reason, use your current credit card to travel, I'd suggest you avoid the credit thing altogether. One of the biggest privacy benefits you have is your credit reports are in your old name. The credit reporting agencies couldn't care less about your privacy; they work for creditors, not consumers, and creditors want your information so they can sell you stuff and find you if you default on your credit obligations. So, whatever you do, it's inevitable that your new last name will end up on your credit report. The CRAs may even show the public record number/court where you changed your name, which, invariably provides the reason for the name change.

I suggest you go the nominee route when you travel, using a bank account debit card in the name of a nominee and pay cash for as much as you can. Buy plane, cruise and other high dollar travel tickets and packages through a trusted travel agent and pay by cash. Try to travel using a pseudonym where possible but not the same one every time. Travel via car or train whenever possible and refuse "rewards" cards and "frequent flyer" cards like I have because they're not worth the privacy cost.

But, by all mean, just avoid the credit thing because it kills your privacy. Whatever CRAs can find out about you and legally can add to your credit history, they'll put it in your credit report and that information WILL end up in databases, making it easier to find by others. That means someone who's unscrupulous or really wants to find you can track your movements using the credit cards you got in your new name to travel.

There is also a sister site called LiarCard where you can place a call using an on-line PIN number, ($10/30 minutes), and watch an on-line graph in real time. This is a voice stress analyzer on-line that will show the relative amount of stress in the voice, like when a person is lying. The calls are recorded (?!) so you can log in later and review the call and watch the graph as many times as you want. They claim 95% accuracy. Might be interesting. Comments? Both services have free trials. All calls are SSL encrypted. www dot liarcard dot com

Jim

I'm trying to figure out how to determine what physical address it will report when I call 911. Other than calling 911 and asking what they show as an address, (I'm sure they will appreciate that.), I don't know how to check it. I have them set up for numbers in states other than my own so if I'm in Maine and I'm calling 911 on my Nevada MagicJack number I wonder what address comes up for the 911 operator. Any ideas?

Now I would like to put my new name and new address on my credit card so I can use it when I travel, and I also want to freeze my credit records. However, my legal last name on my ID differs from the old name on the credit records. I would really appreciate some advice from those of you who have frozen your records on how this works.

- Once you freeze your credit accounts, is your credit header info (name, dob, address, etc) also frozen? If the header info is still made publicly available, is your old name part of that credit header or just the current name?

- Will I encounter problems if I try to freeze my credit records without updating the name first? My ID is in my new name, and I hear you have to show ID to send and receive certified mail. Also, I believe that one of the three agencies requires a photo ID, but I was thinking about putting a fraud alert on that one and freezing the other two. However, this won't work if I have to show current ID with a matching name to send and receive certified mail.

- Do I need my credit records to reflect my current name? I rarely use them for anything. Would there be a problem if two credit agencies have the old info and only one has the current info? I don't want to do anything that looks weird or calls attention to myself. I'm thinking about just asking Discover to issue a second card with the new name and keeping the account under the old name. I am very hesitant to give the credit bureaus my new name because I don't really know what they will do with it.

- One last thing: has anyone crossed out their DL number and photo when sending in the copy of their ID to freeze their credit? I hate the idea of giving them more info than they already have.

Thank you all for your help. I really appreciate any advice you can give me about staying out of those people search websites and about keeping the old and new names from being linked in places that anyone can find effortlessly.

Second, to Billson, Rambam confirmed EVERY detail of what I told you in his presentation about phone numbers. He covers cell phones EXTENSIVELY--all the ways you can be tracked and traced using them, especially iPhones (mostly by your own actions--like retaining phone numbers that are or were in your name). But, about halfway through part 28 of this video of his presentation, he shows how PIs use just a phone number to BEGIN to develop an entire biographical profile on an investigative subject. (A slide in that part of the video shows a SMALL number of places--about 30 or so--your phone number is archived in some database someplace, especially if it's an old phone number, a cell phone or a landline (esp., those in your name, SS# and/or true street address.) The investigative process continues with data developed from the phone number.)

That's why it's critical to get RID of your old phone number at any cost and NOT get a new phone using any payment instrument in your own name, that of a spouse or relative or friend. Like I've said in previous posts, there is investigative/datamining software that can determine relationships among people that can be used to determine whose credit card you used to buy a phone. (And, again, it's not those cheesy sites that typically have erroneous info about you in them that most consumers get access to free or with a credit card. Though it's illegal (or of questionably legality) to collect such information on anyone without their written permission, unless you're a law enforcement officer or federal agent with a legitimate reason, it didn't stop my stalker so it won't stop other unscrupulous individuals.)

Third, below is a CNET article that confirmed both what I and others have said about bluetooth and wireless hotspots (as well as RFID tags, which are being added to everything so don't buy stuff like printers with your own credit card (or, again, using any payment instrument linked to you or another individual associated with you; buy CASH but not in conjunction with one of those store rewards cards in your name!), the article also confirmed what I said about using a VPN when accessing wireless connections on computers (and they're are available for some phones but useless if your you have a iPhone or other phone is in your own name). BTW, the individual discussing flaws with this technology was at the same event as Rambam (an annual event for hackers); this guy is one). You may wanna take him seriously.

So, if you have time, listen to Rambam's entire presentation, research the event itself ("the Last HOPE) and find out who else was at that event and find videos, articles and other content on them to see how your HTBI strategy stacks up against what they tell you. (Well, unless you're attempting to hide from legal action of some kind because then, your searches might be used against you.)

Like I frequently say, if you haven't gone as far HTBI private as you can, do it and FAST. And, keep up with the latest technology so you can know how to modify your strategy when necessary. Once you learn HTBI techniques and thoroughly implement them, it's pretty easy to modify them appropriately--especially if you keep coming back here to learn more. Since Rambam uses multiple examples of finding people when stuff is in their own name, privacy is only dead if you don't go completely HTBI and carefully stay that way.

Submitted Link #1: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-9995022-83.html?t...

- how Google gathers information about you and cross-references it all to link it to you by Google account name and IP address - Rambam refers to Google as "Subpeona Target #1". (Part 6 @ 2:15);

- ISPs that sell users' entire Internet activity record to marketing companies (Part 10 @ 4:20);

- the ways cellphones can be used to track your physical location and activities (Part 14 @ 3:00); and

- information about "Skyhook," a service that locates people by which WiFi network their devices are connected to.

The most interesting part of the presentation comes when Rambam discusses how someone volunteered to be investigated, and Rambam shows how much information could be found only using PI databases and publicly-available Internet sources (Part 29, 0:00). Rambam also discusses a "hide-and-seek" bet he later had with his "volunteer," in which Rambam bets the volunteer that Rambam can find the volunteer's specific location ("You're sitting in O'Malley's Irish Pub on First Street in Sarasota, FL") at least once every 60 days, for ten consecutive 60-day periods (Part 30, 2:10).

Submitted Link #1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vsxxsrn2Tfs&feature...

... Warning -- don't start watching the video unless you have several hours to spare! However, I do recommend you set aside time to do it--especially if you have young children approaching the teen years. Have them watch the Facebook part (which comes early in the video) with you. That should help them understand why you will never allow them to have anything to do with Facebook, under penalty of death. (Well, death, no, but some sort of serious penalty.)

All is not hopeless, of course, for you HTBI readers. Rambam talks about scanning plates to find you, but your vehicles are all titled with LLCs, right? Also, he talks about finding you via credit use and bank accounts but if you are using nominees for both, that will make for a cold trail.

Nevertheless, as I have said before, anyone can be found if the searcher has unlimited time and unlimited funds. Government agencies sometimes do, but PIs have limits, beyond which they will drop the search.

Like Theresa said, get and use ghost addresses and phone numbers (especially for anything linked to your SS#) and make sure they get into the databases. If there's negative information online about you, go straight to site administrators and request it be removed.

Don't use social media site like Facebook or Myspace unless you need to for business or are already a public figure. For those who want to use social media and have unusual names, you CAN use them with a unique name and still maintain your privacy but you have to create HTBI privacy as close to level 4 as possible, first, and use a VPN whenever online. You also limit the number of photos you post, make Facebook private (you CAN be unsearchable on FB) and don't put any personal information (or business info, other than privately registered website URL and toll free number, if not necessary)

If you don't need to be online, get whatever information that's negative about you offline, monitor your own online profile (using Google, searching your name) and maintain a low private profile.

For another thing, PIs, those with any kind of intelligence background, especially military, investigative journalists, and reasonably sophisticated others like bill collectors, stalkers, computer hackers, etc., can use people searching software to tie you to others and, by looking at THEIR phone records (not legal but still done by some PIs, stalkers and private citizens and legally done by law enforcement), they will see YOUR phone number in your associates (relatives, friends and colleague's) phone records. They don't have to have phone record for that phone number in your name, just know that you can be reached by those associated with you at your old number. (Some, like an older or neurotic relatives, can be tricked or frightened into calling you for some reason and "give you up" that way.)

So, even changing carriers without changing numbers makes little sense if the number you have is your known phone number, is in databases, contained in the phone records of relatives, friends, employers and casual associates. Also, your previous carrier has to know what new carrier to transfer your phone number to and will have your written request to make the transfer. Thus, your current phone number probably already has a long paper trail, especially if you've had it awhile so keeping it and maintaining privacy is unlikely.

Moreover, cell phones either ping a nearby cell tower or create a record in the carrier's database each time they ring, even into voicemail, are paged or sent an SMS. (And, again, that number is in your caller's phone records as an outgoing call.) That makes it possible for someone to track you, especially if they can readily determine your carrier--easy and free to do online, in many cases. And landlines, despite new laws prohibiting pre-texting to gain or otherwise accessing consumer phone information, can still be tracked to your actual location, especially by law enforcement. Even if you use Vumber with your old number, anyone running your background is going to check to see if you still have that old number and test it to see if it still leads to you.

That's because law enforcement, good PIs, many of whom ARE former law enforcement, and slick bill collectors can figure out far more easily than most people if you've just transferred an old phone number to a new name and carrier by getting someone you know to call you on the number, as in the examples above. (All you gotta do is watch any true crime show like A&E channel's "The First 48", which depicts real-life local law enforcement homicide investigations, or "Manhunters: Fugitive Taskforce", which depicts federal agents, the U.S. Marshall's, hunting fugitive. In fact, wanna truly understand the need for HTBI, watch THAT show.)

You have to go virtual to maintain your privacy in a digital world where it's far easier to find out what cell carrier you have and hack into your phone carriers' computers to find out where you are located or where you were last with your cell phone. That means a using service like Vumber or some other virtual phone service that allows you to both receive and make calls as your "public" number with a cell phone or VoIP number known only to you, Vumber and the carrier. That will make you hard to trace, unless you tell people you use Vumber or give them your true, private phone number.p> You could also use a VoIP service privately if you're behind a properly set up software or hardware VPN. (Otherwise your ISP knows you're using VoIP service and, if you get broadband service through a cable company, those records are NOT nearly as private as phone records are supposed to now be.)

Again, only you can decide what your privacy is worth.

If on the other hand, the info is negative (whether true or false, but perceived as negative), I'm not sure what could or should be done about it. I wouldn't recommend a fake facebook, though. One should consider the repercussions if the fake facebook were exposed as an attempt to clean up the image of the true identity. A legal name change in a state favorable for name changes vs. the public records laws might be in order if the truthful information available on the internet were sufficiently negative to justify wanting to disappear thoroughly.

Self-publication and eBooks is the way to go; and you can use whatever name you want. Here's a link to a fascinating article on the changes in publishing.

Submitted Link #1: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1...

On a related note, does anyone know if it is possible for someone to locate the computer you are checking your email from just from knowing your email address?

The key is to make sure the information used to register the card matches the information used to register at the other website...