This article covers a lot. Of interest:

"Rambam says he once tracked down a subject by calling pharmacies near the person's address, posing as the subject and asking if his prescription was ready. He quickly learned both the name of the prescription and the doctor who prescribed it. By calling the doctor's office, he was then able to get the time and date of the subject's next appointment. While all this is illegal (he did it with the subject's permission, as part of a friendly bet) and he says most professional investigators don't do that today, he's certain that scammers use the technique."

At the end of the article is another link for this. "'12 tips for managing your information footprint' Take an active role in controlling your personal data."

Submitted Link #1: http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?com...

... Thanks for bringing Robert L. Mitchell's interesting article to my attention, William.

Please consider getting an ANONYMOUS phone exclusively for texting.

You can text to and from a phone without connecting it to anything else in your existence if you are extremely careful. DON'T: EVER EVER EVER actually place a voice call or text to or from that number that isn't going to or from one of the "trusted friends" that you are texting or calling, or else your own voicemail.

If you have a maximum of TWO friends with whom you need to communicate via text or voice, you could set up a 2 to 3-way system of PREPAID cell phones exclusively for the 2 to 3 of you. Set them up ANONYMOUSLY and SIMULTANEOUSLY. IF your friends are THAT TRUSTED, they would be "on-board" with this concept, and they would also agree that they would neither send nor receive communications from that phone to anybody outside your "circle of trust" ... lol! My point here? If your friends are THAT "in tune" with your goals, they will get on-board with this and agree to it.

THEN.... Only use those phones for those purposes and only power those phones on when you are in "safe" locations relative to where you sleep at night or work during the day.

Not that I'm paranoid or anything... :) Seriously, if you're looking for secure communications between 2-3 people, it CAN be done, but EVERYBODY involved has to be in agreement!

- Dorothy 5294: Excellent point - cell #2 could be discovered if one of my contacts' phone history is investigated! Unfortunately, since for me, the benefits to SMS text messaging outweight the privacy costs, I don't see any alternative to giving out my cell #2 number to certain trusted individuals so that they can send texts directly to cell #2 - and, yes, run the risk that these trusted friends will be investigated and my cell #2 discovered.

- Marc 5296: Good point - I do need to be careful about where I power-on cell #1! That said, I'm not so concerned about people finding out I live in metro-NYC: there are a 1,000 other things that link me to the area (but not a specific address). Also, I DO NOT WANT to switch public numbers - so the VOIP suggestion is not pertinent to me. (But to those for whom it might apply - take note! This is a GREAT SUGGESTION!) Also, the VOIP idea doesn't allow me to utilize SMS, which is one of my requirements.

- Dorothy 5297/5301 and Wendy 5298/5299/5302: For me, the benefits to SMS text messaging outweigh the privacy costs. I require a solution that includes use of SMS messaging - and as I understand it, a text sent to my Vumber # will not be forwarded to my cell #. So far as I can tell, the only solution is to tolerate the privacy problems that arise, and give out my cell #2 number to a limited number of individuals.

Thanks for your help, everyone! If anyone can think of a different arrangement that includes keeping my existing number as well as includes the use of SMS, please let me know!

2. Also when submitting credit card information do you have to provide a social security number, if you do not will they deny your card?

3. Are there companies that do not require one?

4. How does one establish credit with out a card?

... 1. No such law.

... 2. Yes, it will be denied.

... 3. No.

... 4. Do not worry about credit. Run your life on a cash basis. If this advice had been followed in past years by Americans, there would be no financial meltdown today.

Then, shut down your VPN, close browsers and ALWAYS shut your computer down when you're finished using it. If you do these things, you shouldn't have to duct-tape your camera. If your camera automatically loads at startup and/or places an icon on your task bar OR there's an clickable icon on your desktop to start the camera, then disable the camera at startup and remove the icons from any desktop, taskbar and quickstart bar. If this is too much work for you, disable or uninstall the camera's software and get out the duct-tape.

As for me, I'm thinking of ways to have my camera do surveillance when I'm not around....

Second, to Dorothy. Yes, you can have your Vumber calls sent to voicemail BUT if you have them sent to a phone, they will go to the phone's voicemail, not Vumbers'. It's either/or. You can also have the Vumber ring continuously, give a busy single, give a temoorarily out of order message or give a number disconnected message.

And, yes, I do check the numbers using fonfinder.net and the site below. The former gives the phone number provider and provider type, which is helpful if you have a cell phone and want to see if it would be easy to determine the carrier. (With AT&T, that was fairly easy; one of the reasons I got rid of it.) The other reveals the phone type and number issuing location, which is helpful if you want to appear far away from where you're physically located.

Since most of the people I know to whom I give my phone number just take my word for the type of phone I'm using and I use the call forwarding explanation at times, they don't bother to check what kind of phone it is. Anyone that starts asking too many questions about my phone numbers raises my suspicion and I start questioning them. People who know me know not to go there. Develop the "mind your own business, not mine" attitude and people stop questioning what you do after awhile, especially since they know you'll clam up even further if they ask too many questions and 'go away' for awhile if they refuse to get it. The less people you know know about you the better because they will reveal it, sometimes just in casual conversation. "Oh, yeah, Wendy just moved to such and such a place" or "Sure, here's Wendy's phone number and/or email address. Contact her to see if she's going to the church social." Then they'll email me with information about the location and date of the event, which will be on my hard drive and the email provider's, too! They don't usually understand why providing such information about you would bother you because it wouldn't bother them if you gave such information about them. Remember, most people don't think they need HTBI privacy until it's too late or there's some other problem.

Finally, keep in mind with GC that it's part of the Googlesphere and Google wants to be the world largest database of information on other people. They can match your Gmail/Google account with your IP address and the cell phone number and, potentially, make connections to you using special software. It's one of the reasons I've decided to get rid of any Google account that is connected directly to me and is for personal use. In the US and EU, largely because of the Patriot Act, it's very easy for investigators and law enforcement to present subpoenas to US- and EU-based companies to get information on you and most companies don't fight the subpoena, just turn over the information.

Sometimes, PIs and others just outright pretext to get the information since pretexting laws only pertain to phone records, not email email, utilities and other services. So be wary of using US- or EU-based services for privacy protection because they may not work as expected, especially when someone is determined to locate you or find out more about you and has the means to do so. Therefore, it's important to use whatever time and means YOU have to protect yourself from those folks. Slacking in any area related to privacy can be costly, much more costly than the $10 or so per month Vumber costs. So ask yourself, what are my personal assets, freedom and even life worth to me? You'll spend accordingly to protect your privacy.

Submitted Link #1: http://www.reversephonereports.com/...

Also, does anybody have any thoughts on web cams? Can they be "hijacked" by others over the internet or through WiFi /bluetooth connections? Do I need to get the duct tape out?

... Yes, by all means cover the lens for the Web cam. (I use a small square, cut from a Post-it note.)

I also deactivated bluetooth on my portable GPS device since, although I have no services on it that make it a GPS receiver, bluetooth can substitute for that, used correctly. Finally, I've deactivated the bluetooth on my laptop, as well as file and printer sharing, remote access, telenet and some other privacy killing features most PCs have as standard equipment. I connect to NOTHING wirelessly that I don't have to and I use appropriate protection when I do.

Like Dorothy said, nothing's foolproof but these strategies and the others in HTBI and on this site (and continued vigilance and willingness to change behaviors when necessary and as you learn what works to keep you safe and private) will deter all but the most determined stalker/investigator. But even THEY'D better have seriously deep pockets! (Or an aircraft like mine does.)

1) Got one prepaid cell phone number in name of pseudonym for which I can pay cash for monthly service fee. (If I tell you the carrier, I'll have to kill you!)

2) Got several numbers from Vumber.com, two for personal use, one I call "home" phone, the other "cell phone". No one is any the wiser. I give those two numbers to family and close friends and both are in another state from were I'm physically located. I have Vumbers for business and a couple for local calls to professionals whom I don't want questioning my out-of-state phone numbers. I don't raise suspicion that way.

3) I ONLY use the cell phone when calling out through Vumber and don't answer ANY call from a number I don't recognize. I don't tell anyone who my phone carrier is, either. Guess what? No one but me, the carrier (and Vumber) know the cell number so (a) no one can triangulate the phone by calling the number (which happened recently to me; so I switched carriers) or using carrier records because they know neither the number or carrier (b) the carrier's records only show calls to Vumber, not calls to anyone else, which are shown on my Vumber account only and (c) since it's nearly impossible to tell my phone number is from Vumber (and the ones I give out to family, friends, business associates, etc. are in nominee/pseudonym names), only spending loads of money, time and/or subpoenaing Vumber (if they DO figure out that my phone numbers are from Vumber) will reveal that. And, I can change the Vumber as often as I do my clothes, for FREE!

4) I called my carrier and had them turn off SMS (since there's a chance someone can send you a text message containing GPS tracking software that installs when you open the message and sending/receiving SMS messages ping the phone and locate me and provides my cell number to those receiving SMS from me). I also don't use the internet on my phone; I have a laptop for that and I use it as anonymously as possible.

If you need to be mobile while online, you can purchase a mini laptop (check out BestBuy and purchase cash) for that for under $300 and use an inexpensive, secure VPN service to surf the net and send email from wireless hotspots. (Carefully check the VPN's reputation, business practices, privacy policies, etc.) Nothing in your name there. But, if you use your home ISP, use the VPN to surf the net, send email, etc. ALWAYS remember to start the VPN BEFORE getting online and check to make sure you're using the VPN by going to a site like "whatismyip.com" and checking. Never use your work internet connection on that laptop. (The VPN account should be in the name of a pseudonym, paid for by an LLC/nominee bank card.)

Using VPNs is perfectly legitimate used for legally (otherwise, the VPN service WILL turn you over to law enforcement!) and can be explained by simply saying, "I'm concerned someone with nefarious intentions may locate me physically using my IP address so I use this to protect my identity and location. It's kinda like a condom for the internet." (Okay, crass, but that last line will usually end the conversation.)

And, no, Greg, you can't keep your same phone number and put it in the name of a nominee--unless you change your voice, too. That last part is why I used a pre-recorded voicemail message for my cell phone (since, even if callers use Vumber to call me, if I don't answer, it goes to my cell phone's voicemail, not my Vumber vmail.) Ask yourself whether you love that phone number or your privacy more. That should answer your question. Have a funeral for your old number (and, frankly, carrier since EVERYONE who knows you or knows about you knows who your carrier is!) and celebrate rebirth into privacy.

If I've missed or forgotten anything, somebody will be sure to tell me, I know!

Nothing is really "perfect", IMHO, but the Vumber number in between is an extra layer of obfuscation (I just love that word, lol!)

You might consider porting the number to a prepaid carrier. T-Mobile is fairly easy to port to; Page Plus is fairly easy to port to. The FCC requires 4 pieces of info for porting: Phone number to be ported, passcode if used, zip code of service, and "account number." The FCC also requires that carriers NOT require any MORE data than those 4 pieces to approve the "port-out". That means that Verizon can't resist porting out the number because you didn't provide your home address to the receiving cell provider.

The purpose of this kind of follows the intents of the "cell #1 and cell #2" concept - you port out the old longstanding Verizon number to a prepaid carrier (Page Plus, by the way, runs off Verizon's network, so if you get good Verizon coverage, your Page Plus coverage will be the same good coverage). THEN, you inform everybody who calls your old number that you have a new number. That new number (cell #2) will be the new Verizon blackberry account under a pseudonym/nominee's name with a ghost address. For extra layers of protection, you can "port out" cell #1 to different prepaid providers periodically, slightly altering the data each time to further obfuscate your true identity in the cell phone records.

1) Maintain cell #1, but utilize it only for its voicemail - only power it on to check the voicemail, otherwise power it off and not have it on my person.

2) Obtain "cell #2" - a seperate account/number using a nominee. Only provide cell #2's number to a trusted few. Never check the cell #1 voicemail using cell #2. Pay the bill with money orders.

This plan would accomplish the following goals:

- I can use cell #1 as a public number, to use on forms or business cards, and to give to casual acquaintances, without revealing my true cell number. I can call from cell #1 where I want the recipient to know I'm calling, but don't want to reveal my real cell number. (This is not possible using the HTBI-suggested pager/cell phone combination, nor using cell phone & free online voicemail service combination. Though Vumber and similar services have features where the receipient's caller ID will display your Vumber number, rather than your true cell number, this still requires Vumber to have your true cell number on file - leaving it vulnerable to discovery via data breach or pretexting.)

- This plan will mis-lead anyone investigating my call history or trying to track my location by cell phone. An investigator will easily find my "cell #1" account, and may stop searching before finding cell #2. The investigator will find minimal call history for cell #1 (because I place/receive so few calls using cell #1), and will be unable to track my location using the phone's location (because cell #1 will generally be powered off, and almost never be on my person). The investigator will not be able to find cell #2 by looking at cell #1's call history, because neither cell will be used to call the other.

- Unlike the HTBI pager/cell combo, this plan allows me to continue my practice of communicating with close friends via SMS text messaging.

I'm trying to discover if there are any weaknesses in my plan. Obviously, I have to assume that SMS text messages will be stored for forever on SMS servers. And my location can still be traced should someone discover my cell #2. But so long as my cell #2 remains concealed, and so long as I am very careful about the content of my outgoing AND incoming SMS messages, I'm not aware of any other weaknesses in my plan. Anything I'm missing?

No.

Not if you want to have privacy.