How To Be Invisible
In essence, the book describes numerous ways of protecting or increasing one's privacy. Issues discussed include using passports instead of other forms of ID, computer privacy, accepting mail at home, titling vehicles, and other matters. All of the suggestions and theories in the book are designed to help a person become more invisible, get out of thousands of corporate and public databases, and make it difficult, if not impossible, for stalkers to find a victim who has decided not to be found. A few examples of the specific tactics are examined here.
For example, the book recommends not to carry a drivers license around and not show it to anyone who is not a police office or titling your vehicle. The reason for this is that drivers licenses often show the carrier's home address and, often, social security number. Anyone who views the DL has access to the private information, and can write down, memorize, or photograph the information at will. For this reason, a passport is recommended, as it does not give any address at all.
The entertainment factor of pulling a passport out is almost as beneficial as the privacy factor. Bank employees, concert security, bouncers, etc. usually look quite strangely at the passport, since most of them are used to reading everyone's drivers license all day. The cost of this small protection is minimal, and the person using the passport will never have to give anyone their home address unless they deserve it, or want to give it away.
The book contains many other examples of protecting privacy, such as setting up ghost addresses, titling vehicles in LLCs, and not relying on borrowing money to live, finance a home, or pay bills.
The small information on using credit is potentially the most important part of the book. There are daily horror stories of people in debt or who have relied on credit to get them through life. When they come upon a hardship, they lean even heavier on credit to get through the hardship, while waiting for the future to get better. Unfortunately, hardships last longer than a few days or weeks, usually, and continuous leaning on credit will eventually cause the crutch to break. This can cause bankruptcy, collections, or even foreclosure, all of which causes the person's name to end up on even more records, public databases, and in the hands of collection companies.
The ideas that are presented in the book are all a cause of conversation and reflection upon the current state of privacy in America. However, for some readers, they will merely read the ideas and develop a thought pattern of saying "I can't do that, it's a lot of work." They will then deem the book impractical, outdated, or useless. In fact, many of the steps needed to protect privacy do involve work, but the added layers of protection may be well worth the effort.
And while many people have reviewed this book online or otherwise, most of these reviewers are misguided when reading the book. In fact, their arguments sound like they read the concepts and assumed the practice would be too difficult, or they read the practical suggestions and did not have the creativity to use the examples as a starting point, not an ending point.
Apparently, one of the most visual and easily rememberable examples in the book is the author's suggestion of renting an empty broom closet in an office building for a ghost mail address. The argument that using an unoccupied broom closet as a mailbox is outdated or impractical is absurd. It is inconceivable that one could not be tracked down and rented. And renting a closet as a mailbox is an example of creativity in protecting your privacy, not a direct order from the author. Step One is not "Rent a broom closet and receive mail there," it's "Stop receiving mail at home." The broom closet and other examples are suggestions to get the reader thinking of uncommon ideas to protect their privacy.
In fact, that's the point most low-rating reviewers seem to miss: the examples are examples of creativity in making a difficult activity (protecting your privacy) slightly easier. Of course it would be easier just to rent a box from a local UPS Store, but then the rentor has to show ID, give the company an actual home address, and their names goes into the company database, to be sold or rented to anyone.
It would be even easier to continue using an actual home address to receive mail. But again, the book was not written to tell people how to do what they are already doing. It was written to provide ideas and suggestions on how important protecting privacy is.
And the argument that someone can not see any other option besides giving out their SS#, etc., to employers or for a background check for a job is just as absurd. One may as well argue that they are no better than a cow being herded for slaughter, to be cut up, creatively packaged, and sold off piece by piece. Actually, it might be preferable than to working some jobs, which many people only take because they feel they do not have any other option than finding a "good company" to work for.
More than just becoming invisible, the major theme of the book is Creativity, and the book is targeted to creative people who are willing to work to change their lives and protect their privacy.
For the uncreative, who are stuck with no other options than working for an employer and lacking the skills and motivation to protect their own identity, maybe the government will pass a law allowing people to become "invisble" by filing a simple form at the post office. Just give them your SS#, home address, phone number, and two pieces of picture ID every few months, and they will put you in a database to keep you invisible. That'll be easy enough for everyone to do, right?
In conclusion, this is a great book for anyone who wants to protect their privacy. Use it as a starting point and as a reference for future ideas. But the book itself will not provide protection; and this is a dangerous assumption to make. Only the reader can protect himself or herself.
Hopefully this wasn't an overly long review, and if you enjoyed reading any part of it, thank you! And if you disagree with any part, then I'd be happy to mail you a personal note asking for forgiveness. Just email me your name, home address, and social security number.
About the Author
ForeclosureFish.com has been designed to give homeowners free options to stop foreclosure. Online resources include foreclosure news, blog, and reference materials. Also included is a unique lender match service to locate private sources of funding to finance a home out of foreclosure
