How to Disappear: Erase Your Digital Footprint, Leave False Trails, and Vanish without a Trace

by Frank M. Ahearn

people tend to return to where they have relatives and friends.

Enter your name on Zabasearch to see what comes up. First try a nationwide search, then narrow it down to your city and state.

Intelius (www.intelius.com), a public records company that sells information for background searches.

Remove your name from Intelius People Search.

Intelius allows you to opt out of its “people search” service, which associates your name and address with particular public records about you, by faxing a note and a copy of your driver’s license to (425) 974-6194. Find out more on Intelius’s official Web site at www.intelius.com/privacy-faq.php#5.

Go to every other online database and phone book you can find and figure out what they have on you.

Google Phonebook Yahoo! People Search WhitePages.com Superpages.com Addresses.com Anywho.com BirthDatabase.com

I can’t give you many

specific instructions for removing your name from these pages, as their customer service regulations and procedures change all the time. But as a general rule, look for a link that says “FAQ”—usually one of the most frequently asked questions is: “How do I remove my information?” If you don’t see something like that lurking around, look for a link that says “Contact”

so you can send an e-mail or call their corporate offices for help. If that doesn’t work, Google “Remove name from search engine” and see what comes up. Here’s one procedure that probably won’t change...

Google Phonebook Removal 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway Mountain View, CA 94043

I’ve seen so many people screwed over by their failure to follow up—don’t be one of them!

Google, AltaVista, Yahoo, Ask.com,

Next, run your e-mail address through the search engines, too.

Create a Google Alert for all of these search terms. Google Alerts tell you every time someone posts a specific term to the Internet, and you can use the alerts to make sure no one re-adds your information after you’ve gone through and performed misinformation.

Take down all your social media sites.

Scrolling through Google listings can be a little tedious, I know—so I’m sure you’ll be happy to hear that it’s time to pick up the phone and lie, lie, lie.

Here’s a list of all the places a skip tracer might call when he’s looking for you: phone companies cellular companies furniture stores electric companies gyms cable providers satellite providers Internet service providers video rental stores or online services dry cleaners magazine subscription services grocery and department store cards car rental agencies library card systems frequent-flier and bonus accounts associations and alumni groups banks credit card companies

(Get used to the idea

of buying your magazines from the rack and your DVDs from those $1 rental machines.)

the fibs are a necessary part ...

Before you cancel, what you need to do is call up every company that has your information and change that information a little bit, marring the record in case a skip tracer ever gets his hands on it.

Gyms and tanning parlors are two of the worst offenders when it comes to hoarding and storing your personal information.

As photo and fingerprint technology becomes ubiquitous at places like this, I suggest you avoid them altogether. Want to work out? Buy a pair of Nikes and pound the pavement. Need a tan? Lie out in the sun—or better yet, don’t.

Be unpredictable.

“Good men must not obey laws too well.”

DID YOU KNOW? The nine-digit Social Security number is composed of three parts. The first set of three digits is called the Area Number and reflects your location at birth (or whenever you were issued the card). The second two digits are the Group Number and are the Social Security Administration’s way of breaking accounts into small

groups. The final four digits are the Serial Number; each person in a group gets a number between 0001 and 9999, but not in consecutive order.

“basic identifiers,” as we call them—your name, job, and your Social Security number, if you so choose—it’ll be time to call each company back and change your mailing address and phone number. If you’re a stalking or abuse victim, I suggest changing your contact information to that of a local police station, so a decent skip tracer will back off or start questioning his client.

Call up these companies and cancel as many accounts as you can.

Paying over the phone is a cinch; just call the customer service line, ask how much you owe, and give them a prepaid credit card or send a money order.

IS THIS IDENTITY THEFT? No. Purposefully introducing small errors in your record is not the same thing as creating a whole new account under a false name.

Methodical thinking is the key to misinformation success. You have to think about every place your information might be hiding, make a list, and then go deal with it.

YOUR WALLET AND POCKETS

YOUR KEY RING

THE LIVING ROOM

THE BATHROOM

The pharmacy has a record of your medical insurer, who has a lovely list of all your medical issues.

THE GARAGE

those serial numbers are attached to warranties and purchases. The warranties are attached to purchase orders, which probably have your name, address, phone number—and whatever other information you gave out—all over them.

Take the time to search the boxes.

If you don’t want to divulge any personal information on a form, leave it blank. You are not legally required to give your doctor your Social Security number unless you are on Medicare or Medicaid.

THE BEDROOM

THE KITCHEN

THE HOME OFFICE

Here’s the safest way to protect your Web activity: Don’t ever do sensitive or incriminating stuff on your home computer.

there is an identifier that can match printed paper to an individual printer. Manufacturers don’t publicize this—yet

Your personal information is a valuable commodity, no matter who you are.

Before you do, though, I highly recommend that you double-check your work by hiring a private investigator to try to find you.

Keep your hunter busy searching for you in the wrong place, and make the file on you as thick, frustrating, and expensive to detangle as possible.