How To Get Lost

If you wanted to dissappear and stay missing here are seven steps to do it.

Step one: change your name. Research newspaper accounts of children dying about the time you were born; note the parents' names and proceed to the Bureau of Vital Statistics to order a copy of the kids birth certificate. Take the birth certificate to the post office and apply for a new Social Security number; if this is a problem, due to new SS regulations, simply advise the Social Security Administration of your name change and have your SSN reflect this. Take your new Social Security card and birth certificate to the voters'-registration office and apply for a voter's card. With these three pieces of identification, you can apply for a driver's license, preferably in a larger city. (Be sure and have those documents sent to an address other than your own, such as that of a mial-forwarding service.

Step two: move to another state. To reduce the possibility of accidentally running into someone you know, move to an area that people are unlikely to like Las Vegas or L.A.

Step three: break off all contact with relatives and friends. A skilled investigator can employ sophisticated pretexts that will decieve even the most alert person, and those closest to you could accidentally betray you.

Step four: give up any serious hobbies. People with special interests live in a small world (except for computerists, as hacking and phreaking is a small world where people don't use real names and phone numbers anyway). One man whose hobby was target shooting was located when his picture was printed in the club newsletter.

Step five: change your vocation. Same reason as step four -- it's a small world and someone, someday, may recognize you.

Step six: alter your appearance. This won't fool anyone who knows you well but should be sufficient to throw off casual acquaintances. Dye your hair, cut it, or let it grow out; if you wear glasses or contacts, interchange them; adopt a new clothing style, etc.

Step seven: remain low-key. If your fingerprints are on file, don't get a job that takes them. Do not take a high profile job. Never achieve a position of great importance. Don't enter legal altercations. Don't do anything that brings attention to yourself.