Being Discreet

Of course we all want people everywhere to take the threat of an Avian Flu pandemic seriously, and make preparations for themselves and their families.  We can all lift our voices and raise the alarm to our friends, family and loved ones with a clear conscience.  But we all realize that only those who are willing to see what is in front of their faces will heed the call.  Many will be too unconcerned, too busy, too distracted, too poor, too stuborn or too lazy to prepare to be responsible for their own welfare UNTIL AFTER A CRISIS HAS ALREADY EMERGED.  We all know what that means: panic buying, people caught without necessities or with only meager amounts of basic essentials.  These people will expect "somebody" to "do something" to make up for their individual unpreparedness.  The "somebody" that heeds their call (or tries to) is likely to be some branch of local, state or federal government, of course.  But where will government obtain it's supplies with which to grant relief in the event of a widespread crisis?

There are already reports of governmental entities (from municipalities right on up to the federal level) who are planning on instructing your fellow grasshopper citizens to inform them, during a crisis, of the fact that you have food, water, fuel, and other essential commodities to be comandeered for the "greater good".  Even your 72 hour "bug out" kit is being discussed as ripe for confiscation if the authorities deem it necessary.  This is not paranoia, this is for real.  Aside from the accounts that have been filtering in regarding this, there are actual Presidential Executive Orders, in writing, that have only to be invoked by the Commander in Chief.  These Executive Orders cover Food,  Electricity and Fuel, vehicles, Medicines & First Aid supplies. (click link for the exact text of the Executive Order). These orders can be invoked in a "time of crisis" although what constitutes a "crisis" is never defined and supposedly open to interpretation.  One could legitimately construe an influenza pandemic with a high mortality rate to be a crisis.

If it has not already occured to you, you may want to be very cautious about "who knows what" when it comes to you and your stockpiled survival preparations.  The greatest key to keeping what you have, is keeping what you have QUIET.

On the subject, here are some preparedness minded people who have explored the topic of cover stories in some detail.  Some of these sound pretty convincing.  My wife and I have used some of them when making unusual purchases.

When you make a purchase by phone, mail order or the internet, make some effort to cover your tracks.  I sometimes use an alias, and have never failed to receive USPS or UPS deliveries.  Worried that the UPS driver will get curious about all the packages you're having delivered?  Odds are, the UPS guy won't really remember that much unless you live in a small town or deliveries are rare.  Cover your tracks by breaking things up a bit - Maybe get some of your mail order stuff thru other channels occasionally, Fed Ex or USPS just to cut down on the volume thru a single channel.  Maybe have some of it delivered where you work, or where hubby works, or to a friend or neighbor, saying it's a surprise for your wife's/husband's birthday party, you won't be home when it's delivered, don't want it stolen, etc. (just as long as you're sure they won't open it and it doesn't have an incriminating return address).  Mail Boxes ETC is a possibility, or a Post Office Box (very economical). 

The next level of security (may only be necessary for "sensitive" purchases) is to leave no electronic trail.  How hard do you think it would be for a merchant to generate a list of credit card numbers of people who purchased generators in the past 2 years... and for credit card companies to provide a list of names and addresses to go with those account numbers?  Not very hard, especially when it's in the interest of "national security".  There are some great suggetions in a book by J.J. Luna "How To Be Invisible".  Buy it at a bookstore out of town, pay cash, don't use your bookstore membership card to get a discount.  Think about making those on-line purchases using a postal money order instead of a credit card or check.

I'm not paranoid, but I try to practice "leaving small footprints" in daily life just to stay in practice in case I ever do need to be ultra confidential.  Try it - it's less convenient, sure, but make it a game and you will soon find that "treading light" in the world of commerce is not so hard at all.

 

Edited by bruss01

Great post bruss!

I am avoiding purchasing a bulk of items at once. I've been buying things here and there. It's alot less suspicious when I go to costco and buy two cases of water rather than purchasing enough in one trip to fill the car! I've also tried to avoid large orders via internet. I've purchased my masks from a few different places, never more than one box per order. Sure, I pay more for shipping...but oh well! I'd rather do that then have someone come across the fact that I have purchased 50 boxes of N95's in one shopping order.

Well hopefully the power WILL go off????

If they can't use their computers, 'they' can't track us.  Unless they are already watching???  I think I'll file this under my list of what not to worry about too much; hopefully they are tracking my ammunition purchases....

Im not as worried about the authorities as I am about uninvited guests. The authorities are going to be stretched thin as it is tracking down food stashes is going to be to time consuming IMO

My feelings on this could be shded by my remote local though. I do think discretion is in order all around

bruss01 (and others)

It is probably a good plan to be discreet about your purchases but what about your activity here on this forum. Most ISPs (Internet Service Providers) keep very accurate records of which user was using which IP address at what time. Just in case you haven't noticed, your IP is logged everytime you post to this site. Wouldn't that be a nice conveient list of people with lots of supplies.

LL

ps - I will go one step farther and really ramp up some paranoia - who out there knows who put up this website and who is paying the bills for it?

bruss01,

That was my general intention in this post, to make people think. I am amazed by the amount of information people freely give out on websites; the "bios" thread on this forum is an excellent example.

Unfortunately even dynamic IPs are not a defense. All ISPs are required to keep records (not sure of the time reqiuirement) of which user pulled which IP at which time. The use of proxies would benefit any user, especially those who use broadband connections such as cable or dsl; these connections, even though dynamic in nature, rarely ever change. I have been pulling the same address from my "dynamic" setting for over six months now. Even proxies, at their best, are only an extra added layer of security.

As I have come to understand, you should never use the word "security" and "computers" in the same sentence

LL

ps - any idea who does run and pay for this site?

SZ,

I figured you knew. My "ps" was just an attempt to get a rise out of the "conspiracy theorists" out there

LL

ps  - I personally don't believe that in the digital age true anonymity is possible.

I had an interesting conversation with a friend of mine that is retired military intelligence, today. He told me that certain sites on the internet set off flags that alert National Security and they will monitor your ISP and the sites you visit. They do so routinely but usually only for a short period of time...say 1-2 weeks just to find out what caused the flag to trip. He said that going to New World Order sites or other what the Security considers "subversive" web sites, any middle east news sites or what they consider to be terrorist countries, will also send up a flag. Any person who has a relative who is fighting in the war in Iraq or Afghanistan is monitored and all e-mail are read before you get them to ensure there is not a breach of secuirty that would compromise the safety of other soldiers or missions.  He said that usually they just scan what you are doing and leave it a that. But during that time that they are monitoring you, you have become a "person of interest" to them. They will naturally monitor you if you are purchasing large amounts of ammo, fertilizer, or certain types of medications.....but if it is found that you are not belonging to or affiliated with shady characters they pretty much end it there. So guess what folks?  They do know who you are!

Meewee

What I find hilarious is that outside of not going to "subversive sites" I must have been ringing their bells for a LOOONGGG time!

Meewee

OOPS,

I probably shouldn't have posted that last sentence!  Although I meant vacuum and dust... it could be interpreted otherwise

The Canadians have bill 138 and it will pass this summer it marshal law

and we are passive polite and calm (well some of us sometimes)

Its now time to be afraid