Wether you are new to the game and still need a job - or an old veteran who needs a great cover/alibi getting a job with paid travel is the way to go!
Sales jobs, training jobs, installation jobs these are all great jobs to get - the after hours time you have in the other cities will be a great way to hone your skills.
Airports - besides being run "by the man" are a great place to people watch, people out of their element (for the most part) trying to get somewhere else. It really does bring out the true nature of a person.
Spending time driving around to different cities can provide that often overlooked "mental quiet" that evaporates when working in a cramped office, you can be yourself, focus on your mission of gathering information, and do the main task of a spy's job - interpreting all the information you are taking in.
Being hyper alert in an airport for 3 hours can be draining - especially when you are starting out.
Vigilance is the key to survival in this game, and relaxing a few hours on a plane or clearing your head with a long drive - while getting paid - is the best way to do it!
With the cover job you may need to do a bit of actual work but use all of your "in transit" time to people watch, find new dead drop locations, observe what characteristics of people's demeanour or appearance help them blend into the crowd.
Testing out a new identity is super easy in a new city - as the chances of being spotted by anyone who knows you is more remote.
Get out there and hit the road!
(and make a few extra bucks along the way)
Cheers,
Jay
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Networking is tricky
Keeping in touch with other spies is worth the risk if you can pass encrypted messages without detection.
Anyone who approaches you and claims they are a spy will be a cop.
Anyone who approaches you and has a very polarized world view is either a spy or a cop.
Anyone who starts up a random conversation with you after you have seen them around several of your "favourite" places will most definitely be a spy.
People you can trust are few and far between.
Ironically the more you learn about security the fewer people you can trust - yet the more people you need to trust grows as you learn about security...
Great places for "exchanging" information or cyphers are:
Libraries - but who goes there?
Chat rooms online - watch for cops
Drop points - just random places to drop an encrypted CD or thumb drive
Face to face meets - randomly take the same night class at the college
I had one buddy who would slip intel through my open car window and I would do the same for him. part of the encrypted information in the intel was a detailed schedule of where his car would be for the next week - I would use that information to track the car and drop the data. It worked great for 2 years.
Set up a schedule and don't follow any set pattern for meeting i.e. every tuesday meet in shady alley.
Get out there and network but it is a quagmire of cops and double agents!
Jay
Anyone who approaches you and claims they are a spy will be a cop.
Anyone who approaches you and has a very polarized world view is either a spy or a cop.
Anyone who starts up a random conversation with you after you have seen them around several of your "favourite" places will most definitely be a spy.
People you can trust are few and far between.
Ironically the more you learn about security the fewer people you can trust - yet the more people you need to trust grows as you learn about security...
Great places for "exchanging" information or cyphers are:
Libraries - but who goes there?
Chat rooms online - watch for cops
Drop points - just random places to drop an encrypted CD or thumb drive
Face to face meets - randomly take the same night class at the college
I had one buddy who would slip intel through my open car window and I would do the same for him. part of the encrypted information in the intel was a detailed schedule of where his car would be for the next week - I would use that information to track the car and drop the data. It worked great for 2 years.
Set up a schedule and don't follow any set pattern for meeting i.e. every tuesday meet in shady alley.
Get out there and network but it is a quagmire of cops and double agents!
Jay
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Get off the grid!
Are you still updating your facebook status?
Unless that status is for your 5 - 6 aliases you should stay away.
Social media is yet another avenue for "the man" to gather intel on you life.
Facebook and hotmail will roll over at the first hint of a warrant and give you up like a snitch the first time the police start asking questions.
The less of you life is online the better.
Free internet is great, just remember to spoof those mac addresses (see google for that one), and have a patter that is not a pattern.
Checking your hotmail every morning from the same coffee shop that is 2 blocks from your house is useless one plain clothes policeman with an intercepting device and you are made!
Don't underestimate the digital lengths that the authorities will use to track you down.
I have police circling the block of some poor fool who didn't change the default password on his wireless just for writing this blog (which contains nothing but harmless information). I know they circle the block every two hours because I also have "access" to a webcam that monitors the location of my default password buddy.
You can never be too careful!
Stay connected without staying on the grid.
Unless that status is for your 5 - 6 aliases you should stay away.
Social media is yet another avenue for "the man" to gather intel on you life.
Facebook and hotmail will roll over at the first hint of a warrant and give you up like a snitch the first time the police start asking questions.
The less of you life is online the better.
Free internet is great, just remember to spoof those mac addresses (see google for that one), and have a patter that is not a pattern.
Checking your hotmail every morning from the same coffee shop that is 2 blocks from your house is useless one plain clothes policeman with an intercepting device and you are made!
Don't underestimate the digital lengths that the authorities will use to track you down.
I have police circling the block of some poor fool who didn't change the default password on his wireless just for writing this blog (which contains nothing but harmless information). I know they circle the block every two hours because I also have "access" to a webcam that monitors the location of my default password buddy.
You can never be too careful!
Stay connected without staying on the grid.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Disguises
A brightly colored ball cap, a reversible coat, a wig, bandage on your nose, glasses - these are all cheap and dirty disguises.
Start with the ball cap - get a generic red hat and sew a wig into it.
Wigs are available in most thrift stores - hold off buying it till it is near haloween and it will be assumed that it is part of your "costume" and not raise any flags or eyebrows. Get a natural colored hair for the wig pink will stand out like a sore thumb.
I have several "hats", one that makes me look like I have a mullet, one with blond hair and one with black hair. The hats are unassuming but all one color with no logo. For the hats hit the thrift store and buy blank hats if you are lucky, or just rip off the badges on them.
A reversible jacket makes for a great quick change. If you are being followed, you can quickly rip off the hat, and reverse your jacket - you are a totally different person!
Glasses are tricky - frames are easy to find but you shouldn't be using real glasses to see - use contacts.
There are several companies online that will send you "color change" contacts that don't have a prescription. Do this with your new identity to your new mailbox to test that out!
Bandage on the nose is a one-off that will make you stand out in the crowd, you will need some other elements to totally disappear after ripping off the band-aid.
Get some color change contact lenses and non prescription glasses/sunglasses this week!
Finding reversible jackets is usually easier to find in sports stores.
Cheers,
Hope to find you again soon!
Start with the ball cap - get a generic red hat and sew a wig into it.
Wigs are available in most thrift stores - hold off buying it till it is near haloween and it will be assumed that it is part of your "costume" and not raise any flags or eyebrows. Get a natural colored hair for the wig pink will stand out like a sore thumb.
I have several "hats", one that makes me look like I have a mullet, one with blond hair and one with black hair. The hats are unassuming but all one color with no logo. For the hats hit the thrift store and buy blank hats if you are lucky, or just rip off the badges on them.
A reversible jacket makes for a great quick change. If you are being followed, you can quickly rip off the hat, and reverse your jacket - you are a totally different person!
Glasses are tricky - frames are easy to find but you shouldn't be using real glasses to see - use contacts.
There are several companies online that will send you "color change" contacts that don't have a prescription. Do this with your new identity to your new mailbox to test that out!
Bandage on the nose is a one-off that will make you stand out in the crowd, you will need some other elements to totally disappear after ripping off the band-aid.
Get some color change contact lenses and non prescription glasses/sunglasses this week!
Finding reversible jackets is usually easier to find in sports stores.
Cheers,
Hope to find you again soon!
Friday, December 17, 2010
6 Month Check-up
How are you enjoying your new life as a spy?
You may not yet be at the MI-5 level of spyhood but you have taken the first steps to becoming that suave, debonair intelligence agent you aspire to be.
Check out the classics all featuring improvisational techniques that can be useful in the field:
Remington Steele, Mission Impossible (the series and the movies), Burn Notice, McGyver and anything else you can get your hands on.
In order to live the life you need to think the think and walk the walk.
Get out there and start collecting some intel.
Cheerio.
You may not yet be at the MI-5 level of spyhood but you have taken the first steps to becoming that suave, debonair intelligence agent you aspire to be.
Check out the classics all featuring improvisational techniques that can be useful in the field:
Remington Steele, Mission Impossible (the series and the movies), Burn Notice, McGyver and anything else you can get your hands on.
In order to live the life you need to think the think and walk the walk.
Get out there and start collecting some intel.
Cheerio.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Become a professional
Rent lots of spy movies!
Start with "Leon the Professional" or sometimes under "the Professional"
Here was one character who while being middle aged had a very regimented physical fitness routine.
Understand what it takes for you to get and stay keen and limber and stick with it.
Drink your milk!
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Exercise all of your Muscles!
Your chances of becoming a successful spy are linked to your physical well being, and you should begin to ramp up your workouts to ensure peek physical conditioning. (more on this in an upcoming post)
Don't forget to keep your mind sharp and clear!
Keep up on current events at all levels that affect the areas of interest to you. Reading papers, magazines, newsgroups, alternative media, blogs and news feeds.
With information overload, an additional concern is to keep your mind clear. I would recommend a daily routine that includes some combination of yoga, stretching, meditation or time in thought.
Break a mental sweat!
Cheers.
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