Vanishing Point: How to disappear in America without a trace (2012)
It's a really interesting topic and I'd say I was disappointed by the article for several reasons:<p>1. Very outdated in terms of the extent to which people hiding today would leave a digital signature. The article literally suggests leaving no available photographs of you, to the point where acquaintances have to work with a sketch artist to put your picture out.<p>2. Some very naive suggestions for jobs to take while on the run, including doing data entry, working as a day laborer, and joining the Peace Corps.<p>3. Made-up tinfoil-hat "facts". For example: "Satellites can bounce LASER light off of your windows and, by measuring the minute distance differences between a vibrating window and the satellite, reconstruct your speech -- from orbit!"<p>Note: this is not true. The pinnacle of laser surveillance (which is actually a real thing) is measured in the hundreds of meters.<p>This is actually a really cool topic, and best practices in escape and evasion are fascinating. I think the outline of a better manual would look like:<p>1. Figuring out where you're going to hide (best hope is bland suburb of large metro area in a far-away country where you're not ethnically unusual....e.g., Sao Paulo, Lagos, Taipei, or a frontier market that attracts a lot of expats, e.g., Mongolia, Nairobi, Manila). Additional discussion of extradition law and whether you should prioritize non-extradition countries relative to your country of citizenship. Additional discussion of how to learn the language and culture of your new home without attracting attention.<p>2. Figuring out how you're going to survive in your new life; refinement of potential destinations based on skill set, age, life goals, etc.<p>3. Prepping your new life (surreptitiously creating bank accounts, documents, contacts in new residence).<p>4. Making the break; how to disappear so that authorities classify you as missing and presumed dead.<p>5. Forensic considerations (facial recognition, DNA, voiceprint, fingerprints, digital signature).<p>Would be great to hear others' thoughts on what such a manual would look like, I love to nerd out on this kind of stuff.