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Rating: 
Summary: A chilling wake-up call...
Review: "Privacy is destined to become the most valuable commodity in the 21st century." So says the back of the dust cover in this eye-opening book. I've been concerned about privacy for the past few years, and have even used a "ghost address" (one of the author's favorite techniques.) But I never could have dreamed up some of the ideas in this book. The author clearly knows his business, as he mentions things that only someone who's been doing this for years could possibly know and have figured out. It's inspired me to make further changes in my own life, and to seek out more books on privacy to complement this one. There are 3 overall things I learned about privacy after reading this book: 1. Privacy is not cheap. 2. Privacy is not easy. 3. Privacy can protect your assets, and may even save your life. Not the final word on the topic, to be sure. No single book could possibly tell you everything you want to know about privacy. The laws change too swiftly and each of the states has their own set of laws, so it's impossible for one book to cover every possible situation. If you are new to privacy, treat this as a primer, and a very good one at that...>I was prepared to give this book only 4 stars, due to the number of typos and grammatical errors that any competent editor should have spotted, but the book just has so much valuable information and insights into ways to protect yourself that I just had to give it a full 5 stars.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best books on privacy so far
Review: Even with the changes in the laws, this is still one of the best books available. However, don't buy this book, wait for the 2004 edition coming out very soon.
Rating:
Summary: Are you paranoid ENOUGH?
Review: Granted, this book is about hardcore privacy - If you plan on running from the mafia or something, then you definitely need this book. It's probably less practical for normal people, since it's so expensive and inconvenient to be a private individual. For the people that can't justify trying to lead a private life, you're probably safest joining the military, police, or otherwise working for the government. But keep in mind, if you don't lead a private life, you are never more than a few minutes away from destruction. JJ Luna details exactly how, step by tiny step, you can provide layers of protection to make it more difficult for anyone wishing to do you harm. For Americans, one phone call is all it would take to have you cuffed and jailed. The police can be to your door within 15 minutes...do you trust all the people who have your name, phone number, and address? I'm not joking with you, this isn't the movies, it's real life, and fact *IS* stranger than fiction. Anyone who lives in a modern first world country already has their head on the chopping block. Did you know that the US has 5% of the world's population and about 90% of the world lawyers? That's bad news if you're wealthy and vulnerable to lawsuits. Well, what if you're poor? Did you know that if you are charged with a crime (not convicted, only CHARGED) you lose your right to work and to rent an apartment? Once charges are filed, you will fail all background checks and you'll be homeless and unemployed for as many years as the legal system takes to get you a trial. If you're wealthy, you'll probably avoid prison, but you'll lose everything. OK, so the governments are scary - what else should you be afraid of? Well, what about that punk video rental store clerk? He thinks he's a hacker. What would happen if he twiddled around with your rental account so he could get himself free rentals? You think the video store would step in and put a stop to it? WRONG, if they ever admit that their employees are doing that, they'd go out of business...Do you trust the punk video clerk to rent family oriented movies on YOUR account? What would happen if he mailed a copy of your account to your boss, with the videos HE'S rented? I'm sure it'd be very funny to watch you lose your job, your wife divorce you, and one of your children commit suicide... ANY information that exists about you can be used against you as if it were a weapon. I've been forced to deal with some nasty characters before, and trust me, it makes no difference whether he's Al Capone or the video clerk - you'll lose the life you once knew in short order. You can still live your life normally after you've protected yourself, you just have to pay attention to the details and never answer the questions people ask you, at least not in a way that helps them cause you trouble. JJ Luna tells you how to do that legally, or at least semi-legally, in an easy to understand way. You won't find any senseless babble in this book! Other authors tend to pimp their own products or services, but Luna doesn't come across as one of those types of authors. He has very little to say about that unless it's something truly helpful, that you might have a hard time finding anywhere else. In fact, most of the time he's merely referring you to someone he's successfully done business with in the past. The book is absolutely worthy of 5 stars - JJ Luna seems to be the most honest and experienced author in his category. But, he makes a couple minor mistakes that remind you that Mr. Luna is really just an average joe with above average wisdom. For example, on page 107 Luna talks about how difficult it is to track someone using a ham radio. He says "If you are moving, this will be next to impossible.". The fact is, your location can be pinpointed in less than one second with a homebuilt doppler DF receiver. Many hams have them, and you better not use a ham radio without getting a license first, otherwise 500 angry hams in their winnebagos will be trying to track you down - not good for someone concerned about privacy. That's the only significant mistake I could find in his book. Stay safe, stay private.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding
Review: If you are a fugitive, or are being pursued by a very determined and clever stalker intent on killing you, you definitely should read this book. Otherwise, it is of very limited usefulness. Many of the techniques discussed are illegal and/or will not work, and will end up drawing more attention to yourself by using them. Sometimes the best place to hide is in plain sight. Also, after 9/11, doing many of the things in this book such as illegal border crossings could end up getting you held without any legal rights as a suspected terrorist, particularly if you have fictitious or evasive identity documents. The author is apparently completely obsessed with being totally anonymous, and his pursuit of this goal obviously consumes a great deal of his time and energy. There appears to be no legitimate reason for this obsession, other than a vague reference to being a member of a dissident organization under Franco while he lived in Spain for a period of time. The author makes numerous ludicrous statements, such as supporting never owning a home by saying that home ownership is "highly overrated". How much money would you have lost during the last 15 years of huge price appreciation in real estate by following this practice? He also states that one should never attend college, and defends this by saying that a college education has no value. Try getting a job or bank account after refusing to provide a Social Security number. See what would happen after being pulled over by law enforcement if you have a driver's license in one state, with your car registered in another state to a limited liability company in still another state. And try getting auto insurance in such a situation. There are simple and legal ways to preserve your privacy, if you should find yourself in a situation where this would be necessary. For example, make calls only from a randomly selected pay phone using a calling card purchased by cash, or by using a pre-paid cellular phone, which requires no connection to the owner. As far as financial transactions are concerned, you can open a bank account offshore in certain countries that do not report banking transactions to the "powers-that-be" like the U.S. By accessing this account with a debit card accepted anywhere in the world, you can move freely without being traced, and without the risk and attention you would attract by using and carrying large amounts of cash. These strategies are smart, legal and completely effective, in contrast to the strategies discussed in this book.
Rating: 
Summary: An Excellent Book for Privacy Advocates
Review: JJ Luna, if that is indeed his real name, has written an authoritative book on the art and science of "how to be invisible." Luna indicates throughout the book that what he advocates doesn't break any laws. The goal of the book is to make it extremely difficult for private investigators to find out private information. Luna takes us through untraceable trash, registering one's utilities to multiple addresses, limited-liability companies, and most importantly, how to find and use a "nominee." A nominee, Luna explains, is a person who will use their address to receive your mail so that your own address would not be revealed. I would recommend this book to two different groups of people. The first are those people who simply want to maintain their privacy in the era of Big Government. The other are private investigators (PIs). PIs will find the book very insightful and practical. This was an extremely hard book to put down. I finished it in a week. Mark L. Robinson
Author of "Beyond Competitive Intelligence: The Business of CounterIntelligence and Trade Secrets Protection."
Rating:
Summary: Want to own things? You -need- this book
Review: Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you. After these steps, no lawyer can ever again -cheaply- use a private investigator to see if you are worth suing. The basic method is that of all security- compartmentalize your life. Also, advice I treasure: Don't break the law. Start by severing your address from your name. Moving is the only certain way. Don't use P.O. Boxes or commercial mail receiving agencies: They are now insecure. Everything else will use your new address. Get a passport, and use it for all occasions that demand photo ID. It -doesn't- have your address or social security number. Never again give your correct date of birth. It is almost as unique as a social security number. Transfer house ownership and utility bills (including internet and cable TV) to a trust not in your family name. Transfer vehicle and copyright ownerships to limited liability corporations. Transfer ownership by selling the LLC of the asset. Which states do not require director's names and addresses? The book says. Never call an 800 number, because they keep registers of calls. Shred anything that can be read, before your throw it away. Take down your house number. And your mailbox. You will never get mail at home, ever again. And not just -how-, but -why-, and even, what do you do when you need to call 911? Read the book.
Rating:
Summary: Good Advice
Review: This book is well worth the $$. Years ago I took some steps to protect my privacy, mostly from some realitives who were always calling me everytime they got arrested, trying to get me to go their bail.
And I registered my car in my grandmothers name, since being under 21, with a few traffic tickets, and a Trans Am, I was unable to get insurance at any price. A few years later, these two steps helped me evade a confrontation with a person who was very angry with me. Think about this scenario, you are involved in a car accident, the other driver gets the ticket, but he thinks the accident was your fault, and is very angry. On the accident report, now public information available to ANYONE who walks into the police station, is your HOME address, should he want to confront you. Or, your car is broken into, by thieves, on your insurance card and registration is your home address. I also have to comment on other readers statements: <<<<<<some tactics he lists, that are just hard to come by in American society.
For instance, not supplying your SSN when purchasing a car, house, cell phone or signing a loan for your children's college tuition. Simply NOT GIVING THE INFO in my opinion,is not a legitimate technique to use in these situations. Now having an LLC or trust is more along the lines that I would of thought, but I was hoping to find alternative techniques than these well publicized methods.<<<<< The author states that anytime you apply for credit, you give up your privacy. Paying cash for automobiles, and other comsumer goods, is just good financial advice anyway. Simply NOT GIVING THE INFO ---IS--- good advice, I was actually asked for my SS# when I took my dog to get a flea dip,, I told them my dog didn't have a SS#. also asked for it at an estate auction I attended, and I have to say, having Dyslexia makes it difficult to write down numbers sometimes. Its tough to buy a house without Equifax, knowing it, but it CAN be done, with a lease-purchase agreement, or simply saving some cash and buying a cheap place to live in a rural area. I personally know a guy that the FBI could not find, because he is self employeed (Avoiding the "National New Hire Database" created under the guise of catching fathers who dont pay child support.) and has NEVER borrowed any money, (mostly because he had terrible credit a few years ago and no one would loan him any). <<< Certain events smack of pure fiction, the chapter on crossing the border, for instance. Drive your car to a certain location on the great lakes, charter a boat, and just before dawn ride accross into Canada. Or his advice for how to get into Mexico, which involves wire clippers.>>>> Riding a boat to Canada shouldnt be any broblem. Paddling a canoe from Minnosota, up into Canada ahould be too difficult. And as any American knows, Mexicans have absolutly no problem sneaking across the border into the US, nearly one million per year,(Why The US guards South Korea's border, but not its own is a mystery to me) and obtaining false SS #;s and other documents. So how could sneaking OUT of the US pose any difficulty?
But why bother, if the illegal immigrants can get false documents so easily, how hard can it be? And many states issue illegal immigrants Drivers Liscenses with NO supporting documents, although they might not issue one to someone who 'looks' american. Now that I have some assets, the steps outlined in the book are very useful.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best books on privacy so far
Review: This book won't really make you disappear, but it will help. Better than nothing.
Rating:
Summary: Sound, Practical, and Fun
Review: Thumb through a Loompanics or Paladin Press catalogue, and you'll come across a number of books dealing with privacy and "new-identity" strategies. Don't buy them. If you want serious, practical, and LEGAL ways to hide yourself, or simply to secure a higher level of privacy, *this* is the book for you. I've read a few other books dealing with privacy, and, sadly, they too often recommend tactics that depend primarily on illegal moves-- moves, moreover, that will simply no longer work--like securing the Social Security Number of a dead person, or the birth certificate. Most of the Mr. Luna's methods depend on perfectly legal strategies, and he outlines ways for people to secure varying levels of privacy, depending on their needs. Surprisingly, a high level of privacy can be obtained simply by using what he calls a "ghost" address (which is NOT a Mailboxes Etc. account!), and making sure that no mail--but none--ever comes directly to your home. All utility bills, drivers licenses, and so forth, go to the ghost address. Perfectly legal. Where Mr. Luna is unsure of the legality of something he is describing, he makes it perfectly clear. A list of chapter titles will give a good idea of the topics this book covers: 1. How this Book Can Make You Invisible 2. U.S. Mail--Sending It, Receiving It 3. Your "Ghost" Address 4. Home Deliveries, House Calls, Bounty Hunters, FedEx, UPS 5. Untraceable Trash, Anonymous Utilities 6. Your Social Security Number and Date of Birth 7. Your Alternative Names and Signatures 8. Telephones, Answering Machines, Faxes, Radios, Beepers 9. How to Find and Use Nominees 10. How to Use a Trust for Privacy 11. Strange Uses for Corporations 12. Limited-Liability Companies 13. Hidden Ownership of Vehicles, and Real Estate 14. Bank Accounts and Money Transfers 15. How to Secretly Run a Home-Based Business 16. Anonymous Travel by Land, Sea, and Air 17. Computer, E-mail, and the Internet 18. Crossing the Canadian and Mexican Borders 19. Secret Hiding Places 20. Cool Stuff That Did Not Fit in Earlier 21. An Exam, as Secret, and an Invitation There is also an appendix with the names of people who will act as agents for a LLC. The book is quite thorough in some areas, less thorough in others, such as Internet privacy. He mentions the use of encryption, "remailers", and so forth, but really gives no information on using them, other than to admonish us, "Don't, they aren't secure." There is, I suspect, much more to be said about computer security, file wiping, and so forth, than has been said here. Mr. Luna outlines some uses of a Limited Liability Company, although, unfortunately, does not describe how you might set one up yourself, recommending you shell out the $2,000 dollars + to have a lawyer do the paperwork if you need this level of privacy. Some mention of less costly sources of legal guidance (for those of us on a budget!) would have been helpful--it's out there (Nolo Press, for instance). But, then, few people need very high levels of security, and to belabor this would be to emphasize a small, small part of the book. This is a GOOD book, and INTERESTING book, and a USEFUL book. Definitely worth a look.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Advice. Want More where that came from!
Review: To answer another reader's question... about using a US Postal Service PO Box. That is out of the question! Especially after Sept 11th. The USPS is asking for tons of ID and documentation. They are also being very strict (a pain, in fact) about receiving any mail addressed in any way other than to the exact individual's name who has presented two forms of ID. Mailboxes Etc. stores (now called The UPS Store), however, offer a much better option. They'll still ask for ID, but you can show your drivers license (just before you move) and your US Passport (which shows no address). No, it's not totally anonymous, but it should be plenty good enough for the first level of security J.J.Luna describes in his book. Mailboxes Etc is far better than a post office PO Box because: 1. No one will realize that you are using a rental mailbox since the address appears to be a simple street address and "suite number" (box number). i.e. 40 E. Detroit Ave., Ste. 300, Detroit MI 48099. How would anyone know that that's a rented mailbox? 2. They are not nearly as strict as the post office about receiving mail addressed to other names of individuals and/or business names -- as long as the "suite number" is correct. 3. They offer many extra benefits like: being able to call them on the telephone and ask them if there is any mail waiting for you, like forwarding mail to you on an item-by-item basis, forwarding mail to you by re-mailing it without giving anyone your actual end address. (I still don't recommend that you ever have mail forwarded to your real home address, however!) 4. You can even register your Drivers License at that address. I did this without any problem. By doing so, I can use my actual drivers license for ID any time I want... and I am never revealing my actual home address... only my rented mailbox address. You can even have that address printed on your checks so that it matches your drivers license. I did that too. Or, better yet, have your checks printed with only your name and no address. I later did that. Or even better yet, follow Luna's advice on using checks on an account owned by an LLP entity with a name that sounds like a person. I have not yet done that. : ) REMEMBER: Use the rented mailbox address for absolutely EVERYTHING. AND EVEN MORE IMPORTANTLY: Use your actual home address (where you sleep at night) on ABSOLUTELY NOTHING -- EVER EVER EVER! ALSO REMEMBER: The cable tv service will get you every time! The cable tv service, the landline service, the electric and gas, and any other utility that's "tied to" your home address (where you sleep at night) MUST be in some other name. It's ok, probably preferable, if you receive those bills at your actual home address AS LONG AS YOUR REAL NAME, SS NO., OR BIRTHDATE ARE NOT ON THOSE ACCOUNTS. And that should be the ONLY mail you receive at your real home address--only under that/those ficticious name(s). Obviously, if a PI or the FBI wanted to find me, it would be simple. Just stake out the mailbox rental place until I come in for my mail... Simple. What I have is only "level one security". But since I -- like the average person -- am not a criminal, nor wanted by anyone (that I know of), that's the only level of protection I need. Therefore, there is also no need for me to rent a mailbox in a far-away state. Mine, in fact, is only one block from where I live. But that's fine. Still, it would be more than somewhat difficult for the average angry person, or criminal, or con-artist, or soliciting business, or lawsuit-happy attorney, or anyone else, to find out where I sleep at night. It's not Fort Knox security, but it is a lock and deadbolt. And that's all I need...
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