One of the first things taught to spies, agents of counter-espionage, special forces and other licensed Spies, is to mix with the environment and detect the people who would try to do it.
For this, there are a number of techniques, as many common errors that could make you spotted by a spy who would have targeted you, in certain situations likely to occur one day.
The purpose of this article is not to make you a secret agent, but to save your the skin the day the lights go out …
As survivors, these techniques are of great interest to us because they are the same ones that will be useful in a natural disaster, or even when traveling abroad in a high-risk country. ‘removal. And of course, the one where we find ourselves stuck in a scenario of societal collapse such as it exists in several countries of the globe, and which we will have the immense privilege of experiencing soon in our decadent societies.
What are these techniques? We will review the most common.
1. Attitude is your greatest ally and your greatest enemy
The attitude is undoubtedly the very first thing that will allow you to introduce yourself to places where you should not be. This is learned fairly early in specialized schools, and what is summed up in the army by the phrase “walk with a purpose”. In other words, walk with confidence . This is by far the main key to giving the air to be in its place in a place where one would be supposed not to be.
Fortunately for surveillance and security personnel, most budding spies pull their training from the planet Hollywood, and rightly reap the rotten fruits …
If you have to move in an area where you do not want to Be identified, Act as if you were supposed to be there . This helps to give the impression that you have something important to do, and those who might see you will not automatically think that you are just passing.
If this is the case and you need to stop for a while, you will have to avoid the same way to get noticed. If everything else does not work, do what everyone around is doing. If most are sitting at a certain place, you should also sit at this place. If they read or study, you should find something to read. The whole thing is not to stand out.
Here are some other “tricks” you can also use:
If you walk alone and want to stop somewhere to look more carefully, look for the most innocentperson you can find, and sit by his side. Then engage the conversation in a natural way, while scanning the surroundings with attention, while seeming to evoke some old memories.
Find an elderly couple enjoying the scenery, or sit down for a game of chess or dominoes. In case an enemy is in this place, be careful not to choose someone “remarkable”, such as this old crazy woman who comes every day at 4 pm to feed the pigeons and ends five minutes later surrounded by Of a flock of birds.
On the other hand, if you are in a place where there is a risk that someone targets you in order to kidnap you, it is likely that this person is watching you to determine your habits. It will record where you go, when you go, the routes you take, what you are doing there, and when you are traveling. In this way, it will determine where you are most vulnerable, and whether or not you constitute an easy target.
In this case, you will have to be the one who is interested in the attitude. Look for someone who does not fit in. Look for the only person in the college park who is not studying or hitting a fellow. Look for the guy who sits alone and who tries to look deeply focused on something that obviously he does not. In other words, look for everything people do in bad movies and TV shows …
The budding spies – and even the pros – who stress or take their work too much to heart use without necessarily realizing a great deal of mental energy. All their energy is put into the observation of their target, to the detriment of what they do themselves or the way they play their role. Maintaining a body language that is not in harmony with our intentions is a particularly difficult job.
At this point, it would be particularly useful if you could read a few books on the subject. At best you will master the art of body language, and at the most it will be easy to detect things from people you would not have noticed before, and at best you will be able to not reveal your intentions.
Now, Do not believe that even the most experienced agents never make mistakes! Surveillance and counter-surveillance require real skills and are difficult tasks, even with a lot of training. If we do not practice every day in a situation, it will be extremely difficult to get away with it when the time comes.
One of the major problems is that of being locked into a “tunnel vision”. So we find ourselves in the middle of a place of passage, so absorbed in not losing its target that we do not even realize that we are the only one not to move, and that all World around begins to stare at us.
Another example could be the gugusse who sits on the bench, A kindergarten to better see its target, and does not realize that it gives the impression of observing in the same way groups of girls, at the risk of passing for a pedophile in action!
Obviously, if he did not take into account the fact that it might seem strange for a single man to go through a kindergarten, sit down there, and look intently in the direction of girls, Is that he is certainly not focused on his attitude … If you take the time to learn and pay attention to what you do – and what everyone else does around – you might be Able to take advantage, even on more experienced people than you. Does not perceive that it gives the impression of observing in the same way groups of girls, at the risk of passing for a pedophile in action!
Obviously, if he did not take into account the fact that it might seem strange for a single man to go through a kindergarten, sit down there, and look intently in the direction of girls, Is that he is certainly not focused on his attitude … If you take the time to learn and pay attention to what you do – and what everyone else does around – you might be Able to take advantage, even on more experienced people than you. Does not perceive that it gives the impression of observing in the same way groups of girls, at the risk of passing for a pedophile in action!
Obviously, if he did not take into account the fact that it might seem strange for a single man to go through a kindergarten, sit down there, and look intently in the direction of girls, Is that he is certainly not focused on his attitude … If you take the time to learn and pay attention to what you do – and what everyone else does around – you might be Able to take advantage, even on more experienced people than you. At the risk of passing for a pedophile in action!
Obviously, if he did not take into account the fact that it might seem strange for a single man to go through a kindergarten, sit down there, and look intently in the direction of girls, Is that he is certainly not focused on his attitude … If you take the time to learn and pay attention to what you do – and what everyone else does around – you might be Able to take advantage, even on more experienced people than you. At the risk of passing for a pedophile in action!
Obviously, if he did not take into account the fact that it might seem strange for a single man to go through a kindergarten, sit down there, and look intently in the direction of girls, Is that he is certainly not focused on his attitude … If you take the time to learn and pay attention to what you do – and what everyone else does around – you might be Able to take advantage, even on more experienced people than you.
2. Different Disguises
This is another great classic able to break through you: What you wear on you . Many people think that trying not to be spotted means just dressing up in local fashion. Do not believe such a thing! Whether it is observing someone without being seen, or not “swearing” in the midst of a crowd, the important thing is not to appear different (or identical to others), but Rather than being noticed or recorded in the memories.
This must be clear in your mind. Your goal, whether you are trying to cross an area where you are not supposed to find you, or that you are trying not to detonate among a crowd to avoid becoming a victim, is not to look like someone else, Other; The goal is first not to be noticed .
This goes beyond the mere fact of hiding a thick bundle of notes in his wallet or wearing a valuable watch. What you want is not to be the one you notice enough , to the point that you can then see that he has a wallet or a beautiful watch.
Practically speaking, this is tantamount to attitude. In most cases, you will naturally tend to dress in the same way as the locals. If everyone around you wears a Bermuda shorts and a T-shirt, it would be ridiculous to be the only one in long pants and fold shirt. If you’re on a Saturday night in a city’s upscale neighborhood, the tracksuit might be unwelcome.
Rather than disguise yourself, what you should look for first, as far as the situation permits, is some type of clothing that will allow you to be more discreet.
At the risk of making cliché, the gray is a rather good color when it comes to not being noticed. Something like a gray hooded sweatshirt or jacket works well as long as it is rather common and can be worn on more visible clothes. Choose a model that does not have any inscriptions or logo that someone might notice. At the risk of making cliché, the gray is a rather good color when it comes to not being noticed. Something like a gray hooded sweatshirt or jacket works well as long as it is rather common and can be worn on more visible clothes. Choose a model that does not have any inscriptions or logo that someone might notice. At the risk of making cliché, the gray is a rather good color when it comes to not being noticed. Something like a gray hooded sweatshirt or jacket works well as long as it is rather common and can be worn on more visible clothes. Choose a model that does not have any inscriptions or logo that someone might notice.
3. Do not lower guard
One of the things that is common among people is to drop guard once they have gone home or in their hotel room. Of course, it is not possible to be vigilant all the time, but there are still a number of things you can do to prevent your place of life from attracting attention or revealing information Which could be used against you.
In the same way as for attitude and attire, the important thing is not to stand out.
If all your neighbors park their car in the garage, you will have to do it too. If they all have an impeccable lawn, yours should be as well.
If you live in a foreign country, Have something like a French flag floating at the window, or any other sign that would indicate that you are not from the corner. If necessary, do not hesitate to display the jersey of a local team, or even the flag of the country in question.
Do not forget the general safety instructions inside the home, the non respect of which could allow someone to watch you easily and to detect interesting things.
Do not allow coppices or hedges to grow too close to the house, which would give an opportunity for attackers to hide and access your windows. Do not forget that an outsider would be able to see everything that happens inside a house if the shutters are not closed, Sometimes even with the curtains drawn.
Do not leave your garage door control inside your vehicle if you do not fit the garage door overnight. As well as any information that could reveal where you live and where you work. This could be the best way to give future attackers a good reason to choose you, as well as valuable information on how to do it …
4. Do not show off your abilities
It consists in not giving others good reasons to come knocking at our door in case of disaster or social disturbance. The same rule applies when living abroad, and a dramatic or unexpected event arises.
If someone comes to learn that you are preparing for emergencies, or he hears your generator turning during a blackout, then it is certain that this person will think you have food and / Money likely to be stolen.
The same rule applies to lights. If you intend to use your alternative energy sources in an area that is not Has more electricity, you should cover your openings with an opaque plastic film so that the light is not visible from the outside. Not to forget to turn off everything BEFORE each time you want to go out.
Also pay attention to what you throw away. If someone has caught you in his sights, the first thing he will do is visit your garbage cans and see what he finds. Have you thrown out receipts for valuables, weapons or ammunition packages, professional documents that should not be seen? As such, I can only recommend purchasing one of these small paper shredders found in office automation shops. They do not cost much and are likely to save you from the ” Future of great inconvenience.
One of the most common tricks that “private” people use to find people is to dump trash to collect receipts. If there are several of them in the same store or restaurant, then they know that there is a good chance that their targets will return to it, because we are all creatures of habit. Just as if they see certain receipts coming from the same neighborhood and from different days, they could deduce that you have contacts in this area, and then look for the connections.
You can not imagine everything that can be found in garbage cans, and the amount of information they contain. Having a document shredder, or even an incinerator,
5. If we look vulnerable, we become a target
This aspect is of course linked to all that has just been seen, but it deserves all the same a development apart.
Whether you are concerned about being targeted by a group of criminals or any enemy force, you must admit that you will not always be able to blend into the environment completely. The most obvious case is that of a white person who is found in Africa or in a Maghreb country. But in any case, this should not prevent us from trying not to be noticed.
Another obvious and well known example would be not to wear things of value such as watch or jewelry, but it goes further. As we have mentioned, there are things that you do or carry that can make you more visible to others, An enemy, who without them might not have noticed you. And those things are not necessarily valuable items.
The simple fact of wearing the hood of your sweat shirt on the head – even if it is gray – can make you a target. Such a hood will block your peripheral vision, and not only prevent you from seeing behind and on the sides, but MORE give the impression that you can not see around you. In a subliminal way, you seem more vulnerable, even if your enemies are not aware of this purely technical aspect.
The same thing happens with headphones. When people walk around with headphones in their ears, whether they are those of their laptop or a walkman, They are generally disconnected from the outside world. Possible assailants will notice it and will assume – even unconsciously – that you are not paying attention to what surrounds you and that you are therefore a more vulnerable target.
If you are lost in your inner world, you give the impression of not being aware of what is happening outside, for the simple reason that you are not … One of the obvious things that Will make you point as an easy target by those who would search for a victim, is the fact of “texting” on your mobile. Just like the atria, people who have eyes fixed on their phones, typing messages to readers, pay no attention to what surrounds them, and especially if they walk at the same time.
This is one of the first things I taught in Paraguay in the safety seminars that I organized in schools: Never text on the street while walking, but instead, Framing a door in front of the door, and typing his text while raising his head at regular intervals to observe the surroundings. Of course, the fact is that few people do so, and those who would do so would be distinguished from the mass. In this way, it is certain that you would give potential assailants the image of a person who is prudent and conscious of his environment, which would increase your security, even by making you stand out.
Unless you absolutely have to do it, And if you really want to mix with your environment and stay safe, you must force yourself not to play the laptop. The only alternative that would work really would be in this case to walk with someone who looks alert (but not too much), while you send your message to your girlfriend …